BROOKFIELD, Ill. -- After being named to the Don Hansen All-Super Region Second Team Defense earlier this month, Crooks, S.D. native Joey Newman earned Honorable Mention status on the Don Hansen NCAA Division II All-America Team announced Tuesday.

The six-foot-four senior was one of the conference's best lineman over the second-half of the season, compiling five sacks over the season's final five games. Newman, a three-time all NSIC selection and 2017 All-American, finished his senior season with 16 tackles for loss, ranking fourth in the NSIC. He was a key figure in a Viking run defense that held opponents to less than 55 yards per game over the final four games.

The senior has racked up the awards this postseason, with this one being his fifth. Earlier, he earned NSIC All-Academic honors along with being named to the All-Academic Team of Excellence, which highlights team members with a 3.60 or higher GPA. He was awarded Google Cloud Academic All-America First Team Honors in December after being awarded second team honors last season as a junior. Most recently he earned Myles Brand All-Academic with Distinction Award honors.

The Don Hansen team carries out the legacy of long-time small college football advocate Don Hansen, who passed away at age 75 on Aug. 29, 2010. Hansen, from Brookfield, Ill., started and published Don Hansen's National Weekly Football Gazette for three decades, selecting NCAA Division II All-America teams for the first time in 1988.  Don Hansen's Football Gazette began selecting Division II All-Region squads in 2003.