A pair of star players earned another award this week, berths on the All-Super Region 3 First Team as chosen by the Division II Conference Commissioners Association.

The honorees are redshirt freshman Noah Dobert and junior Jax Hertel.

Dobert, a 5-foot-11, 197-pound running back from Dearborn, has won multiple awards since putting together a near-all-time-record NCAA performance in the final game of the Wildcats’ season when he rushed for 406 yards against Wayne State.

He missed the all-time Division II record of 418 yards set in 2007 by just a dozen yards, plus his season total of 1,656 yards broke that NMU record by more than 150 yards, and in addition, his 15 rushing touchdowns also set the school mark.

Northern Michigan University's Noah Dobert rushes for some of his record-breaking 406 yards against Wayne State in the Superior Dome in Marquette on Nov. 15. (Photo courtesy NMU)

Dobert was not only named to the First Team in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, but also won GLIAC Offensive Back of the Year as he ranked third in Division II this season with 150.5 rushing yards per game and had one of the best per-carry averages nationwide of 6.3 yards per attempt.

Just for a few more accolades, Dobert’s biggest day also netted him the D2Football.com National Offensive Player of the Week honor.

Finally, he led Northern to its best rushing season as a team with 3,123 yards, breaking the old mark by more than 450 yards.

Dobert finished as GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week three times this fall, the other two times coming off matching 243-yard rushing performances in NMU’s other wins, road victories at Roosevelt and Davenport.

Those wins snapped what had been a 28-game losing streak for the Wildcats dating back to the start of the 2023 season. Once that streak was broken, Northern won three of its final five games to finish at 3-8.

Northern Michigan University’s Jax Hertel, right, and Jaylen Houston, center, look to the sideline between plays during a game played against Minnesota State-Moorhead at the Superior Dome in Marquette on Aug. 28. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)

Hertel, a 6-2, 215-pound linebacker from Walworth, Wisconsin, earned the same D2CCA honor as Dobert after also joining his teammate as a First Team honoree in the GLIAC.

He was considered the backbone of the Wildcats defense, posting a team-high 101 tackles, also good for third in the conference, and led the league with 14 1/2 tackles for loss.

Hertel also had an interception returned for a TD, a forced fumble, six pass breakups and three quarterback hits after starting all 11 games.

Story contents based on Northern Michigan University Sports Information press release reviewing the awards. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee’s email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.