ODESSA, Texas (December 23, 2025) – Junior linebacker Tristan Exline and senior cornerback Jalani Jefferson have been named to the 2025 Don Hansen NCAA Division II All-America team. Exline was named to the Second-Team Defense while Jefferson earned honorable mention.

Exline led the UTPB defense with 143 total tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss that include 5.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles while adding one interception. In all of NCAA Division II, he ranked 10th in solo tackles per game (5.71), 13th in total tackles per game (10.2) and 21st in tackles for loss per game (1.39). With his latest tackle for loss in the Falcons' second-round playoff win at Western Colorado (Nov. 29), Exline broke the UTPB record for tackles for loss in a single season (19.5). He also broke the Falcons' single-season record for solo tackles (80) and finished the year second in the UTPB record books in total tackles (143) and was third in assisted tackles (63). For his career, Exline ranks third in UTPB history in total tackles (272), assisted tackles (116) and forced fumbles (4), and is fourth in solo tackles (156), tackles for loss (39.0) and sacks (12.0).

This is Exline's third All-American honor of the season and second Second-Team All-American recognition. He was also named a First-Team Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) All-American and a Second-Team American Football Coaches' Association (AFCA) All-American. Last year, Exline was named to the Don Hansen Honorable Mention All-America team, his first-career All-American recognition.

Jefferson totaled 22 tackles, including an impressive 3.5 tackles for loss for a corner, and added one interception and five pass breakups. His top regular-season season highlight was a 35-yard interception retuned for a touchdown at Western New Mexico (Nov. 1). It was tied for the fourth-longest interception return in the LSC this season and was the second-longest to go for a touchdown. He had a pass breakup in all three playoff games for the Falcons and had a pair of tackles in two of those games.

Jefferson has been named a first-team all-conference selection in each of the last two seasons, and now earns his first-career All-American recognition.

Exline and Jefferson are the ninth and 10th Don Hansen All-American selections (8 different players) in UTPB history since Chris Hoad in 2018. Exline is the second two-time selection in UTPB history, joining Hoad (2018, 2019).

The Don Hansen Football Committee has released the 2025 Don Hansen NCAA Division II All-America team. The Don Hansen team carries out the legacy of long-time small college football advocate Don Hansen, who passed away at age 75 on Aug. 29, 2010. Hansen, from Brookfield, Ill., started and published Don Hansen's National Weekly Football Gazette for three decades, selecting NCAA Division II All-America teams for the first time in 1988.