Nov. 24, 2010

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Southern Conference Sports Media Association released its All-Conference teams for football Wednesday morning. Six Samford players were named to the two teams.

Senior running back Chris Evans, senior linebacker Bryce Smith and senior safety Thomas Broussard were named first-team All-Conference. Senior offensive lineman Thomas Gray, junior defensive lineman Alex Davis and senior punter Bob Hooper were named to the second team.

Appalachian State quarterback DeAndre Presley was named the Roy M. "Legs" Hawley Offensive Player of the Year, while Wofford's Ameet Pall was named the league's Defensive Player of the Year. Chattanooga's Kadeem Wise was named the Freshman of the Year, while Wofford's Mike Ayers was honored as the league's Coach of the Year.

Evans, a finalist for the Walter Payton Award, rushed for 1,106 yards this season, ranking second in the Southern Conference. He has rushed for over 1,000 yards in each of his four seasons at Samford. For his career, he rushed for a school and state record 4,575 yards and 33 touchdowns.

This marks the third-straight season Evans has been named first-team All-SoCon. He was also named All-Conference by the league's coaches earlier in the week. As a freshman, he was named to the Ohio Valley Conference's All-Freshman team.

Smith, who is a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, led the SoCon and ranked eighth in the nation in total tackles with 129 this season. He also led the nation in solo tackles with 85, marking the second-consecutive season he has led the nation in that category. He has led Samford in tackles for three-straight seasons.

Smith, who was also named to the Coaches' All-SoCon team, was also named first-team All-SoCon as a junior and second-team All-Conference after his sophomore season.

Broussard finished second in the SoCon in interceptions with six. His six interceptions were one short of tying Samford's single-season record of seven. He was also eighth in the league in passes defended.

Broussard tied for fourth on the team in tackles with 41 this season. He also had three tackles for a loss, one sack and three pass break-ups.

Gray, who was also named All-Conference by the league's coaches earlier in the week, has been a leader of the Samford offensive line for the past four seasons. Gray started the final 38 consecutive games of his Samford career.

Davis led the team and tied for fourth in the SoCon in sacks with seven. He also tied for the team lead in tackles for a loss with 10. Davis tied for fourth on the team in tackles with 41 for the season.

Hooper, who was named All-Conference last season as well, finished second in the SoCon in punting with 68 kicks for an average of 40.1 yards per punt. Hooper placed 18 punts inside the opponents' 20-yard line and he had nine kicks of 50 yards or more.

2010 Media All-Southern Conference Football Team

Roy M. "Legs" Hawley Offensive Player of the Year - DeAndre Presley, Jr., QB, Appalachian State
Defensive Player of the Year - Ameet Pall, Jr., DL, Wofford
Freshman of the Year - Kadeem Wise, DB, Chattanooga
Wallace Wade Coach of the Year - Mike Ayers, Wofford

First Team Offense
QB DeAndre Presley, Jr., Appalachian State
RB Chris Evans, Sr., Samford
RB Eric Breitenstein, So., Wofford
OL Daniel Kilgore, Sr., Appalachian State
OL Brett Irvin, Sr., Appalachian State
OL Pat Mills, Sr., Appalachian State
OL Pat Illig, Sr., Wofford
OL Clark Bishop, Sr., Wofford
TE Ben Jorden, Jr., Appalachian State
WR Aaron Mellette, So., Elon
WR Joel Bradford, Jr., Chattanooga

First Team Defense
DL Jabari Fletcher, Sr., Appalachian State
DL Erik Clanton, Sr., The Citadel
DL Brent Russell, So., Georgia Southern
DL Ameet Pall, Jr., Wofford
LB D.J. Smith, Sr., Appalachian State
LB Kadarron Anderson, Jr., Furman
LB Bryce Smith, Sr., Samford
DB Mark LeGree, Sr., Appalachian State
DB Laron Scott, Jr., Georgia Southern
DB Thomas Broussard, Sr., Samford
DB Torez Jones, Jr., Western Carolina

First Team Specialists
PK Jason Vitaris, Sr., Appalachian State
P Charlie Edwards, Jr., Georgia Southern
RS Laron Scott, Jr., Georgia Southern

Second Team Offense
QB Scott Riddle, Sr., Elon
RB Travaris Cadet, Jr., Appalachian State
RB Terrell Dallas, Jr., The Citadel
OL John Rubertone, Sr., Elon
OL Ned Cuthbertson, Jr., Elon
OL Brett Moore, Jr., Georgia Southern
OL Thomas Gray, Sr., Samford
OL Chris Harr, Sr., Chattanooga
OL (tie) T.J. Hurless, Sr., Chattanooga
TE Garrett Hughes, Sr., Chattanooga
WR Brian Quick, Jr., Appalachian State
WR Sean Jeffcoat, Sr., Elon
WR (tie) Adam Mims, Sr., Furman

Second Team Defense
DL Josh Lynn, So., Furman
DL Roderick Tinsley, Jr., Georgia Southern
DL Alex Davis, Jr., Samford
DL Chris Donald, Jr., Chattanooga
LB Justin Wray, So, Appalachian State
LB Brandon Wiggins, Sr., Elon
LB Ryan Consiglio, Jr., Chattanooga
DB Max Lerner, Sr., Furman
DB Ryan Steed, Jr., Furman
DB Kadeem Wise, Fr., Chattanooga
DB Tommy Irvin, Sr., Wofford

Second Team Specialists
PK Ray Early, Fr., Furman
P Bob Hooper, Sr., Samford
RS Travaris Cadet, Jr., Appalachian State