WACO, TX - Nate Palmer (Verona, NY/Vernon Verona Sherrill) of the Utica University football team has been named to the 2022 American Football Coaches Association Division III Coaches' All-America First Team, as announced by the AFCA on Tuesday. 
 
This season, the Empire 8 Offensive Player of the Year recorded 75 catches and set single-season program records with 1291 receiving yards and 18 receiving touchdowns. Palmer's 120 points recorded this season also rank first all-time in a single-season in program history. His 75 receptions rank third all-time in a single-season and he finished fifth all-time for total touchdowns in a season with 20. Beyond E8 Offensive Player of the Year honors, Verona, NY native was also named to the All-Empire 8 First Team as a wide receiver and all-purpose player, the All-Empire 8 Second Team as a return specialist, and to the D3football.com All-Region 2 First Team as a wide receiver. 
 
He was also selected to participate in the NFL Scouted FCS Bowl in Daytona Beach, Florida on December 11 which gave the top FCS/DII/DIII players a direct path to play in a top FBS game. Palmer was also one of 15 semifinalists for the Gagliardi Trophy which is awarded to the best player in NCAA Division III. 
 
The AFCA has selected an All-America team every year since 1945. The five teams now chosen for each AFCA division evolved from a single 11-player squad in 1945. From 1945 until 1967, only one team was chosen.  From 1967 through 1971, two teams – University Division and College Division – were selected. In 1972, the College Division was split into College I and College II. In 1979, the University Division was split into two teams — Division I-A and Division I-AA. In 1996, the College I and College II teams were renamed Division II and Division III, respectively. The AFCA began selecting an NAIA-only team in 2006. Also, in 2006, the Division I-A and Division I-AA teams were renamed Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), respectively. From 1965-81, a 22-player (11 offensive, 11 defensive) team was chosen. In 1982, a punter and placekicker were added to the team. In 1997, a return specialist was added, giving us the current 25-player team. The return specialist position was replaced by an all-purpose player in 2006. In 2016, the AFCA added a second team All-America. 
 
The AFCA's Division III All-America Selection Committee is made up of head coaches representing each conference from each of the AFCA's seven districts, one of whom serves as a district chairman, along with another head coach who serves as the chairman of the selection committee. The coaches in each district are responsible for ranking the top players in their respective districts prior to a conference call between the district chairmen and the committee chairman on which the team is chosen.
 
Members of the AFCA Coaches' All-America First Team will receive a plaque commemorating their selection to the team, while members of the Second Team will receive a certificate.
 
For more information on the AFCA All-American teams, please visit https://www.afca.com/north-centrals-ethan-greenfield-millikins-alexander-perkins-headline-the-2022-afca-division-ii-coaches-all-america-teams/.