Senior linebacker Thomas Enke (Millard West HS, Omaha, Neb.) clearly made the most of his final year as a college football player. Enke joined the nation's elite today when he was named as a first-team Capital One Academic All-American selection as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
 
Enke was a two year letterwinner as a special teams player heading into his senior season. He had compiled two solo tackles and five assists during his career until he burst into the starting lineup this past year just before the third game as a linebacker/defensive end.
 
Once he got in the lineup he was impossible to dislodge and finished the year as the team's seventh leading tackler with 36 total tackles (22 solo and 14 assists). He had 6.5 tackles for losses of 41 yards and 4.5 sacks for 37 yards. Enke had two pass deflections, one fumble recovery and one forced fumble.
 
He was named to the all-conference team in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin on Tuesday, November 18 as a second-team performer.
 
Enke is biochemistry major with a grade point average of 3.99 and he was recently admitted to the University of Nebraska Medical School for next fall. He served as an undergraduate research assistant in the radiation oncology department at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in the summer of 2013. From August of 2013 until the present he has been a researcher in the chemistry department at Augustana. He has also served as both a lab proctor and a tutor in the school's chemistry department the last two school years.
 
He won the undergraduate award in analytical chemistry, the organic chemistry achievement award and the first-year chemistry student achievement honor. Enke is also a member of the Aristeia honor society. He is the son of Charles and Carol Enke of Omaha, Nebraska.
 
Augustana has a rich and storied history in producing Academic All-Americans since the program began in 1952. Enke becomes the 155^th Viking student-athlete to win the award and the 32^nd football player. Augustana is currently tied with Emory University for sixth place in all-time number of Academic All-Americans produced. The Vikings are tied with Emory for second place in NCAA Division III, trailing only Massachusetts Institute of Technology.