SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Six members of the Samford University football team were honored on the Southern Conference's All-Conference and All-Freshman teams when the league released its postseason football awards Wednesday morning.
Linebacker
Jaden Mosley and defensive lineman
Donovan Grayson were both named first team All-SoCon. Defensive lineman
Conroy Cunningham II and long-snapper
Alex Applefield earned second team All-SoCon honors, while safety
Trey Lenhardt and place-kicker
Jake Garner were named to the All-Freshman team.
Mosley led the team and ranked second in the Southern Conference with 107 tackles, including 50 solo stops. He had 9.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks during the season. He tallied double-digit tackles in six games during the season, including 12 tackles at Baylor and 10 at Texas A&M.
Grayson led the team in both sacks with 7.0 and tackles for loss with 10.0. He finished the season with 43 tackles, including 23 solo stops.
Cunningham had 41 total tackles, including 16 solo tackles. He also tallied 5.0 tackles for loss on the season. Applefield has been Samford's main long-snapper for the last four seasons. He has been a consistent performer for the Samford special teams unit.
Lenhardt had 21 tackles, including 12 solo stops. He also had one interception on the season. Garner made 10-of-13 field goal attempts and 15-of-17 extra-point attempts on the season. He also kicked off 35 times, averaging 55.3 yards per kick.
2025 Coaches All-Southern Conference Football Team
Roy M. "Legs" Hawley Offensive Player of the Year – Taron Dickens, QB, R-So., Western Carolina
Defensive Player of the Year – Andrew Zock, So., DL, Mercer
Freshman of the Year – Braden Atkinson, QB, Mercer
Jacobs Blocking Award – Mike Bartilucci, OL, The Citadel
Wallace Wade Coach of the Year – Mike Jacobs, Mercer
First team offense
QB Taron Dickens, Western Carolina
RB Devontae Houston, ETSU
RB CJ Miller, Mercer
OL Mike Bartilucci, The Citadel
OL Ashton Flinn, ETSU
OL Seth Williams, ETSU
OL Luke Petit, Furman
OL Xavier Jennings, Mercer
TE Josh Burrell, Furman
WR Adjatay Dabbs, Mercer
WR James Tyre, Western Carolina
First team defense
DL Joshua Stoneking, Furman
DL Andrew Zock, Mercer
DL Donovan Grayson, Samford
DL Brandon Maina, Wofford
LB Ty Anderson, ETSU
LB Drew Clare., Mercer
LB Jaden Mosley, Samford
DB William Wells, ETSU
DB Kaleb Hutchinson, Mercer
DB Ken Moore, Jr., Western Carolina
DB Maximus Pulley, Wofford
First team special teams
PK Reice Griffith, Mercer
P Ben Shrewsbury, VMI
LS Nathan Payne, VMI
RS Dominic Dutton, Western Carolina
Second team offense
QB Braden Atkinson, Mercer
RB Ryan Ingram, Chattanooga
RB Ihson Jackson-Anderson, Wofford
OL Jamari Freeman, Mercer
OL Tyler Murray, Mercer
OL Amarii Atchison, Mercer
OL Ryan Merklinger, Chattanooga
OL Zack Watson, Western Carolina
OL Quincy Hughes, Wofford
TE Josiah Thomas, Western Carolina
WR Evan James, Furman
WR Owen Sweeney, VMI
WR Malik Knight, Western Carolina
Second team defense
DL Chris Benton, The Citadel
DL Chris Davis, ETSU
DL Jordan Swain, Mercer
DL Conroy Cunningham II, Samford
LB Mikey Rosa, The Citadel
LB Zion Rutledge, Chattanooga
LB Stephen Dean III, VMI
DB Cale Williams, The Citadel
DB Mike Jenkins, ETSU
DB Kam Baah-Slay, Chattanooga
DB Eli Campbell, Wofford
DB Darius Malcolm, Jr., Wofford
Second team special teams
PK Ian Williams, Furman
P James Platte, The Citadel
LS Alex Applefield, Samford
RS Brayden Smith, Mercer
All-Freshman Offense
Brady Pickett, The Citadel
Cobey Thompkins, The Citadel
Jeremiah Harrison, ETSU
Cole Norred, ETSU
Braden Atkinson, Mercer
Evan James, Furman
Ty Doughty, Mercer
Gavin Marks, Mercer
Owen Sweeney, VMI
Josiah Thomas, Western Carolina
Markel Townsend, Western Carolina
All-Freshman Defense
Sayre Smothers, The Citadel
Demetrius Baldwin, Furman
Kobe McInnis, Mercer
KJ Thomas, Mercer
Trey Lenhardt, Samford
Kamari Todd, Chattanooga
KJ Sejour, Chattanooga
Donovan Burnett, VMI
Derek Hite, VMI
Darius Malcolm Jr., Wofford
Wyatt Ward, Wofford
All-Freshman Special Teams
Caleb Easterling, Furman
Jake Garner, Samford
Marcus Trout, Western Carolina
Cavan Craig, Wofford
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