After starting every game during his time at Wayne State College, Jett Janssen has been nominated to a top Division II lineman of the year honor.
According to a release from Wayne State Athletics, Janssen is one of seven nominees in the Super Region 4 and one of 31 nationally in consideration for the 2024 Gene Upshaw Division II Lineman of the Year Award.
The award is nominated and voted on by the nation’s NCAA Division II sports information directors. Two finalists will advance from each of the four super regions to a national ballot, with national finalists announced on Wednesday, Dec. 4.
The winner will be announced on Thursday, Dec. 12.
All nominees must be seniors or graduate players/transfers and are lineman on either side of the ball at either offensive tackle, guard, center or defensive tackle, guard or end.
A graduate of Lincoln East High School, the 6-4, 280-pounder was named All-NSIC First Team for a third straight season anchoring the Wildcat offensive line. He started every game in his Wildcat career at left tackle, leading an offensive line this season that allowed the third-fewest sacks in the NSIC (13). Janssen ended his WSC career as part of the winningest class ever with a 31-14 record, winning seven or more games each season with one NCAA Division II playoff berth and the 2022 NSIC regular season title.
Janssen was named to the D2Football.com Elite 100 Watch List prior to this season and named to the College Football Network D-2 Third Team All-American Offensive unit. Last season, he was voted D2CCA All-Super Region 4 Second Team and was named College Sports Communicators Academic All-American Second Team.
The award is named in honor of the late Mr. Upshaw, who was not only an All-Pro lineman for the Oakland Raiders, but later served as the executive director of the NFL Players Association for 25 years. Upshaw, a former standout offensive lineman at Texas A&I University (now Texas A&M Kingsville), was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987 in his first year of eligibility. The award is presented annually by the Manheim Touchdown Club.
The Wayne State College football team finished the 2024 season with a 7-4 overall record and tied for fifth in the NSIC with a 6-4 league mark.
The 2025 season will open on Aug. 28 as WSC and UNK have renewed their rivalry with a two-year home-and-home series. The Wildcats will first host Nebraska-Kearney from Bob Cunningham Field next fall at 6 p.m. while the Lopers will entertain Wayne State College on Aug. 27, 2026 at Ron & Carol Cope Stadium at Foster Field in Kearney at 7 p.m. This will mark the first meeting between the two DII programs since 2011.
