ST. LOUIS – Three Missouri State football players have been named to the 2016 Missouri Valley Football Conference All-Academic Team, announced by the league office Wednesday. Senior linebacker Dylan Cole was one of 12 players selected for the Valley's top academic team, while safety Jared Beshore and tight end Erik Furmanek were honorable mention picks in a vote of the conference's sports information directors.

The nation's leading tackler, Cole earned his third-consecutive MVFC All-Academic Team selection after capping his standout MSU career as the Bears' No. 3 all-time tackler. The Rogersville, Mo., native is a finalist for the STATS FCS Buck Buchanan Award, as well as a CoSIDA Academic All-District VI pick this season. The two-time Academic All-MVFC honoree and three-time MVFC Commissioner's Academic Excellence Award-winner leads all FCS defenders in tackles per game (12.9) and ranks second in the nation in solo stops per outing (7.7). A repeat first-team All-MVFC selection at linebacker this fall, Cole led the Bears in tackles in nine of 11 games, averaged 15.0 stops in MVFC play and finished his career with 22 double-digit tackle totals in 46 games, including 15 in a row in MVFC play to conclude his career. The marketing sales management major maintains a 3.62 GPA.

Beshore, a 2015 MVFC All-Newcomer Team and Valley Academic Honor Roll honoree, started eight games at safety for the Bears this fall. The Lamar, Mo., product recorded 26 solo stops and 42 total tackles for the season to finish as the Bears' fifth-leading tackler. Beshore averaged 4.6 tackles per game in MVFC play, including a season-high eight total stops in MSU's win over Southern Illinois. A sophomore physical education major, he maintains a 3.86 grade-point average and has been named to the MSU AD's Honor Roll on three separate occasions.

Furmanek, a two-time MVFC Academic Honor Roll member, started all 11 contests at tight end, finishing as the Bears' second-leading receiver with 23 catches and four touchdowns in MVFC play this fall. The Belleville, Ill., native caught 27 passes for 245 yards overall, marking the most receptions by a Bears tight end since 2012. He pulled down scoring receptions in three of MSU's final four games, including a career-best six-catch day for 68 yards vs. Southern Illinois. A junior majoring in logistics and supply chain management, he maintains a 3.64 GPA.

Nominees for the MVFC's All-Academic teams must be starters or important reserves with at least a 3.20 cumulative grade point average (4.0 scale). Student-athletes must have reached sophomore academic and athletic standing at their institutions (freshmen are not eligible) and must have completed at least one full academic year at their institution. League sports information directors voted on the team by designating 12 players for first-team honors and 11 players for second-team honors.