DURHAM, N.C. – Three North Carolina Central football student-athletes – senior running back Isaiah Totten, senior receiver Daeshawn Stephens and senior punter John Pecaro – have been voted to the 2019 Academic All-District® Football Team, selected by CoSIDA, which recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom, as announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
 
The NCCU trio are among 26 NCAA Div. I honorees from District 3, which includes the states of North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee.
 
As First-team Academic All-District® honorees, Totten, Stephens and Pecaro advance to the CoSIDA Academic All-America® ballot. First- and second-team (if applicable) Academic All-America® honorees will be announced in early December.
 
Totten, a native of Apex, N.C., has achieved a 3.47 overall grade point average as a mass communication major. He currently ranks third in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) in rushing with 60.7 ground yards per game. In three seasons with the Eagles, Totten has become the school's seventh all-time leading rusher with 2,114 yards, averaging an impressive 5.2 yards per carry. He earned Second Team All-MEAC honors as a redshirt freshman in 2017, and elevated to First Team All-MEAC last season.
 
Stephens, out of Durham, N.C., owns a 3.82 cumulative GPA as a mass communication major. He is second on the team with 25 receptions for 324 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 13.0 yards per catch. Stephens was named a team captain in his first season with the Eagles in 2018.
 
Pecaro, hailing from Boynton Beach, Fla., boasts a 3.71 overall GPA as a political science major. A member of the Tau Sigma National Honor Society, he is averaging 38.3 yards per punt this season, an improvement of five yards over his punting average from a year ago. Out of 60 punts in 2019, Pecaro has placed 17 inside the 20-yard line with only three touchbacks and without allowing a blocked punt.
 
To be nominated, a student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.30 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) at their current institution. Nominated athletes must have participated in at least 50 percent of the team's games and they are not eligible until they have completed one full calendar year at their current institution and has reached at least sophomore athletic eligibility.