Nov. 25, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Samford quarterback Dustin Taliaferro was named the Southern Conference's Freshman of the Year when the league released its coaches' postseason awards on Tuesday. The SoCon also released its coaches' All-Conference and All-Freshman teams, and Samford placed four players on the All-Conference teams and two on the All-Freshman team.

Appalachian State's Armanti Edwards was named the SoCon's Offensive Player of the Year, while teammate Jacque Roman was named the league's Defensive Player of the Year. ASU head coach Jerry Moore was named Coach of the Year, while Furman's Joel Bell received the Jacobs Blocking Award.

Taliaferro had a stellar year as Samford's first-year quarterback. He completed 151-of-225 passes for 1,745 yards and 13 touchdowns. He had an efficiency rating of 146.88 for the season. He threw for a career-high 336 yards and three touchdowns against 18th-ranked Furman.

Samford sophomore running back Chris Evans was named first team All-Conference. Evans led the SoCon in rushing and set a Samford single-season record with 1,284 yards on 260 carries.

Evans averaged 116.7 yards per game and became the first running back in Samford history to rush for over 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons. Evans rushed for at least 100 yards in six of the team's eight Southern Conference games this season.

Junior center Jon Weber, sophomore linebacker Bryce Smith and sophomore safety Andy Davis were named to the coaches' second team All-Conference team.

Weber started all 11 games at center for the Bulldogs. He was one of the leaders of the offensive line that was one of the strengths of the Samford team this season, producing Samford's first back-to-back 1,000-yard rusher.

Smith led the Bulldogs in tackles this season with 92, including 63 solo stops. He also led the team with five interceptions on the season. Smith had a career-high 13 tackles and an interception in Samford's first Southern Conference game at eighth-ranked Elon.

Despite missing two games with a shoulder injury, Davis finished fourth on the team in tackles with 45. Davis was tied for third on the team in interceptions with two. Davis had his strongest game in Samford's win at Georgia Southern. He had two key interceptions in the game, including one on GSU's final possession of the game to seal the win.

Taliaferro was joined on the All-Freshman team by wide receiver Riley Hawkins. Hawkins led the team in receiving yards with 466 yards with four touchdowns. He also was the team's leading kick returner, with 26 returns for an average of 21.4 yards per return.

Samford finished the 2008 season with a 6-5 record, the first winning season for the Bulldogs since 2003. The team finished 4-4 in Southern Conference play, good for a tie for fourth place after being picked to finish ninth out of nine teams in the league's preseason polls.

2008 Coaches All-Southern Conference Football Team

Offensive Player of the Year - Armanti Edwards, Appalachian State
Defensive Player of the Year - Jacque Roman, Appalachian State
Freshman of the Year - Dustin Taliaferro, Samford
Jacobs Blocking Award - Joel Bell, Furman
Coach of the Year - Jerry Moore, Appalachian State

First Team Offense
QB: Armanti Edwards, Jr., Appalachian State
RB: Chris Evans, So., Samford
RB: Dane Romero, Sr., Wofford
OL: Jon Bieschke, Sr., Appalachian State
OL: Brad Coley, Sr., Appalachian State
OL: David Harrison, Jr., Elon
OL: Joel Bell, Sr., Furman
OL: Derek Wooten, Sr., Wofford
OL: Dan DeHaven, Jr., The Citadel
TE: Ben Jorden, Fr., Appalachian State
WR: Andre Roberts, Jr., The Citadel
WR: Terrell Hudgins, Jr., Elon

First Team Defense
DL: Dakota Walker, Sr., Georgia Southern
DL: Mitch Clark, Jr., Wofford
DL: Jabari Fletcher, So., Appalachian State
DL: Terrence Reese, Jr., The Citadel
LB: Jacque Roman, Jr., Appalachian State
LB: Chris Covington, Sr., Georgia Southern
LB: Pierre Banks, Sr., Appalachian State
DB: Cortez Gilbert, Jr., Appalachian State
DB: Mark LeGree, So., Appalachian State
DB: William Middleton, Sr., Furman
DB: Thomas Twitty, Sr., Furman
DB: Max Lerner, So., Furman

First Team Specialists
PK: Andrew Wilcox, Sr., Elon
P: Neil Young, Sr., Appalachian State
RS: Andre Roberts, Jr., The Citadel

Second Team Offense
QB: Scott Riddle, So., Elon
RB: Brandon Newsome, So., Elon
RB: Mike Brown, So., Furman
OL: Ben Quick, Sr., Wofford
OL: Mario Acitelli, Jr., Appalachian State
OL: Daniel Kilgore, So., Appalachian State
OL: Ben Miller, Sr., Wofford
OL: Jon Weber, Jr., Samford
OL: Dio Herrera, Sr., Georgia Southern
TE: Taylor Cornett, Sr., The Citadel
WR: Raja Andrews, Sr., Georgia Southern
WR: Andy Strickland, Sr., Wofford

Second Team Defense
DL: Anthony Williams, Jr., Appalachian State
DL: Jeff Bradley, Sr., Western Carolina
DL: Eric Ludwig, Jr., Elon
DL: Layton Baker, Sr., Wofford
LB: Corey Weaver, Sr., Elon
LB: Bryce Smith, So., Samford
LB: D.J. Smith, So., Appalachian State
DB: Andy Davis, So., Samford
DB: Mychael Johnson, Jr., Wofford
DB: Walker White, Jr., Elon
DB: Jason Leventis, Sr., Wofford
DB: Mitchell Bell, So., Western Carolina

Second Team Specialists
PK: Adrian Mora, Fr., Georgia Southern
P: Brandon Lane, Sr., Elon
RS: Adam Mims, So., Furman

2008 Southern Conference All-Freshman Football Team

All-Freshman Offense
Ben Jorden, Appalachian State
Brian Quick, Appalachian State
Asheton Jordan, The Citadel
David Hendrix, Furman
Tersoo Uhaa, Furman
Adam Urbano, Georgia Southern
Riley Hawkins, Samford
Dustin Taliaferro, Samford
Zack Jaynes, Western Carolina
Quan Warley, Western Carolina
Eric Breitenstein, Wofford

All-Freshman Defense
Ed Gainey, Appalachian State
Lanston Tanyi, Appalachian State
Demontrelle Smith, The Citadel
Joshua Jones, Elon
Jordan Griffin, Furman
Ryan Steed, Furman
Dion Dubose, Georgia Southern
Derek Heyden, Georgia Southern
J.B. Shippy, Georgia Southern
K.R. Snipes, Georgia Southern
John Julien, Western Carolina

All-Freshman Specialists
Charlie Edwards, Georgia Southern
Adrian Mora, Georgia Southern
Blake Cain, Western Carolina