Monday, November 12, 2007

EIGHT PIONEERS NAMED TO ALL-SAC FOOTBALL TEAM, NeSMITH NAMED SAC SCHOLAR ATHLETE

ROCK HILL, S.C. --- Eight Tusculum College football players have been named to the 2007 All-South Atlantic Conference Team announced league officials Monday. Tusculum had five players earn All-SAC First Team honors, while three received Second Team recognition. Tusculum sophomore tight end Jarrell NeSmith was named the SAC Scholar Athlete for Football, marking the third straight year a Pioneer has earned this prestigious honor.

TC's first team selections are Adrian Samples, Justin Scott, Jeremy Thompson, Ryan Tallent and Robby Kelly. Matt Lawrie, John Gregory and Jarvis Littlejohn were tabbed to the Second Team.

Adrian Samples All-SAC 1st Team	Justin Scott All-SAC 1st Team	Jeremy Thompson All-SAC 1st Team	Ryan Tallent All-SAC 1st Team	Robby Kelly All-SAC 1st Team	Jarrell NeSmith SAC Scholar Athlete

Samples, a 6-2, 255-pound senior defensive end, earned All-SAC First Team honors for a third straight season. The Rome, Ga. native finished third on the team with 57 tackles, including a TC-best 15 for loss (-48 yds.). Samples also led the team with six sacks, while breaking up five passes, recovered three fumbles, forced another and blocked two kicks on special teams. During his stellar collegiate career, he made 130 tackles, including 43 for loss, which are the third most by a Pioneer. His 17 career sacks are fourth in school history.

Scott, a 6-3, 235-pound linebacker, was second on the team with 78 tackles, including 14 behind the line of scrimmage. The Jamestown, S.C. product finished second in the league with four fumble recoveries.

Thompson, a 6-0, 200-pound junior defensive back, was fourth leading tackler for the Pioneers with 55 stops, including a team-best three interceptions. The Rome, Ga. also led the team with nine passes defended, which are seventh in the SAC.

Tallent, a 5-10, 200-pound wide receiver, made the most of his move from the running back position. The Maryville, Tenn. sophomore led the conference with 59 receptions and 696 receiving yards. His 69.6 receiving yards per game was second-best in the league. Tallent accounted for six TD catches and finished fifth in the SAC in all-purpose yardage per game (108.3 ypg). He also shined off the field, earning a spot on the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District IV Second Team.

Kelly earns All-SAC First Team honors for a third straight year at long snapper. One of the most reliable in the league, the 6-2, 230-pound Thomaston, Ga. senior has handled TC's snapping duties for the past four seasons for the Pioneers.

Matt Lawrie All-SAC 2nd Team	John Gregory All-SAC 2nd Team	Jarvis Littejohn All-SAC Second Team

Lawrie, a 6-3, 300-pound offensive lineman, lived up to his Preseason All-SAC billing. The Norco, Calif. senior has played in 21 games in his two seasons with the Pioneers. He shined as Tusculum's center this year, starting in all 11 outings.

Gregory, a 6-2, 220-pound punter, earns All-Conference honors for a second straight year. He finished second in the SAC averaging 40.9 yards per punt. He averaged that total last season, earning him First Team recognition and a spot on the All-Region team. In just 22 games, he has already established a new school record for career punting yardage (5,073) and his 40.9 average is second in TC history. The Ooltewah, Tenn. sophomore was named SAC Special Teams Player of the Week on four occasions and 2007 and on seven occasions in his career. Gregory also earned a spot on the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District IV Second Team.

Littlejohn, a 5-11, 240-pound sophomore linebacker, led the Pioneers in tackles in 2007, recording 85 stops, including a career-high 17 two weeks ago against Mars Hill. The Gaffney, S.C. native posted 11 tackles for loss, recovered two fumbles and forced a pair. For his 17-tackle effort, he was named SAC Defensive Player of the Week and D2football.com National Defensive Player of the Week.

Catawba and Carson-Newman led the way with 13 selections each, while Tusculum and Newberry each had eight honorees. Wingate and Mars Hill accounted for six selections apiece, while Lenoir-Rhyne had four of its players recognized.

NeSmith, a sophomore from Russellville, Ala., becomes the third Pioneer football player to be named SAC Scholar Athlete. Former All-American linebacker Craig Pritchett earned the honor twice, while former All-SAC kicker Glen Black was recognized the last two seasons.

He ranks third on the Pioneer team with 31 receptions for 325 yards and two touchdowns.

