Sorensen Earns First-Team Academic All-American Honors

Football | 12/2/2015 11:10:00 PM

POCATELLO, Idaho- Since arriving at Idaho State in 2011, academic accolades have come Cody Sorensen's way. His academic honors are long.

A few notable honors include being named to the Dean's list every semester of college, academic all-conference every year, academic All-Region three straight years and this year he was a semi-finalist for the Campbell Trophy, an award that is considered the academic Heisman Trophy. He was nominated for the AFCA Good Works Team and to the FCS ADA Academic All-Star team in 2014.

Now Sorensen can call himself an Academic All-American as it was announced today that he was named to the first-team CoSIDA Academic All-American squad.

Sorensen, who boasts a 3.85 grade point average, is only the ninth Bengal to earn this honor. Austin Graves was named to the second-team last year but Sorensen is the first Bengal to be named to the first-team since Trevor Bell in 1996. Sorensen was one of three Big Sky Conference players named to the first-team as Eastern Washington's Cooper Kupp and Montana's Derek Crittenden also received the recognition.

Sorensen's success in the classroom comes as no surprise to the individuals who know him best, his parents, Paul Sorensen and Christina Balkenbush.

"I always had the philosophy to enpower our kids and that they needed to be responsible for themselves," Balkenbush said. "Academics is a key part to provide for their future. Cody has always worked hard and applied himself."

 Sorensen will be the first to admit that his academic success hasn't been easy.

"I was never top of my class," he said. "I was never someone people looked at as one of the smartest in my class. I still don't think I am one of the smartest. I really believe that if you are passionate about something that you will be able to learn it. There are some individuals that are more naturally intelligent. I think people can learn any material. Some people just have to put in more time. I feel I was the one who had to put in more time."

Sorensen has always had a love for math and science classes. He thrived in AP Calculus as a senior with Professor Crawford and honors physics classes.

"That math class and a physics class in high school were two classes that were out there, abstract and pretty technical but I enjoyed it," Sorensen said.

Sorensen enjoyed football success at Ferris High School in Spokane, Wash., where he led his team to a 14-0 record and a state championship. With his on field success in high school opportunities to play collegiately presented itself. 

As Sorensen learned about the engineering program at Idaho State, the decision to come to Pocatello became an easy one.

Once he arrived in Pocatello in 2011 he made the decision to focus on mechanical engineering.

"The program here was a big reason why I decided to come here," Sorensen said. 


It didn't take long for Sorensen to see playing time as he appeared in eight games as a freshman in 2011 before tearing his ACL at Montana State. The late-season injury forced him to redshirt in 2012.

That time away from the game was difficult but in the end Sorensen said it was a blessing in disguise.

"That was where I had the biggest growth, not only in my academics but in my faith and athletics too," he said. "It gave me another year of academics which allowed me to take less credits a semester. Engineering is already pretty technical and to do it in four years with football would have killed me. It was still extremely hard but I was able to span out that degree to five years. I was able to focus more on school during that time and get through a majority of the difficult classes."

As Sorensen continued to build his academic resume at Idaho State University he was also involved in building the Bengal football program as he helped lead ISU to an 8-4 record as a junior in 2014. As a senior in 2015 he was once again a leader on the field, finishing with 74 tackles. A big play this season was when he made a touchdown saving interception in the end zone on a sore ankle at Weber State.

For Sorensen's parents, they have watched in amazement how Cody has handled everything that has been thrown his way.

"I don't know how he does it," Cody's father Paul said. "Pocatello for Cody was a perfect fit for him. He chose what was best for him and it's been great."

His mother Christina added, "My heart bursts with pride. He has kept his eye on the right ball. Football has been a means to an end. He is very driven and focused. It has been a blast to get to know his friends. Cody has always been kind hearted. Who he is today is the core of his character growing up."

Sorensen said that he couldn't have made it through his five years in Pocatello without the support of so many people who have been influential in his life. He attributes a lot of his success to those people. 

