Friday, July 18, 2008

 

ELEVEN PIONEERS NAMED TO PRESEASON ALL-SAC FOOTBALL TEAM

 

                SALISBURY, N.C. --- Tusculum College had 11 players named to the 2008 Preseason All-South Atlantic Conference Football Team, which was announced at the league’s annual Football Media on Friday.  The Pioneers 11 selections were the second most in the conference.

 

                Tusculum had five All-SAC First Team honorees including Ryan Tallent, Gareth Rowlands, Justin Scott, Jarvis Littlejohn and Jeremy Thompson.  Six were tabbed to the Second Team, including Corey Russell, Jarrell NeSmith, Drew Noe, Rynel Butler, Brandon Kelley and John Gregory.

 

                Carson-Newman College led the SAC with 14 players named to the Preseason All-Conference team, including 11 first-team choices.  Tusculum was second, followed by Catawba College (10) and Newberry College (7).  Mars Hill College and Wingate University were tied for fifth with six selections each, while Lenoir-Rhyne College (3) and Brevard College (1) rounded out the list of honorees.

 

                Tallent, a 5-10, 200-pound junior wideout from Maryville, Tenn., led the conference in receptions per game (5.9 rpg).  Along with his 59 catches, Tallent was second in the SAC in receiving yards per game (69.6 ypg – 696 yds.) as he accounted for six touchdown grabs which were tied for third most in a TC season.  The 2007 All-SAC First Team standout also led the team in all-purpose yardage with 1083 yards, the fifth most in school history.  Tallent led Tusculum in both kickoff return (19.6 ypr) and punt return average (9.3 ypr).

 

                Littlejohn, a 5-11, 240-pound senior linebacker from Gaffney, S.C., led the Pioneers with 85 tackles in 2007, which were fourth in the league.  The 2007 All-SAC Second Team selection tallied 11 tackles for loss, including a pair of sacks, recovered two fumbles, while forcing another pair.  In last year’s home finale, Littlejohn recorded a career-best 17 tackles against Mars Hill, earning him both SAC and National Defensive Player of the Week accolades.

 

                Scott, a 6-3, 235-pound senior linebacker from  Jamestown, S.C., was second on the team with 78 stops, tying him for eighth in the SAC.  He also finished seventh in the conference in tackles for loss (14) and tied for second with his four fumble recoveries.  Scott finished third in the league with a pair of forced fumbles, while also seeing playing time in the offensive backfield on short-yardage situations, where he scored a touchdown.

 

                Thompson, who was named last year’s team most valuable player, will anchor the Tusculum defensive backfield.  The 6-0, 200-pound senior from Rome, Ga., recorded 55 tackles, including eight for loss, two sacks and a team-best three interceptions (T4th in SAC).  The 2007 All-SAC First Team honoree returned a blocked punt for a touchdown, while also finishing with nine passes defended (8th in SAC).

 

                Rowlands, a sophomore placekicker from Great Britain, rounds out the All-SAC First Team picks for the Pioneers.  Rowlands took over the TC kicking duties midway through the 2007 campaign as he posted 15 points, including six extra points and three field goals.

 

                Highlighting the All-SAC Second Team is three-year starting quarterback Corey Russell.  The 6-4, 190-pound senior signal caller enters his final collegiate campaign as TC’s all-time leader in touchdown passes (45), pass attempts (877) and total offensive yardage.  He needs only 517 passing yards and 72 completions to take over the school records in those categories.  The Speedwell, Tenn. native led the SAC in total offensive yards per game (285.5 ypg/15th in NCAA II) and passing yards per contest (256.1 ypg/18th in NCAA II).  In 2007, Russell established a new school record with 2,871 passing yards (26th in NCAA II) and 24 TD completions.

                Junior tight end Jarrell NeSmith finished third on the team in receptions (31) and fifth in receiving yards (325).  The Russellville, Ala. native also hauled in a pair of touchdown catches and was named the 2007 SAC Scholar Athlete for Football, marking the third consecutive year a Pioneer has earned this prestigious award.

