D2Football.com announced its postseason honors for the 2016 season and Grand Valley State sophomore running back Marty Carter was named Offensive Player of the Year. Carter was also selected as a D2Football.com First-Team All-American, while senior defensive end Sydney Omameh was a second-team honoree and senior center Aaron Cox earned honorable mention plaudits. GVSU finished fifth in the final D2Football.com poll.

Carter, who was a finalist for the 2016 Harlon Hill Award and is a consensus All-American, turned in a sensational sophomore season for GVSU. He rushed for a GVSU single-season record 1,908 yards and 20 TDs on 256 carries. His 1,908 rushing yards led all of Division II and ranked fourth among all four NCAA football divisions. Carter averaged 7.5 yards per carry, the top figure among all running backs with 250 carries or more, while his 146.8 yards per game rushing total ranked second nationally. The East Chicago, Ind. native set a GVSU single-season marks for 100-yard rushing games in a season with 10 and 200-yard rushing games with four. Carter also established a new single-game mark for rushing with 298 yards and three TDs on 20 carries in three quarters of action versus Northern Michigan. Carter completed his second season with the Lakers' ranking eighth in career rushing yards with 2,797, just 833 yards behind all-time leader James Berezik (3,630). 

Cox was a key figure in the success of a Laker offense that averaged 485.5 yards per game, including 220.5 yards rushing and 265.1 yards passing per outing. GVSU averaged 40.3 points and ranked among the national leaders in third down conversion (.477) with Cox anchoring the offensive line. Aaron started the final 28 games of his career as GVSU tallied a record of 24-4. 

Omameh, who was a finalist for the Gene Upshaw Award, recorded 45 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss (-69) and 10.5 QB sacks (-63) during the 2016 campaign. He was a key contributor to a defense that ranks among GLIAC and national leaders in virtually every category, including scoring (21.2), QB sacks (40), tackles for loss (96), pass efficiency defense (122.3), third down conversion defense (.340), redzone defense (.650) and rushing defense (134.3).  

Grand Valley State completed the 2016 campaign with an undefeated regular season and claimed the GLIAC title en route to its 13th appearance in the NCAA DII Playoffs since 2001. In addition, the Lakers won at least 12 games in a season for the 10th time since 2001 and has now finished a season ranked among the AFCA top 10 13 times since 2001, including 12 seasons ranked among the top four in the final AFCA poll.