Bears land four players on FCS All-American team; all from Arkansas

CONWAY, Ark. — Four Central Arkansas Bears, all from within the state of Arkansas, were named to the 2024 Stats Perform FCS All-America team on Wednesday.

Heading the list was first-team selection David Walker, a 6-foot-2, 260-pound senior defensive end from Stuttgart, Ark. Senior running back ShunDerrick Powell (Hoxie, Ark.) was a second-team selection. Senior safety TaMuarion Wilson (Bryant, Ark.) was a third-team choice, while redshirt freshman wide receiver Malachi Henry (Van Buren, Ark.) was named to the Freshman All-America team.

“It is always a great day to see our individual players get recognized on a national level,” said UCA head coach Nathan Brown. “These guys have put in countless hours of work toward their craft and to be mentioned with some of the names and programs on this All-American list is a great honor. One thing it shows is we are recruiting the right type of student-athletes into our program and having multiple guys honored on each side of the ball is a big deal. Another great note is they are all in-state Arkansas kids. We take a lot of pride in bringing in great players from this state.”

David Walker (Ted McClenning / allBears+ Images)

Walker, who won his third consecutive conference Defensive Player of the Year Award earlier this month, is one of three finalists for the Buck Buchanan Award that goes to the top defensive player in the FCS. He led the United Athletic Conference in tackles for loss (23.0) and sacks (10.5), setting the UCA career records in both categories with 31.0 sacks and 60.0 tackles for loss. For the season, Walker had 69 total tackles, forced four fumbles and recovered one and had six pass breakups.

Powell, who transferred from North Alabama two years ago, was UCA’s leading rusher with 1,343 yards and 14 rushing touchdowns despite playing the final month with an injury. He also caught 36 passes for 325 yards and three more touchdowns. Powell led the nation for much of the season in all-purpose yards, finishing with 151.0 per game. He closed out his career at North Alabama and UCA with 4,014 rushing yards and 38 rushing touchdowns.

TaMuarion Wilson | UCA Sports

Wilson, a 6-2, 215-pound safety, is a three-time All-Conference selection and All-American selection. He was UCA’s No. 2 tackler this season, finishing with 93 total tackles, including 61 solo tackles. He also had 11.5 tackles for loss, 1.0 sacks, 2 interceptions, 8 pass breakups and 2 forced fumbles.

Henry, a 6-1, 185 receiver, was UCA’s second-leading receiver with 40 receptions for 679 yards and five touchdowns this season, with a long of 79 yards. Henry had 8 catches for 133 yards, both career highs, against Southern Utah.

Information from UCA Sports is included in this story.