Bemidji – The Bemidji provincial football team is far from finished garnering accolades from another historic season.
Three members of the Beavers’ 2022 team — quarterback Brandon Alt, wide receiver Brendan Beaulieu and defensive end Zorry Kaplan — were named to the Elite 100 team announced Wednesday by D2Football.com.
Beaulieu headlined the group and earned First Team honors, becoming the first D2Football.com First Team selection in program history. Alto and Kaplan were each named to the squad squad to complete the list. This is the first time in program history that multiple student-athletes earned Elite 100 honors in the same season.
A finalist for the 2021 and 2022 Harlon Hill Trophy, Alt will make his debut in the D2Football.com Elite 100 Squad. The Cottage Grove native was named Northern Sun Inter-College Conference Offensive Player of the Year in 2022 with 3,864 passing yards and his 38 passing touchdowns, which he led NSIC in both categories. In Division II he was ranked 3rd. He is the program’s all-time passing yards and career touchdown record holder with a passing efficiency of 156.6 and a completion percentage of his 59.9 in his 13 games during his 2022 season. He was also named to the D2CCA All-Super Region 4 Second Team.
Maika Freeze / Bemidji Pioneer
Beaulieu rounded out his senior campaign as a four-time All-America selection during the 2022 season, becoming one of the best receivers in the BSU football program. Beaulieu smashed his Bemidji State single season record and career record. The Cottage Grove native led the D-II with 19 touchdown receptions, also a single-season record for Bemidji province. Beaulieu set a program record with 1,504 receiving yards in 2022. This is his second highest total in the country. Beaulieu capped his season with the most productive receiving in Bemidji State history by catching his 82 passes, a program record, his sixth most in a D-II. He finished his senior season with the Beavers as the program’s career record holder for receptions (215), receiving yards (3,725), and touchdowns (38).
Kaplan earned his third All-America honor after being named to the AP All-America First Team and D2CCA All-America Second Team earlier this season. Kaplan surpassed Gene in his Upshaw Award voting as the top senior lineman in the nation, where he finished seventh, becoming the first finalist in program history. The St. Louis Park native finished third in Division II with 14.5 sacks and eighth with 21.5 tackles. His 14.5 sacks this season are the second most in program history, and at BSU he is second with 26.0 sacks.
Madeline Harsken / Bemidji Pioneer
Kaplan is the first defensive lineman in program history to be recognized as a First or Second Team All-America, and the second player to be recognized as an All-America after Zach Stafford (2006).
The D2Football.com Elite 100 were selected by D2Football.com with input from coaches and scouts nationwide. D2Football.com has brought together Elite 100 teams since its inception in 2000.