NEWTON, Mass. – The annual preseason All Americans from USA College Football have been selected, and three members of the Mount Ida College team have been included in the Division III teams for the upcoming 2014 campaign.

Senior defensive back Jovan Wilkins (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) was named to the Second Team defensive unit and senior linebacker Kayln Smithson (Vilseck, Germany) made Third Team defensive honors.

The offensive side of the ball was represented by senior quarterback Jawad Yatim (Shrewsbury, Mass.), who was picked as an All American Honorable Mention.

All three players are coming off of seasons in which they were recognized by the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC) for their outstanding play.

Wilkins, who was honored last year as an Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) North All-Star in addition to being First Team All-ECFC for the third straight year, was the cornerstone of a Mount Ida defense that ranked first in the nation in passing yards allowed per game. Wilkins intercepted five passes and led the conference with four fumbles forced, while also collecting 62 tackles, breaking up five attempts and picking up a sack and a blocked kick on special teams.

Smithson was a Second Team ECFC member after leading the Mustangs in tackles with 74. Smithson picked off two passes himself, broke up three more, and got to the quarterback for three sacks.

In his first year as a Mustang, Yatim completed 144 passes for 1,889 yards and 15 touchdowns, totals that propelled him into the top three career leaders in each category. Yatim, who was selected as the ECFC Second Team quarterback, accounted for four touchdowns, two on the ground and two in the air, in a 56-34 victory over conference foe Anna Maria on October 19^th, and threw for 294 yards, sixth most in a game by a Mount Ida quarterback, in a 7-6 loss to Gallaudet on October 5^th.

The Mustangs compiled a 5-5 record in 2013, and recorded their fifth consecutive winning season in the ECFC (4-3) since the league was formed in 2009.

They will open their 2014 season under the lights of Alumni Field on September 5^th when they host UMass Dartmouth at 7:00 pm.