BROOKFIELD, Ill. – Fort Hays State had three players named to the Don Hansen Football Committee All-America Team on Friday (Dec. 20). Shane Watts was a second-team selection at running back, while Myles Menges (defensive line) and Parker Janky (punter) were honorable mention selections.
 
For Watts, it is his third All-America honor for the 2024 season, with all three being second-team selections at running back. He was also honored on the D2CCA and AP Division II All-America Teams. Menges now has two All-America honors for the season after receiving first-team honors on defense from the AFCA. For Janky, it was his first All-America selection by any organization.
 
Watts ranks fourth in NCAA Division II for total rushing yards (1,303) and all-purpose yards per game (160.8). He ranks seventh in points per game (9.3), eighth in total touchdowns (17) and ninth in total points scored (102). He produced the 20^th 1,000-yard rushing season in FHSU and first since Kenneth Iheme in 2017. The 1,303 rushing yards ranks sixth for a season in FHSU program history.
 
Menges finished the 2024 season with 27 tackles, 5.5 sacks, 6.5 tackles for loss, one interception, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. His most impressive stat was 11 pass breakups by batting down several passes at the line of scrimmage. He led all defensive linemen in NCAA Division II by a landslide, the only one to reach double figures, and it ranked 16th nationally all behind defensive backs, which dominate the category. Menges was also the MIAA Defensive Player of the Year.
 
Janky was an All-MIAA First Team selection at punter and owned the fifth-best punting average in the nation at 44.9 yards per attempt. It set a new single-season record at FHSU for punting average, passing the 44.4 mark set by Ethan Kosjer in 2011. The average was second-best in Super Region 3 behind Brendan Lach of Michigan Tech at 45.5, who was the first-team selection on this All-America list. Janky also served as FHSU's kickoff specialist, averaging 60.3 yards per kickoff in 2024 with a career-best 25 touchbacks.
 
This is the most All-America performers for FHSU in a season since the 2018 campaign. The Tigers received five All-America selections among four players from the Don Hansen Football Committee that year. (Dante Brown was an All-American at both kicker and punter).