Lakeland University senior Michael Whitley (Vidalia, La.) received his second NCAA Division III All-American honor after 2017 season as he was named a D3football.com third team All-American this weekend.

Whitley added another award to a season that has been full of them, as he was just named an American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) second team All-American earlier in the week. He also was a second team all-North Region pick by D3football.com and was the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Offensive Player of the Year for the third straight year.

Whitley was already the 16th Lakeland football player to receive All-America honors and the first since 2005. He also is the third Muskie to be named a D3football.com All-American and the first since both David Benton and Ryan Van de Loo were honorable mention picks in 2005.

Brett Kasper of UW-Oshkosh was named the first team All-American quarterback as well as the D3football.com Offensive Player of the Year. Chase Burton of Franklin (Ind.) College was the second team All-American selection and earlier was named the AFCA first team quarterback as well as first team all-North Region for D3football.com ahead of Whitley.

Whitley received postseason honors after a superb senior year that ranked among the very best in Division III until an injury late in the year kept him out of Lakeland's final 1 1/2 regular season games and left him hampered in the team's playoff loss to UW-Oshkosh.

He finished the season completing 276 of 430 passes for 3,124 yards and 32 touchdowns, and also rushed for 387 yards and seven touchdowns. Whitley led the NACC in completions, completion percentage (64.2%) and total offense (351.1 ypg) and was second in passing yards and touchdowns. He also tied for third in the conference in rushing TDs.

Whitley finished the year among the Division III leaders in completions/game (5th), total offense (6th), points responsible for per game (6th) and total (8th), passing yards/game (10th), passing touchdowns (11th) and total passing yards (13th). His completions and total offense totals both also ranked second-best in a season in school history, and he also had the third-most passing yards and passing touchdowns in a season ever for a Muskie. Whitley closed out his Lakeland career second all-time in total offense (10,915), passing yards (9,225), passing touchdowns (91) and completions (731).