Four Tarleton Football student-athletes named to CSC Academic All-District Team

STEPHENVILLE, Texas – Tarleton Football's Darius Cooper, Dawson Hearne, Malik Pete and Kyle Weber have been named to the College Sports Communicators' Academic All-District Team.

The 2024 Academic All-District® Football teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes football honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.

To be eligible, student-athletes must be at least a sophomore academically and athletically, have at least a 3.50 cumulative grade point average, and compete in 90 percent of the institution's games played or started in at least 66 percent of the institution's games.

Cooper, a kinesiology major, finished as the leading receiver across all of NCAA Division I football, both FBS and FCS with 1,450 yards and 14 touchdowns on 76 receptions. The St. Louis, Missouri, native was a First Team All-American by both the Associated Press and Stats Perform in addition to being a unanimous First Team All-United Athletic Conference receiver. Cooper set new program records in playoff single-game receiving yards (190) and career receiving yards (3,185).

Hearne, a pre-med major, led Tarleton tight ends in receiving in 2024. Playing all 14 games for the Texans, Hearne came down with 10 receptions for 73 yards. Hearne, the grandson of legendary Tarleton Women's Basketball coach Ronnie Hearne, scored a touchdown on Oct. 5 at Southern Utah to help the Texans to a crucial overtime win in Cedar City.

Competing in 12 games, Pete was an instrumental part of Tarleton's offensive line. Pete, a kinesiology major, helped the Texans finish in the top three in the UAC in rushing, scoring and total offense in 2024. He helped lead the No. 1 rushing offense in the United Athletic Conference in 2023, with the Texans posting 201.7 rushing yards per game.

Recently receiving his master's degree from Tarleton State, Weber played a key role in the Texans' first-ever Division I Playoff game against Drake. The tight end played a pair of plays at full back and got the ball twice, scoring his first two touchdowns in a Texan uniform to help Tarleton to its first-ever Division I postseason win. Weber played in 13 games at tight end this year and was a 2023 Academic All-WAC selection.

Tarleton Football won a Division I program record 10 games in 2024, earning an at-large bid to its first-ever FCS Playoffs. The Texans collected its first Division I playoff win against Drake in Stephenville before falling to No. 4 seed South Dakota in the second round. Finishing in the top-15 in the national rankings, Tarleton Football collected 10 All-UAC honors and won two All-American titles to complete 2024.

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