Coaches All-SoCon Teams Announced

[smallcollegefbfan]

Coaches Select All-Southern Conference Football Teams
Edwards, Roman Named Players of the Year

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Appalachian State earned three of the five major awards in the Southern Conference football coaches’ year-end balloting, as junior quarterback Armanti Edwards was named Offensive Player of the Year and junior linebacker Jacque Roman earned Defensive Player of the Year honors. Also, Mountaineers’ head coach Jerry Moore was honored by his peers with his sixth Coach of the Year award.

The coaches selected Samford quarterback Dustin Taliaferro as SoCon Freshman of the Year while Furman senior offensive tackle Joel Bell was voted as the recipient of the Jacobs Blocking Award, which is presented annually to the top blocker in the Southern Conference.

2008 Southern Conference champion and three-time defending national champion Appalachian State led the way with 13 players selected on the all-conference team, including 10 first-team and four second-team picks. Nine Wofford players earned all-conference accolades, including five on offense and four on defense, while Elon (four offense, three defense, two special teams) placed nine players on the all-conference team as well. Furman had six players who were honored by the coaches, and The Citadel and Georgia Southern both had five. Samford had four players earn all-conference accolades while Western Carolina grabbed two all-conference slots.

Edwards continued to excel in his junior season, leading the Mountaineers to a 10-2 overall record and a perfect 8-0 SoCon mark. Along the way, the quarterback accumulated 3,036 yards in total offense to become the SoCon’s all-time total offense leader in just three seasons, and he was responsible for 34 touchdowns, including 25 passing and nine rushing. The Greenwood, S.C., native boasts the second-best passing efficiency rating in the country at 178.5, thanks in part to his 25-to-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio and his current streak of 171 consecutive passes without an interception.

Roman was a stalwart for an Appalachian defensive unit that ranked second in the league in scoring defense and third in total defense. He is currently second in the conference in total tackles at 107 and second in fumbles recovered with three. A native of Kingland, Ga., Roman also recorded six tackles for loss, three sacks and two interceptions on the campaign.

Taliaferro, Samford’s freshman quarterback, was named Freshman of the Year after finishing his rookie season as the league’s second-highest rated passer (146.9). Taliaferro completed 151-of-225 pass attempts for 1,745 yards and 13 touchdowns, compared to just five interceptions. The signal-caller from Roswell, Ga., guided the Bulldogs to a 4-4 SoCon mark in their inaugural SoCon season while winning three of four league road games.

The 6-8, 308-pound Bell was selected as the SoCon’s top blocker, becoming the first Paladin to take home the honor since 2004 (Ben Bainbridge) and the league-best 13th overall winner from Furman. A native of Spartanburg, S.C., who played just two years of high school football before coming to Furman, Bell was also a first-team all-conference choice by the league’s coaches for the second straight season. The Jacobs Blocking Award has been presented each season since 1933 to the top blocker in the Southern Conference and is presented by the family of Dr. William P. Jacobs II.

Moore was honored after guiding ASU to just the third perfect SoCon season since 1998 a year after losing 12 starters to graduation from his third national championship team. The Mountaineers rebounded from a 1-2 start to win nine consecutive contests while pushing their SoCon win streak to 12 games.

Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players in the voting process.

2008 Coaches All-Southern Conference Football Team

Offensive Player of the Year – Armanti Edwards, Appalachian State
Defensive Player of the Year – Jacque Roman, Appalachian State
Freshman of the Year – Dustin Taliaferro, Samford
Jacobs Blocking Award – Joel Bell, Furman
Coach of the Year – Jerry Moore, Appalachian State

First Team Offense
QB Armanti Edwards, Jr., Appalachian State
RB Chris Evans, So., Samford
RB Dane Romero, Sr., Wofford
OL Jon Bieschke, Sr., Appalachian State
OL Brad Coley, Sr., Appalachian State
OL David Harrison, Jr., Elon
OL Joel Bell, Sr., Furman
OL Derek Wooten, Sr., Wofford
OL Dan DeHaven, Jr., The Citadel
TE Ben Jorden, Fr., Appalachian State
WR Andre Roberts, Jr., The Citadel
WR Terrell Hudgins, Jr., Elon

First Team Defense
DL Dakota Walker, Sr., Georgia Southern
DL Mitch Clark, Jr., Wofford
DL Jabari Fletcher, So., Appalachian State
DL Terrence Reese, Jr., The Citadel
LB Jacque Roman, Jr., Appalachian State
LB Chris Covington, Sr., Georgia Southern
LB Pierre Banks, Sr., Appalachian State
DB Cortez Gilbert, Jr., Appalachian State
DB Mark LeGree, So., Appalachian State
DB William Middleton, Sr., Furman
DB Thomas Twitty, Sr., Furman
DB Max Lerner, So., Furman

First Team Specialists
PK Andrew Wilcox, Sr., Elon
P Neil Young, Sr., Appalachian State
RS Andre Roberts, Jr., The Citadel

Second Team Offense
QB Scott Riddle, So., Elon
RB Brandon Newsome, So., Elon
RB Mike Brown, So., Furman
OL Ben Quick, Sr., Wofford
OL Mario Acitelli, Jr., Appalachian State
OL Daniel Kilgore, So., Appalachian State
OL Ben Miller, Sr., Wofford
OL Jon Weber, Jr., Samford
OL Dio Herrera, Sr., Georgia Southern
TE Taylor Cornett, Sr., The Citadel
WR Raja Andrews, Sr., Georgia Southern
WR Andy Strickland, Sr., Wofford

