Vesterinen Named CSC Academic All-American
January 27, 2026 12:01 PM | Football
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University senior defensive lineman Edward Vesterinen has been named to the College Sports Communicators' Academic All-American Second Team as announced by the organization.
Vesterinen, a native of Helsinki, Finland, was one of 50 Division I football players recognized on the College Sports Communicators (CSC) 2025 Football Academic All-America First and Second Team. His stellar classroom work includes a 3.72 undergraduate grade point average in business and 4.0 graduate grade point average in sport management.
Vesterinen was a three-time Academic All-Big 12 Conference First-Team honoree and was a two-time CSC Academic All-District selection. He was named a Big 12 Conference Honorable-Mention selection in 2025 after finishing with 30 tackles, including two sacks, 5.5 tackles for loss, two quarterback hurries and a fumble recovery. He had a season-high five tackles against Ohio, Arizona State and Texas Tech and registered two sacks and two tackles for loss against Pitt.
For his career, Vesterinen played in 47 games and started 28, finishing with 97 tackles, including 28 solo stops, 6.5 sacks, 13.5 tackles for loss and a fumble recovery. He was All-Big 12 Honorable Mention in 2023.
He becomes WVU's 32nd Academic All-American, the 17th second-team choice and seventh defensive lineman. He joins a list of Mountaineer gridiron academic standouts that includes tackle Sam Huff, linebackers Jay Henry and Reed Williams, quarterbacks Fred Wyant, Oliver Luck and Jeff Hostetler and centers Mike Compton, Eric de Groh and Zach Frazier.
Vesterinen, Kansas tight end Boden Groen, Arizona State linebacker Keyshaun Elliott, BYU defensive back Tanner Wall and Texas Tech defensive back Brice Pollock were the other players from Big 12 schools recognized on either the Academic All-America First or Second Team.
