CHICAGO, Ill. — Another day and another round of awards for Eastern Washington football. Three Eagles were named to the Stats Perform FCS All-American Teams today as
Efton Chism III earned another first team selection,
Michael Wortham earned a second team selection and
Derek Ganter Jr. landed on the All-Freshman team.
Efton Chism III picked up his second first team honor this week after being named AP All-American yesterday. He also earned
Big Sky All-Conference first team honors last month. Chism's senior season was record breaking, piling up 120 catches for 1311 yards and 13 touchdowns.
The Monroe, Wash. native surpassed Cooper Kupp for the most catches in a single season (117) in EWU history, setting the mark in his final game against No. 21 Northern Arizona (11/23). Chism's 53-game streak with a catch was a program and FCS record as well, set during the NAU game.
Chism averaged 10.0 catches per game, second-best average behind Kupp's 10.63 for the 2015 season. The 1311 yards ranks 10th all time and the 13 touchdowns is tied for 10th.
Overall for his career, Chism ranks second in receptions (346) and receptions per game (6.53), while ranking third in yards (3852) and fourth in touchdowns (37). Additionally, Chism had 56 career punt returns, ranking fourth on the all-time list. Chism finished his career with 12, 100-plus receiving games and eight, 10-plus reception games.
Michael Wortham earned second-team honors as an all-purpose player and broke the program record for kickoff return yards this season. The North Highlands, Calif. native amassed 1093 kickoff return yards this season, averaging 28.8 yards per return and scoring a 100-plus yard touchdown against No. 11 Idaho (10/26). Wortham passed Vernon Williams' 973 return yards (1988) as the previous record holder.
For his career, Wortham ranks fourth all-time in kickoff return yards with 1829 total. His 28.6 career kickoff return average ranks second in program history.
Wortham was the definition of all-purpose this season, accumulating 313 rushing yards and 209 receiving yards, along with 88 passing yards. Wortham found the end zone seven times in 2024, with five rushing, one receiving and the kickoff return score. Adding to his totals, Wortham tossed two touchdown passes in nine total pass attempts this season.
Wortham earned All-Conference all-purpose honors and second team kick returner honors from the Big Sky. In the preseason, Wortham was a predicted third team selection from Stats Perform.
Derek Ganter Jr. finished his breakout season at safety, leading Eastern with 95 total tackles and 55 solo. The redshirt-freshman tackle total ranked fifth in the Big Sky and his solo tackles ranked third. For the 2024 season, Ganter Jr. averaged 7.9 tackles per game, ranking 52nd in the FCS. At safety, Genter Jr. played in all 12 of EWU's games, making nine starts.
In the road contest against the Vandals, Ganter Jr. racked up a career-best 15 tackles. He also had 11-tackle games against No. 6 UC Davis (10/19) and No. 2 Montana State (11/2). Ganter Jr. was third on the Eagles with four pass breakups. He also recorded his first career sack and forced fumble against the Aggies.
The Stats Perform selection is Ganter Jr.'s second All-Freshman team honor this offseason, earning a spot on FCS Football Central's freshman All-American team. Ganter Jr. was also a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award, honoring the nation's top freshman. He finished eighth in the voting with four third-place votes, four fourth-place votes and two fifth-place votes for 22 total points.
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ABOUT EASTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
Eastern Washington University Athletics sponsors 14 intercollegiate sports, six for men and eight for women, both as learning opportunities for its most athletically talented students and as an enhancement to student and community life. Eastern is affiliated with Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and is a member of the Big Sky Conference, an association of 10 regional schools with comparable enrollments and academic goals.
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