GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Furman long snapper Julian Ashby has been named a 2023 NCAA Division I Football Academic All-American, as selected by the College Sports Communicators (CSC), it was announced today.

Ashby, a December 2023 summa cum laude graduate with a 3.96 grade point average in physics, was a first team selection to the squad, which covers all of NCAA Division I — both the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).

He is the 16th Furman football player to collect Academic All-America honors — tops among all Southern Conference schools.

The Lilburn, Ga., product earned Phil Steele All-America laurels this past season following an outstanding career that saw him handle snapping duties for all Furman PATs, field goals, and punts over the last four seasons — successfully executing 412 snaps while working with a pair of All-SoCon punters and an all-conference placekicker. 

In addition, he was a three-time SoCon All-Academic Team and four-time SoCon Academic Honor Roll selection, and was a finalist for the 2023 FCS Doris Robinson Award.

He played a key role in Furman's 10-3 campaign in 2023 that was highlighted by the Paladins' SoCon championship and quarterfinal round appearance in the FCS playoffs.  Furman finished the campaign ranked sixth in the AFCA FCS Poll.

Ashby recently announced plans to exercise his final season of football eligibility at Vanderbilt while pursuing a master's degree in mechanical engineering..

FIRST TEAM
Pos.  Name                       School    Yr.       GPA         Major
QB    Bo Nix    Oregon    Gr.    3.62/3.91    Communications (U) / Public Relations (G)
RB    Will Shipley    Clemson    Jr.    4.00    Management
RB    Bucky Irving    Oregon    Jr.    3.63    Family & Human Services
TE    Ben Sinnott    Kansas State    Sr.    3.81    Marketing
WR    Rome Odunze    Washington    Sr.    3.51    History & Communications
WR    Malik Washington    Virginia    Gr.    3.73/4.00    Higher Education (G)
OL    Cooper Beebe    Kansas State    Sr.    3.83    Social Studies Education / Curriculum & Instruction
OL    Zak Zinter    Michigan    Sr.    3.53    Sport Management
OL    Seth McLaughlin    Alabama    Gr.    4.00/3.65    Finance (U) / Hospitality Management (G)
OL    Josh Priebe    Northwestern    Sr.    3.90    Learning & Organizational Change
OL    Zach Frazier    West Virginia    Sr.    3.88    Sport Management
OL    Eric Miller    Louisville    Gr.    4.00/4.00    Distilled Spirits
DB    Cole Wisniewski    North Dakota State    Sr.    4.00    Business Administration & Marketing
DB    Beau Freyler    Iowa State    Jr.    3.90    Kinesiology
DB    Travis Hunter    Colorado    So.    3.64    Psychology
DB    Hudson Clark    Arkansas    Gr.    3.70/3.60    Business Administration (G)
DL    Darius Robinson    Missouri    Gr.    3.77/3.65    Positive Coaching and Athletic Leadership (G)
DL    Judge Culpepper    Toledo    Sr.    3.80    Communications
DL    Brody Grebe    Montana State    Sr.    3.94    Mechanical Engineering
DL    Ashton Gillotte    Louisville    Sr.    3.75    Communication
LB    Jackson Woodard    UNLV    Sr.    4.00    Kinesiology
LB    JD Bertrand    Notre Dame    Gr.    3.62/3.74    Marketing
LB    Jacob Dobbs    Holy Cross    Sr.    3.76    Economics & Religious Studies
K    Alex Hale    Oklahoma State    Gr.    3.93/4.00    Health & Human Performance
P    Matthew Hayball    Vanderbilt    Gr.    3.63/3.89    Leadership & Organizational Performance (G)
P    Kyle Ostendorp    Arizona    Sr.    4.00/3.83    Aerospace Engineering
ST    Julian Ashby    Furman    Sr.    3.97    Physics
 
SECOND TEAM
Pos.   Name                       School    Yr.       GPA         Major
QB    Mark Gronowski    South Dakota State    Jr.    3.71    Mechanical Engineering
RB    Jordan Fuller    Holy Cross    Jr.    3.63    Economics
RB    Samson Evans    Eastern Michigan    Gr.    3.92/3.84    Business Administration (G)
TE    Mason Fairchild    Kansas    Sr.    3.92    Chemical Engineering
WR    Hayden Hatten    Idaho    Gr.    3.80/4.00    Adult, Organization, Leadership & Learning (G)
WR    Elic Ayomanor    Stanford    So.    4.00        Undeclared
OL    Jacob Bayer    Arkansas State    Jr.    4.00        Criminology
OL    Jake Majors    Texas    Sr.    3.60        Management
OL    Graham Barton    Duke    Sr.    3.50        Public Policy
OL    Bryan Bystol    Butler    Sr.    4.00        Middle & Secondary Education
OL    Chad Lindberg    Georgia    Gr.    3.75        Business Analytics (G)
DB    Maxen Hook    Toledo    Sr.    3.80        Accounting
DB    Sam Jung    North Dakota State    Sr.    4.00        Civil Engineering
DB    Quinn Schulte    Iowa    Gr.    3.71        Interdepartmental Studies (G)
DB    Hunter Wohler    Wisconsin    Jr.    3.62        Real Estate & Urban Land Economics
DL    Ahmed Hassanein    Boise State    Sr.    3.68        Interdisciplinary Studies
DL    Isaac Ukwu    Ole Miss    Gr.    3.84/3.94    Computer Science (U) / Sports Analytics (G)
DL    Joey Slackman    Pennsylvania    Sr.    3.51        Political Science
DL    Ryan Van Marel    South Dakota State    Gr.    3.61/3.85    Mechanical Engineering
LB    Trey Moore    UTSA    Jr.    3.81    Business Management
LB    Spencer Jorgensen    Stanford    Gr.    4.00/4.00    Symbolic Systems
LB    Colton Adams    Alabama State    Gr.    3.69/3.60    Business (G)
K    Bert Auburn    Texas    Jr.    3.72    Economics
ST    Trey Naughton    Western Kentucky    So.    4.00    Organizational Leadership