Six Bulldogs Honored On SoCon Postseason Teams

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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Players Mentioned

Alex Applefield

Conroy Cunningham II

Jake Garner

Donovan Grayson

Trey Lenhardt

Jaden Mosley

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