DALLAS—The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) announced the members of the 2011 NFF Hampshire Honor Society which included Carleton football seniors Brad Eckelmann (Portland, Ore./Lincoln), Neil Kolstad (St. James, Minn.), Tim Mulso (Welcome, Minn./Martin County West), Tyler Palin (Mequon, Wisc./University School of Milwaukee), and Will Taylor (Missoula, Mont./Loyola Sacred Heart). The list is comprised of college football players from all divisions of play who each maintained a 3.2 GPA or better and contributed significantly on the field as a starter or substitute in one’s final year of eligibility.

Eckelmann, a physics major, started his final 29 collegiate games on the offensive line helping the Knights to nearly triple their rushing output over his career. A two-time All-MIAC selection, the right tackle also helped Carleton cut its sacks allowed by 52 percent.

Kolstad, an economics major, started all four years in the defensive backfield for the Knights earning All-MIAC distinction in 2009. The ball-hawking safety finished second on the team in tackles in 2010 and pulled in nine interceptions over his career.

An outside linebacker and cinema and media studies major, Mulso has been a contributor on the field all four years, accumulating 188 tackles in his career. Always with a nose for the ball, he forced a fumble and returned an interception 74 yards for a touchdown in 2010.

Palin, an economics major, has been a versatile part of the Knights’ team, playing on both sides of the ball over his four years at Carleton. In his career Palin has seen time at linebacker, defensive end, tight end, fullback, and was also the team’s long snapper.  

A NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship winner and Academic All-American, Taylor continues to collect academic awards. The 31^st recipient of the Postgraduate Scholarship in the school history, the offensive lineman is a political science/international relations major.