Two months after the 2022 football season came to an end for the Redhawks, senior center Zack Gieg is still claiming different awards.

Gieg was recently named to the Stats Perform Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) All-America team, earning second-team accolades. The All-America team is made up of 108 total players, representing each of the 15 conferences in the FCS division.

“[Zack] is kind of everything you want in a guy,” head coach Tom Matuewicz said. “He’s a hard worker, he plays with great passion and intensity, and he’s just all around a great football player for us.”

Zack Gieg led an offense that allowed for the 2022 Redhawks team to make the FCS Playoffs and obtain an overall record of 9-3.

The 6’1” senior offensive lineman also won the Rimington Award as of January 2023. This award honors the top centers in the FCS, Division II, Division III, and NAIA schools. Gieg was the FCS award recipient, and he is the third SEMO player to ever win the Rimington Award behind Eugene Amano (2003) and Sean Middleton (2010).

“I’m glad that I had the opportunity to be recognized nationally,” Gieg said. “But [I’m] more excited for our team’s exposure that comes from the awards.”

Gieg also gave a shout-out to his offensive line teammates, Kobe Sixkiller, Shyron Rogers, Terry Cook, Nate Korte and Clive Truschel, as he feels they all deserve equal recognition.

Prior to the start of the 2022 season and winning these national honors, Gieg was named to the First-Team All-Ohio Valley Conference.

A Morgan Hill, California native, Gieg transferred to SEMO in 2021 from Fresno State University in Fresno, California. He spent his first two collegiate years there but only saw action in his freshman year in 2019, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

“You don’t see a lot of people like him,” junior defensive lineman Steven Lewis said. “He’s a very well-motivated and determined player, and he shows it on and off the field.”

Gieg said he is devoted to working on his approach while leading as the team prepares for the 2023 season.

“Complacency kills, and you can never be content where you’re at or there will be no room for growth,” Gieg said.