The Sports Inquirer

Release from Georgia State Athletics:

ATLANTA — Georgia State tight end Joel Ruiz, linebacker Joseph Peterson and place-kicker Wil Lutz were named to Phil Steele’s Midseason All-Sun Belt first team announced Friday.

Ruiz, a junior from Kingsland, Ga. (Camden County High School), was honored earlier this week on the Midseason Watch List for the John Mackey Award as the nation’s top tight end. He ranks second nationally among all tight ends in receiving yards per game (66.2) and third in receptions (4.8). In the Sun Belt, he is fourth among all players in receiving yards. Ruiz has 24 receptions for 331 yards and two touchdowns.

Peterson, a junior from Dothan, Ala. (Dothan High School), is the Panthers’ top defender and leading tackler for the third straight year. He is second in the Sun Belt and third in the NCAA with 11.5 tackles per game while adding four tackles for loss, three sacks, an interception and forced fumble. Peterson is Georgia State’s all-time leader with 237 career tackles, including 13 tackles for loss.

Lutz is 5-for-5 on field goals and 21-for-21 on PAT this season while ranking among the Sun Belt leaders with 11 touchbacks on kickoffs. The native of Newnan, Ga. (Northgate High School) is Georgia State’s career leader in field goals (17), extra points (64) and points by kicking (115). He booted the game-winning, 26-yard field goal with four seconds left to lift Georgia State to its season-opening 38-37 victory over Abilene Christian, and he was honored as the Sun Belt Conference Special Teams Player of the Week on Oct. 6.