WILLIAMSBURG, VA - William and Mary senior offensive tackle Dwight Beard (Shippensburg, PA) was named to All-America status by the American Football Coaches Association, it was announced today.

Beard, an all-conference selection, consistently graded out as the squad's top offensive lineman as the Tribe averaged 384.4 yards of total offense per game. The 6-foot-4, 315-pounder helped W&M rush for nearly 1,500 yards on the season.

Beard's selection marks the first time since 1999 that the AFCA has chosen a W&M player for its postseason honors, as former Tribe kicker Brett Sterba was selected that year. The last Tribe lineman to be honored by the AFCA was Josh Beyer, an offensive guard who was picked in 1996.

This marks the second straight year that Beard has earned postseason All-America honors, as he was a Football Gazette honorable mention All-American last year. Coming into this year, he was a Sports Network preseason All-American. After the win over New Hampshire this year, Beard was chosen as the coaching staff's Offensive Player of the Week for his performance.

Beard was one of three Atlantic 10 players chosen, along with New Hampshire tailback Stephen Lewis and Maine linebacker Stephan Cooper.

The AFCA has selected an All-America team each year since 1945. The AFCA's Division I-AA All-America selection committee is made up of three head coaches from each of the AFCA's nine districts, one of whom serves as a district chairman, along with another head coach who serves as the chairman of the selection committee.