Second Team Defense
DL Anthony Williams, Jr., Appalachian State
DL Jeff Bradley, Sr., Western Carolina
DL Eric Ludwig, Jr., Elon
DL Layton Baker, Sr., Wofford
LB Corey Weaver, Sr., Elon
LB Bryce Smith, So., Samford
LB D.J. Smith, So., Appalachian State
DB Andy Davis, So., Samford
DB Mychael Johnson, Jr., Wofford
DB Walker White, Jr., Elon
DB Jason Leventis, Sr., Wofford
DB Mitchell Bell, So., Western Carolina

Second Team Specialists
PK Adrian Mora, Fr., Georgia Southern
P Brandon Lane, Sr., Elon
RS Adam Mims, So., Furman

http://www.soconsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=21895&SPID=1781&DB_OEM_ID=4000&ATCLID=3623181

[Saint3333]

The amount of players ASU has on the list is impressive, but the age of them is even better. 10 underclassmen on this list, 3 more on the all-freshman team, with 3 other All-SoCon caliber guys getting medical redshirts (DE, CB, & RB). Getting the Offensive and Defensive POY back next year will be nice as well.

[phoenixphanatic21]

6 of the 9 guys on this list will be back for Elon next year too and I've heard that we have a bunch of sophomores ready to make some big plays next year. Is it too early to say I can't wait for next year?

[Skjellyfetti]

Nice. My biggests questions heading into this year were tight end (after losing Cardwell) and DB (after losing Lynch, Touchstone, and Woazeah). Would not have guessed we'd have an all-conference tight end and 2 all-conference DB's.

[ASUMountaineer]

Nice. My biggests questions heading into this year were tight end (after losing Cardwell) and DB (after losing Lynch, Touchstone, and Woazeah). Would not have guessed we'd have an all-conference tight end and 2 all-conference DB's.

It makes the #13 jersey I purchased at FanFest in 2007 a good pick up. xthumbsupx

[jmufan999]

Legree is a heck of a player. Jorden too. AE goes without saying.

[appfan2008]

wow as already stated it isnt the sheer number of players for asu... it is how young they all are!!! hot damn we will be good for the forseeable... I HOPE

[ElonPride]

Brandon Lane was 1st in the SoCon in punting and lands on the 2nd team???xeyebrowx

[smallcollegefbfan]

Brandon Lane was 1st in the SoCon in punting and lands on the 2nd team???xeyebrowx

I agree on that snub. He and Young are both good and while it is close I thought Lane should be there, too.

[AshevilleApp]

Not sure why Fletcher made it from ASU....good player just not all-conf in my opinion yet....the rest are deserving. Jorden is something special for ASU a big pass catching TE we haven't had in a while since....Bettis?

Interesting note at the Furman game I sat behind the Furman bench and the App fans were giving Bell a hard time the entire game because he acknowledged us.....come to find out he wins the blocking award and I overheard someone mentioning that he is likely to be drafted.

[AshevilleApp]

Nice. My biggests questions heading into this year were tight end (after losing Cardwell) and DB (after losing Lynch, Touchstone, and Woazeah). Would not have guessed we'd have an all-conference tight end and 2 all-conference DB's.

Good point....From what I've seen Gilbert was key to our defensive resurgence since he could shut down the oppsoing teams best WR allowing Gainey to develop.....

[blueballs]

To the winner goes the spoils, that's why so many ASU players are on the team and they almost swept the individual awards. Congrats to all the young men selected and honored on a fine season.

[smallcollegefbfan]

Not sure why Fletcher made it from ASU....good player just not all-conf in my opinion yet....the rest are deserving. Jorden is something special for ASU a big pass catching TE we haven't had in a while since....Bettis?

Interesting note at the Furman game I sat behind the Furman bench and the App fans were giving Bell a hard time the entire game because he acknowledged us.....come to find out he wins the blocking award and I overheard someone mentioning that he is likely to be drafted.

With only two DL in Clark and Walker who put up big numbers I am not surprised Fletcher got it. He is pretty good and while I would have put him on the second team I think you have to realize that this is a down year for DL in general and there probably won't be any from the league on the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd AA lists, if so I would be surprised.

[terrierbob]

Ouch. The OL needs to find a way to stay. I think Kevious was with us around 6-7 years. (Or so it seemed)

[BestOfBreed]

No Seth Goldwire xnonox

[AppStateSVX]

um no Brian Quick, WR?

[gofurman]

no Justin Brown from Furman DL???? That guy is outstanding.

Also, Hedden and Truss - and I think I am pretty objective here - are the best TE duo in the conference.

Of course, Justin Brown, missed a couple of games and Hedden's career was ended as a Junior this year. Also, Hedden and Truss spilt the TE duties so stats are going to be down for these three but I would have expected the coaches (not media) to know better... maybe that is my mistake :)

[phoenixphanatic21]

Great point was brought up on the Elon message board that I didn't think of before for whatever reason.
Elon finishes the year second in total defense and doesn't have one player named to the 1st team defense?
Also, Samford finishes with the number 1 defense and only has 1 defensive player named All-SoCon?

xeyebrowx