PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Sophomore running back Terrance West of Towson University, the top freshman in NCAA FCS football in 2011, heads up a star-studded group named to the first 2012 College Sports Journal preseason Football Championship Subdivision All-America squad.

West was joined on the CSJ All-America team by teammates Frank Beltre and Jordan Dangerfield.  Beltre, a senior defensive end, and Dangerfield, a senior safety, were both named to the third team.

The Tiger trio was named to the All-Colonial Athletic Association first team last season after leading the “Turnaround Tigers” to a 9-3 record and the CAA championship. The most improved team in NCAA Division I football last year, the Tigers had posted a 1-10 record in 2010.

The NCAA FCS leader with 29 touchdowns scored, West enjoyed a remarkable freshman campaign. He ran for 1,294 yards in 11 games and averaged 6.7 yards per carry. The second-leading rusher in the CAA, he was named as the league's Offensive Rookie of the Year and earned first team All-CAA honors. He was also honored as a Walter Camp All-America first team selection and also earned first team All-America recognition from The Sports Network.

Beltre tied for third on the team with 68 tackles last year. He also had 12.5 tackles for lost yardage and four sacks. An honorable mention All-American in 2011, he is a two-time All-CAA selection. After earning third team notice as a sophomore, he was part of the first team in 2011. In his career, he has made 196 tackles, including 30.5 tackles for lost yardage.

One of the hardest-hitting defensive players in FCS football, Dangerfield made a team high 93 tackles last season despite missing two games with an injury. He was ranked seventh in the CAA in tackles and placed second among CAA defensive backs. Dangerfield also intercepted two passes last year and tied for the CAA lead with two fumble recoveries. He also forced two fumbles. In addition to be named as a first team All-CAA honoree, Dangerfield was also named to the All-ECAC first team and earned honorable mention All-American notice.

The Colonial Athletic Association led all leagues with 21 selections, followed by the Big Sky Conference with 16, the Southland Conference with 13, the Missouri Valley Football Conference with 12 and the Southern Conference with 10.

In all, all 13 leagues in FCS are represented and 61 teams — nearly half of the squads in FCS — had at least one player on the 99-player unit.

Indiana State and Sam Houston State led all teams with four players each on the squad, while James Madison, Liberty, Maine, McNeese State, Old Dominion, Stephen F. Austin and Towson landed three players apiece on the unit.

Though this is the first College Sports Journal preseason FCS All-America unit, it is not the first time that the people behind the team have chosen All-American squads at the FCS level.

The team was selected by a panel of FCS experts that include the co-owners of College Sports Journal, David Coulson and Chuck Burton.

Coulson is a 35-year veteran of covering college football at every level from Division I to the junior college ranks, including 20 years as the leading written voice of FCS. He authored an award-winning, coffee-table book on Appalachian State's run to the 2005 national championship, entitled "Magic on the Mountain." Burton cut his teeth in FCS as a student at Lehigh. After graduating, he began the popular blog, Lehigh Sports Nation, covering the Mountain Hawks and the Patriot League in depth. Burton also spent nearly a decade writing a successful FCS column for College Sporting News before beginning the College Sports Journal web site with Coulson last year.

College Sports Journal also publishes a postseason All-America team for FCS and released the first All-FCS Freshman squad last season, besides its work covering other NCAA sports.