 

                Senior offensive lineman Drew Noe will anchor the Tusculum front at one of the tackle positions.  The Bushnell, Fla. product has been a fixture on the Pioneer frontline, starting in all 10 games that he played in last year.

 

                Two Tusculum defensive linemen were named to the All-SAC Second Team in Butler and Kelley.  Butler, a 6-2, 290-pound senior from Virginia Beach, Va., tallied 25 tackles with three for loss and two sacks.  In his career, he has accounted for 72 hits, including 16 for loss with eight sacks and a pair of fumble recoveries.

 

                Kelley, a 6-4, 250-pound junior from LaGrange, Ga., was the top tackler in the defensive front for Tusculum in 2007 as he posted 44 tackles, including six behind the line of scrimmage and four sacks.

               

                All-Region punter John Gregory is back for his junior campaign.  The two-time All-SAC selection has average 40.9 yards per punt in his two previous Tusculum seasons.  The 6-2, 210-pound native of Ooltewah, Tenn., was named SAC Special Teams Player of the Week four times last year, while pinning the opposition inside their respective 20-yard line on 20 occasions.  Of his 54 punting attempts last season, 11 were for 50 yards or more, including a personal-best 76-yarder, the third longest punt in school history.

 

                The Preseason All-South Atlantic Conference Football Team is selected by the league’s sports information directors.

 

- SAC -

               

2008 Preseason All-South Atlantic Conference Football Team

First Team Offense

QB          Alex Good, Carson-Newman

RB          George Washington, Mars Hill

RB          Buck Wakefield, Carson-Newman

RB          Nelson Woods, Wingate

WR         Ryan Tallent, Tusculum

WR         Reggie Hubbard, Carson-Newman

WR         Shawn Barrett, Wingate

TE           Mo Whitten, Carson-Newman

OL          Ross Shaffer, Carson-Newman       

OL          Terence Crosby, Catawba

OL          Cam LeGrand, Wingate

OL          Hunter Carnes, Catawba

OL          Jonathan Dailey, Newberry

RS           Antonio Patton, Newberry

PK          Gareth Rowlands, Tusculum

 

First Team Defense

DL          Darius Wrentz, Carson-Newman

DL          Melquan Fair, Catawba

DL          Brandon Harmon, Carson-Newman

DL          Chris Dowdell, Mars Hill

LB          Justin Scott, Tusculum

LB          Brian Brown, Carson-Newman

LB          Jarvis Littlejohn, Tusculum

LB          Charles McAfee, Catawba

DB          Jeremy Thompson, Tusculum

DB          Temarcus Thompson, Newberry

DB          Denares Waites, Carson-Newman

DB          Otis Ballard, Carson-Newman

P              Chris Jones, Carson-Newman

LS           Jordon Simmons, Lenoir-Rhyne

 

Second Team Offense

QB          Corey Russell, Tusculum

RB          George Bell, Catawba

RB          John Taylor, Brevard

RB          Chappell Rose, Mars Hill

WR         David Smith, Newberry

WR         Otis Miller, Carson-Newman

WR         Antwan Strong, Catawba

TE          Jarrell NeSmith, Tusculum

OL          Thomas Battle, Carson-Newman

OL          Eric Nelson, Mars Hill

OL          Marchent Faustin, Newberry

OL          Drew Noe, Tusculum

OL          Shelton Nelson, Wingate

RS           Travis Landrum, Catawba

PK          DJ Gill, Catawba

               

Second Team Defense

DL          Marqus Davis, Catawba

DL          Rynel Butler, Tusculum

DL          Brandon Kelley, Tusculum

DL          Julian Todd, Mars Hill

LB          Dewayne Jones, Lenoir-Rhyne

LB          Stan Galbraith, Mars Hill

LB          Will Newell, Newberry

LB          Aaron Plyler, Wingate

DB          Jasmon Carpenter, Catawba

DB          Barry Tate, Lenoir-Rhyne

DB          Derrell Mills, Newberry

DB          Revel Coffey, Carson-Newman

P             John Gregory, Tusculum

LS           Kyle Davis, Wingate