ABERDEEN, SD (Press Release) – The official preseason watch list for the D2Football.com Elite 100 team was released Sunday evening on a special episode of Inside D2Football. The D2Football.com Elite 100 Watch List was selected by the staff of D2Football.com with the input of numerous sitting head coaches as well as professional football scouting veteran Josh Buchanan. Northern State University junior and returning All-American Jake Adams landed on the defensive second team heading into 2025.

Adams earned the first All-American honors of his career, named to the D2CCA first team in 2024, marking him as the first defensive first team All-American for the Wolves in the NCAA Division II era. He was also honored on the AP second team. Adams started all 11 games for the Wolves in 2024 and led the team and NSIC with 147 tackles. His 100-plus mark broke the single season school record of 111 set by Steve Espinoza in 2004. In total he recorded 72 solo stops and 75 assisted, including 6.0 tackles for a loss and 1.0 sack. The Wisconsin native recorded double-digit tackles in seven of the 11 contests this season, including a season high 20 against Minot State and Bemidji State. He finished the season second in the country in total tackles and third in tackles per game. Adams’ 2024 honors include NSIC All-Conference first team, D2CCA All-Region first team, D2CCA All-American first team, Associated Press All-American second team, Don Hansen All-American first team, D2Football.com Elite 100, and Walter Camp All-American.