RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The Southland Conference announced on Friday that freshman running back TJ Dement, sophomore kicker Brysen Gardner, junior defensive lineman Nathan Huerta, senior quarterback Eddie Lee Marburger, and graduate student cornerback Austin Trimble of The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) football team are part of the Southland Conference All-Academic Team.
 
All honorees have a minimum 3.25 cumulative grade point average on a 4.0 scale through the fall semester and participated in at least 50% of the team's games during the 2025 season.
 
TJ Dement
An exercise science major with a concentration in physical therapy and a minor in kinesiology, Dement ranked 145^th in the FCS and 10^th in the Southland in rushing touchdowns (5). In 12 games (three starts), he averaged 26.8 rushing yards on 5.1 carries per game, 5.3 yards per rush, and 8.2 yards per reception. Among Dement's highlights was the game at (RV) Southeastern on Sept. 27 when he started and recorded a career-high 54 rushing yards, including a career-long 33-yard rush, on four carries.
 
Brysen Gardner
A marketing major and a member of the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District^® football team, Gardner was a semifinalist for the Fred Mitchell Award and a Phil Steele All-Conference Fourth Team honoree. He ranked 30^th in the FCS and first in the Southland in field goals per game (1.08), 31^st in scoring (7.3), 41^st in the FCS and second in the Southland in total points scored (87), 42^nd in the FCS and fourth in the Southland in field goal percentage (.765), 115^th in the FCS and sixth in the Southland in points responsible for per game (7.3), and 118^th in the FCS and sixth in the Southland in points responsible for (87). Gardner went 13-for-17 on field goal attempts, including a career-high four field goals vs. East Texas A&M on Nov. 22. He connected on all 48 PAT attempts, including career-high eight vs. UIW on Oct. 25. He also kicked off three times for a career-high 175 yards vs. Sul Ross State on Aug. 30.
 
Nathan Huerta
A sociology major, Huerta appeared in 12 games (11 starts), registering 29 tackles (seven solo), including 4.0 tackles for a loss of 26 yards, 2.5 sacks for 22 yards, and a forced fumble. He posted a career-high five tackles vs. Houston Christian University on Oct. 4 and sacks for 13 and nine yards, respectively, against UIW on Oct. 25 and at #23 Stephen F. Austin on Nov. 1.
 
Eddie Lee Marburger
The Dave Campbell's Texas Non-FBS Offensive Player of the year, the Southland Conference Newcomer of the Year, an All-Conference First Team honoree, and the Phil Steele Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Year, Marburger finished tied for 25^th in the voting for the Walter Payton Award, which honors the national offensive player of the year. He earned National Offensive Player of the Week Honorable Mention and Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 27 as well as Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Week Honorable Mention on Sept. 1.
 
Marburger led the Southland in nine statistical categories, ranking fourth in the FCS in passing efficiency (170.8), sixth in passing touchdowns (31), seventh in points responsible for per game (17.5), ninth in passing yards per completion (13.97), points responsible for (210), and yards per pass attempt (9.11), 17^th in total yards per game (257.3), 19^th in passing yards per game (231.7), and 23^rd in passing yards (2,780).
 
He also ranked third in the Southland in two categories, ranking 26^th in the FCS in completion percentage (65.2%) and 41^st in completions per game (16.58).
 
Marburger's best game was on Oct. 25, when he threw a career-high six touchdowns passes while going a career-high 26-for-36 for a career-high 440 yards and adding a rushing touchdown vs. UIW. He scored a career-high two rushing touchdowns while rushing for a career-high 95 yards on 15 carries and throwing for 131 yards and one touchdown vs. Houston Christian University to give the Vaqueros their first-ever Southland victory on Oct. 4. Marburger started the season with a bang, throwing five touchdown passes while going 19-for-20 for 417 yards in the first half vs. Sul Ross State on Aug. 30.
 
Marburger graduated in December with a Bachelor of Multidisciplinary Studies (business administration, management, marketing).
 
Austin Trimble
In 12 games (three starts), Trimble recorded 22 tackles (16 solo) while breaking up three passes. He recorded a season-high four tackles (two solo) and one pass breakup vs. UIW on Oct. 25. He also had three games of three tackles, doing so vs. Houston Christian University on Oct. 4, vs. Texas Wesleyan on Sept. 20, and at Prairie View A&M on Sept. 6.
 
Trimble is working toward a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in human resource management.

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