He received the 2006-07 Duffield Award, presented to the Tusculum male student-athlete with the highest GPA and was the 2005-06 Tusculum Academic Freshman of the Year. He has a perfect 4.0 cumulative grade point average and he is a member of the South Atlantic Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll and the Tusculum Athletic Director's Honor Roll. He is also on the Dean's List, President's List and Charles Oliver Gray Honors List. He was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District IV First Team last week.

In the community, NeSmith has volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, Adopt-a-Highway and the Drug Awareness program at Holston Homes for Children in Greeneville, Tenn. He also volunteers with the Lunch Buddies program at Doak Elementary School, which provides mentoring relationships between the Tusculum football players and the school children.

Junior quarterback Corey Russell was the SAC Statistical Champion for passing yardage and total offense. The Speedwell, Tenn. native averaged 256.1 passing yards and 285.5 total offensive yards per game, which were tops in the league.

Tallent was also declared SAC Statistical Champion, leading the conference in receptions per game (5.9 rpg).

Tusculum also claimed the SAC Statistical Champion team title for passing yards per game (278.4 ypg).

The All-SAC Team is selected by a vote of the conference's seven head football coaches.

After a 0-3 start, Tusculum won six of its last eight games to finish with a 6-5 overall record. The Pioneers finished tied for third in the SAC with a 4-2 league worksheet.

- SAC -

All-South Atlantic Conference Football Team

First Team

Offense

QB - Brad Roach, Catawba/Alex Good, Carson-Newman

RB - Kory Fisher, Catawba

RB - Alex Haynes, Newberry

RB - George Washington, Mars Hill

WR - Ryan Tallent, Tusculum

WR - Brent Johnson, Catawba

WR - Reggie Hubbard, Carson-Newman

WR - Chris Conklin, Wingate

OL - Heath Benedict, Newberry

OL - Matt Tyrell, Carson-Newman

OL - Ross Shaffer, Carson-Newman

OL - Terrence Crosby, Catawba

OL - Bentley Rogers, Mars Hill

Defense

DL - Kenwin Cummings, Wingate

DL - Adrian Samples, Tusculum

DL - Ron Ellington, Catawba

DL - Darius Wrentz, Carson-Newman

LB - Eric Rice, Carson-Newman

LB - Justin Scott, Tusculum

LB - Brian Brown, Carson-Newman

LB - Nathaniel Smith, Mars Hill

DB - Jeremy Thompson, Tusculum

DB - Rashawn Champion, Mars Hill

DB - Temarcus Thompson, Newberry

DB - Denares Waites, Carson-Newman

Special Teams

PK - Andrew Coln, Lenoir-Rhyne

P - Chris Jones, Carson-Newman

RS - Antonio Patton, Newberry

LS - Robby Kelly, Tusculum

Second Team

Offense

RB - Buck Wakefield, Carson-Newman

RB - Nelson Woods, Wingate

RB - George Bell, Catawba

WR - David Smith, Newberry

WR - Demario Zachary, Mars Hill

WR - Shawn Barrett, Wingate

TE - Shane Timmons, Catawba

OL - Matt Lawrie, Tusculum

OL - Cam LeGrand, Wingate

OL - Hunter Carnes, Catawba

OL - Greg Jones, Lenoir-Rhyne

OL - Jonathan Dailey, Newberry

Defense

DL - Anthony Toribio, Carson-Newman

DL - Tony Ransom, Newberry

DL - Charles Chavous, Mars Hill

DL - Melquan Fair, Catawba

LB - Jarvis Littlejohn, Tusculum

LB - Charles McAfee, Catawba

LB - Tyler Johnson, Wingate

LB - Joe Brown, Catawba

DB - Derrell Mills, Newberry

DB - Jasmon Carpenter, Catawba

DB - Otis Ballard, Carson-Newman

DB - Barry Tate, Lenoir-Rhyne

Special Teams

PK - Aubrey Ingham, Carson-Newman

P - John Gregory, Tusculum

RS - Travis Landrum, Catawba

LS - Jordan Simmons, Lenoir-Rhyne

SAC Offensive Player of the Year: Brad Roach, Catawba

SAC Defensive Player of the Year: Eric Rice, Carson-Newman

SAC Offensive Freshman of the Year: Nelson Woods, Wingate

SAC Defensive Freshman of the Year: Revel Coffey, Carson-Newman

SAC Coach of the Year: Chip Hester, Catawba

SAC Scholar Athlete: Jarrell NeSmith, Tusculum

Jacobs Blocking Trophy: Heath Benedict, Newberry