NEW YORK--North Dakota State University offensive tackle Nate Safe was named to the 2006 Associated Press I-AA All-America second team Wednesday. It's the second straight year NDSU has had a player named to the A.P. I-AA All-America team as punter Mike Dragosavich earned second team honors in 2005.

Safe, a 6-foot-4 1-2 inch, 307-pound junior from Cannon Falls, Minn., is a two-time all-Great West Football Conference first team performer for the Bison. He was the anchor of an offensive line that ranked 8th nationally in total offense, 16th in rush offense and 31st in passing offense. The NDSU offensive line was tied for 5th in tackles for loss allowed (3.73 tflapg) and 33rd in sacks allowed (1.27 sapg).

A two-year starter and in the rotation since he was a redshirt freshman, Safe has opened the holes for halfback Kyle Steffes, who became the first NDSU running back to rush for over 1,000 yards three times. He helped provide protection for quarterback Steve Walker, who threw for 2,220 yards and 16 touchdowns on his way to Great West Football Conference Offensive Player of the Year honors this past season.

North Dakota State completed the season with a 10-1 record under the direction of head coach Craig Bohl, including an 8-0 record against FCS schools and the I-A win over Ball State. The Bison went 4-0 to win the Great West Football Conference championship -- the program's first league title since 1994 when NDSU was a member of the Division II North Central Conference. North Dakota State was ranked No. 4 in both The Sports Network and CSN Coaches final regular season Top 25 polls.