Nov. 24, 2009

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Five members of the Samford football team were named to the Southern Conference's Coaches All-Conference teams when the league released its postseason awards on Tuesday.

Three Samford players were named first-team All-Conference, and two others were named second-team All-Conference. Junior running back Chris Evans, senior center Jon Weber and junior linebacker Bryce Smith were all named first-team All-Conference, while junior defensive lineman John Michael Clay and junior punter Bob Hooper were named to the league's second team.

The SoCon Offensive Player of the Year was Appalachian State quarterback Armanti Ewards. The Defensive Player of the Year went to Chattanooga defensive lineman Josh Beard, while Western Carolina running back Michael Johnson was named the league's Freshman of the Year. Appalachian State offensive lineman Mario Acitelli won the Jacobs Blocking Award. ASU head coach Jerry Moore and Chattanooga's Russ Huesman were named Co-Coaches of the Year.

Evans led the SoCon in rushing, averaging 104.7 yards per game. He rushed for 1,152 yards for the season, making him the first player in Samford history to rush for over 1,000 yards in three-straight seasons. Evans also became Samford's all-time leader in career rushing yards this season, finishing his junior season with 3,469 career rushing yards.

Weber has been Samford's starting center for the past three years. He has been the leader of an offensive line that has helped produce Samford's all-time leading rusher over the past three seasons.

Smith, despite missing one game due to injury, tallied 102 tackles, an average of 10.2 tackles per game, the third-highest average in the SoCon. Smith averaged 6.7 solo tackles per game, the highest average in the nation. Smith also led the Bulldogs in interceptions with four, and he had 11.0 tackled for a loss, tied for the second-highest total on the team.

Clay led the Bulldogs, and ranked sixth in the SoCon, with 6.0 sacks. He tied with Smith for second on the team in tackles for a loss with 11.0 for the season. Clay ranked fifth on the team in total tackles with 37, including 24 solo stops. Clay also had five quarterback hurries, one forced fumble and one blocked kick on the season.

Hooper ranked second in the SoCon in punting average, with an average of 41.5 yards per punt. Hooper had a long punt of 59 yards on the season. Also, he placed 25 kicks inside the opponents' 20-yard line and he produced three touchbacks and six fair catches.

The SoCon also released its All-Freshman team, with three Samford players being named to that team. Offensive linemen George Allers and Charlie Sanford, and place-kicker Cameron Yaw were named to the All-Freshman team.

Allers and Sanford both had strong seasons as key members of the Samford offensive line. Yaw led the team in scoring with 59 points. He made 12-of-18 field-goal attempts, and he was perfect on 23 extra-point attempts.

The league will release its Southern Conference Sports Media Association (SCSMA) All-Conference team on Wednesday.

2009 Coaches All-Southern Conference Football Team

Offensive Player of the Year - Armanti Edwards, Sr., QB, Appalachian State
Defensive Player of the Year - Josh Beard, Sr., DE, Chattanooga
Freshman of the Year - Michael Johnson, RB, Western Carolina
Jacobs Blocking Award - Mario Acitelli, Sr., OL, Appalachian State
Co-Coaches of the Year - Jerry Moore, Appalachian State and Russ Huesman, Chattanooga

First Team Offense
QB Armanti Edwards, Sr., Appalachian State
RB Chris Evans, Jr., Samford
RB Devon Moore, Jr., Appalachian State
OL Mario Acitelli, Sr., Appalachian State
OL David Harrison, Sr., Elon
OL Pat Illig, Jr., Wofford
OL Jon Weber, Sr., Samford
OL Chris Werden, Sr., Elon
TE Ben Jorden, So., Appalachian State
WR Terrell Hudgins, Sr., Elon
WR Andre Roberts, Sr., The Citadel

First Team Defense
DL Josh Beard, Sr., Chattanooga
DL Jabari Fletcher, Jr., Appalachian State
DL Andre Campbell, Sr., Elon
DL Eric Ludwig, Sr., Elon
LB Jacque Roman, Sr., Appalachian State
LB D.J. Smith, Jr., Appalachian State
LB Bryce Smith, Jr., Samford
LB (tie) Joshua Jones, So., Elon
DB Mark LeGree, Jr., Appalachian State
DB Karlos Sullivan, Sr., Elon
DB Buster Skrine, Jr., Chattanooga
DB Cortez Gilbert, Sr., Appalachian State

First Team Specialists
PK Craig Camay, Sr., Chattanooga
P Chris Tommie, Sr., Wofford
RS Andre Roberts, Sr., The Citadel

Second Team Offense
QB Scott Riddle, Jr., Elon
RB Jamal Shuman, So., Elon
RB Tersoo Uhaa, So., Furman
OL Tyler Haynes, Sr., Furman
OL Chris Harr, Jr., Chattanooga
OL Daniel DeHaven, Sr., The Citadel
OL Clark Bishop, Jr., Wofford
OL Brett Irvin, Jr., Appalachian State
TE Alex Sellars, Jr., The Citadel
TE (tie) Chris Truss, Sr., Furman
WR Blue Cooper, Sr., Chattanooga
WR CoCo Hillary, Jr., Appalachian State

Second Team Defense
DL Terrence Reese, Sr., The Citadel
DL Brent Russell, Fr., Georgia Southern
DL Malcolm Bennett, Sr., Appalachian State
DL Markeith Wylie, Sr., Georgia Southern
DL (tie) John Michael Clay, Jr., Samford
LB Adrian McLeod, Sr., Western Carolina
LB Joseph Thornton, Sr., Chattanooga
LB Jordon Gilmore, Sr., The Citadel
DB Cameron McGlenn, Sr., Elon
DB Nolan Ward, Sr., Elon
DB Julian Hicks, Sr., Furman
DB Ed Gainey, So., Appalachian State

Second Team Specialists
PK Jason Vitaris, Jr., Appalachian State
P Bob Hooper, So., Samford
RS CoCo Hillary, Jr., Appalachian State

2009 Southern Conference All-Freshman Football Team
All-Freshman Offense
Tommy Edwards, QB, The Citadel
Van Dyke Jones, RB, The Citadel
Miguel Starks, QB, The Citadel
Jeremy Peterson, WR, Elon
Jerry Williams, RB, Furman
Patrick Barker, WR, Georgia Southern
Jamere Valentine, WR, Georgia Southern
George Allers, OL, Samford
Charlie Sanford, OL, Samford
Chris Awuah, RB, Chattanooga
Michael Johnson, RB, Western Carolina

All-Freshman Defense
Michael Frazier, LB, Appalachian State
Justin Lloyd, LB, Appalachian State
Chris Billingslea, DL, The Citadel
Joseph Boateng, DB, The Citadel
Dale Riley, LB, Elon
Josh Lynn, DL, Furman
Nathan Wade, DB, Furman
Darius Eubanks, DB, Georgia Southern
Brent Russell, DL, Georgia Southern
Joshua Williams, DL, Chattanooga
SeQuan Stanley, LB, Wofford

All-Freshman Specialists Sam Martin, P, Appalachian State
Adam Shreiner, PK, Elon
Cameron Yaw, PK, Samford