"This is an individual award (Academic All-America honors) but I couldn't have done it without my teammates, friends and family who have supported me throughout the way," he said. "My degree, mechanical engineering, is one of the best departments here at Idaho State University. All the office hours that I had to go in and get help, they were always extremely willing and helpful. I couldn't have done it without the support that I have gotten from tutors and classmates."


FIRST TEAM
Pos.    Name                                  School                                Yr.       Hometown                     GPA      Major
QB       Carson Wentz (1)              North Dakota State            Sr.       Bismarck, N.D.                 4.00     Health & physical education
RB       Matt DelMauro                    Bucknell                             Sr.       Nutley, N.J.                     3.76       Accounting & financial management
RB       Christian McCaffrey          Stanford                             So.      Castle Rock, Colo.        3.31       Undeclared
RB       Tee Mitchell                       Mercer                                So.      Jacksonville, Fla.          3.81       Management
WR      Cooper Kupp (2)               Eastern Washington         Jr.        Yakima, Wash.                 3.54     Economics
WR      Thomas Wilson                 U.S. Naval Academy          Sr.       Brandenburg, Ky.          3.86       Naval architecture (honors)
TE       Matt Weiser                        Buffalo                                Sr.       Womelsdorf, Pa.            3.49       Communication
OL       Jacoby Boren (2)               Ohio State                          Sr.       Pickerington, Ohio       3.83       Sustainable plant systems
OL       Ty Darlington (1)               Oklahoma                          Gr.       Apopka, Fla.                  3.91       Planned programs (UG) / adult & higher ed (G)
OL       Spencer Drango                Baylor                                 Gr.       Cedar Park, Texas         3.71       Finance / MBA
OL       Nick Faraci (2)                   Robert Morris (Pa.)            Sr.       McDonald, Pa.                 3.94     Nursing
OL       Jacob Rathmacher            Northern Iowa                    Sr.       Story City, Iowa             3.87       Biology & biochemistry
K          Jack Willoughby               Ohio State                          Gr.       Princeton, N.J.                 3.90     Economics & statistical sciences
DL       Derek Crittenden (2)         Montana                             Sr.       Whitefish, Mont.            4.00       Chemistry
DL       Joe Crochet                       The Citadel                        Jr.        Stone Mountain, Ga.     3.81       Business admin. (UG) / MBA
DL       Greg Menard                     North Dakota State            So.      Lakeville, Minn.             3.90       Civil engineering
DL       Karter Schult                      Northern Iowa                    Jr.        Tripoli, Iowa                   3.83       Exercise science / family services
DL       A.J. Wolf                             Duke                                   Jr.        Greenwich, Conn.         3.69       Public policy studies      
LB        Chris Beaschler                 Dayton                                Sr.       Ada, Ohio                       3.68       Mechanical engineering
LB        Padyn Giebler                    Incarnate Word                 Sr.       Ivan, Texas                    3.82       Engineering
LB        Geoffrey Hebert                 Nicholls State                    Jr.        Thibodaux, La.                 4.00     Finance / accounting
DB       Matt Dobson (2)                 Georgia Southern             Sr.       Monticello, Fla.                3.72     History
DB       Jordan Italiano (1) (#)       Kent State                           Sr.       Canfield, Ohio                 3.98     Biochemistry / pre-med
DB       Nick Mears                         South Dakota State            Jr.        Milbank, S.D.                  4.00       Economics
DB       Cody Sorensen                 Idaho State                         Sr.       Spokane, Wash.            3.85       Mechanical engineering
P          Landon Foster (2)             Kentucky                            Sr.       Franklin, Tenn.                3.97     Finance


CoSIDA Academic All-Americans
Steve Beller        P/K         1972
Kim Kildew          DE           1976
Jeff Fillmore       K             1978
Brent Koetter    DB          1984
Jim Harrell           G             1984
Steve Boyenger                DB          1991
Trevor Bell          DB          1996
Austin Graves    DE           2014- 2nd Team
Cody Sorensen DB          2015-1^st Team
FCS ADA Academic All-Star Team
Cody Sorensen DB          2014
Austin Graves    DL           2014
CoSIDA Academic All-Region                    
Austin Graves    DL           2013 and 2014
Cody Sorensen S              2013-15
Chris Edwards    DL           2015