Football Represented by Five Student-Athletes at Graduation

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – The Northern Arizona football team was represented by five student-athletes at graduation ceremonies on campus on December 11 in the Walkup Skydome.

Tight end Shaun Fitzpatrick (Finance/Gilbert, Ariz.), running back Alex Henderson (Criminal Justice/Calabasas, Calif.), offensive lineman Kevin Meagher (Advertising/Fountain Valley, Calif.), wide receiver Ryan Rauschert (Marketing/Junction City, Ore.) and defensive back Matt Steinbach (Criminal Justice/Trabuco Canyon, Calif.) each graduated.

“It feels great to be able to accomplish this,” said Steinbach. “It is weird how now you have to reset everything. Moving on now it is the real world but I am excited for it. Playing football and having the opportunity to play at NAU was the best part of my college experience. I would not trade it for anything.”

Overall, NAU has had 20 football student-athletes graduate over the last four semesters.

Fitzpatrick is a five-year contributor who has made 27 starts and seen action in 34 career games. He was named to The Sports Network All-American honorable mention team and All-Big Sky Second Team in 2007 and garnered All-Big Sky second team honors in 2006. In his career he made 77 catches for 920 yards and four touchdowns. He is a three-time Big Sky All-Academic selection and four-time Golden Eagle Scholar-Athlete recipient (2006-09).

Henderson finished the season as the top rusher in the Big Sky Conference with a 106.0 per game average. He rushed for 1,166 yards with 12 touchdowns and a 4.6 per carry average. It was the second 1,000 yards season of his career and he finished second on the school’s all-time rushing charts. He had six 100-yard games on the season including five in Big Sky play. He also rushed for over 100 at Ole Miss.

Meagher was a two-time All-Big Sky honorable mention selection, playing for the Lumberjacks from 2005-08.

Rauschert is a four-year letterwinner who has saw action in 35 career games with nine starts. After beginning his career at quarterback, he made 24 catches for 315 yards and a touchdown over the last three years. He served as the team's punter in 2009 with 52 punts for a 36.8 per punt average. He recorded 12 punts inside the 20 and recorded seven punts of 50 or more yards on the season.

Steinbach is a three-year letterwinner who saw action in 25 games and has made 63 career tackles with three interceptions. He was sidelined with a season-ending injury in the fourth game this season. He made 16 tackles and had an interception against Arizona before the injury.