Mike Ayers, who led Wofford to a share of the Southern Conference regular season title and the conference’s automatic qualifier for the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) berth, and Pete Lembo, who led surprising Elon to a 7-4 mark in 2007, were named co-coaches of the year in a vote of the league’s eight head coaches.
Georgia Southern senior quarterback Jayson Foster was named the league’s Offensive Player of the Year. After spending the 2006 season as a wide receiver, the native of Canton, Ga. was moved back to quarterback where he is ranked second in the nation in rushing (167.6 yards per game) and third in scoring (13.5 points per game).
Appalachian State defensive back Corey Lynch was named the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year. Named the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, the senior lived up to the billing by amassing 83 tackles in 2007. The Cape Coral, Fla. native tied for the conference lead with four interceptions and finished sixth in the SoCon in passes defended with 10.
Elon quarterback Scott Riddle earned Freshman of the Year recognition. The native of Ramseur, N.C. leads the nation in passing yards (347.0 yards per game) and pass completions (31.5 completions per game). He is third nationally in total offense with 339.8 yards per game.
Appalachian State’s Kerry Brown is the 2007 recipient of the Jacobs Blocking Trophy. The senior from Marietta, Ga. earned the award for the second straight season, marking the third year in succession that an Appalachian State offensive lineman was honored with the award. Matt Isenhour won the 2005 Jacobs Blocking Trophy.
Southern Conference regular season co-champion and two-time defending national champion Appalachian State placed 11 players on the all-conference team with six players on offense, four on defense and one specialist. Georgia Southern, which rebounded from a 3-8 mark in 2006 to post a 7-4 record in 2007, had nine players gain All-Southern Conference honors including five on offense, three on defense and one specialist. Conference co-champion Wofford had seven players honored including three on offense and four on defense.
Furman had a total of six players named to the team including three on offense and three on defense. The Citadel had five players honors including one on offense, three on defense and one specialist. Elon had five players recognized with two on offense, one on defense and two specialists followed by Chattanooga with four players on the team. Western Carolina had one offensive player, one defensive player and one specialist honored.
Coaches All-Southern Conference Team
Offensive Player of the Year: Jayson Foster, GSU
Defensive Player of the Year: Corey Lynch, ASU
Freshman of the Year: Scott Riddle, Elon
Jacobs Blocking Trophy Recipient: Kerry Brown, ASU
Coach of the Year: Mike Ayers, WOF and Pete Lembo, Elon
Offense - First Team
QB- Jayson Foster, GSU
RB- Kevin Richardson, ASU
RB- Kevious Johnson, WOF
OL- Kerry Brown, ASU
OL- Joel Bell, FUR
OL- Scott Suttle, ASU
OL- Chris McDowell, CIT
OL- Russell Orr, GSU
TE- Larry Hedden, FUR
WR- Terrell Hudgins, Elon
WR- Eddie Cohen, WCU
Defense - First Team
DL- Wallace Artis, FUR
DL- Larry Beard, GSU
DL- Gary Tharrington, ASU
DL- Trevar Broughton, CIT
LB- Seth Goldwire, WOF
LB- Andrew Rowell, CIT
LB- Corey Weaver, Elon
DB- Corey Lynch, ASU
DB- Chris Camacho, UTC
DB- Josh Lawson, CIT
DB- Jerome Touchstone, ASU
Offense - Second Team
QB- Armanti Edwards, ASU
RB- Lamar Lewis, GSU
RB- Jerome Felton, FUR
OL- Marcelo Estrada, GSU
OL- Derek Wooten, WOF
OL- Garrett Windham, UTC
OL- Brad Coley, ASU
OL- Brad Williams, GSU
TE- Fenn Allen, WOF
WR- Michael Mayers, Elon
WR- Dexter Jackson, ASU
Defense - Second Team
DL- Damon Suggs, GSU
DL- Anthony Williams, ASU
DL- James Gonsoulin, WOF
DL- Charles Profit, UTC
LB- Chris Johnson, UTC
LB- Andrew Jones, FUR
LB- Quinton Phillips, WCU
DB- Chris Covington, GSU
DB- Brian Kemp, WOF
DB- Dan Tavani, WOF
DB- Thomas Twitty, FUR
Specialists ? First Team
PK- Julian Rauch, ASU
RS- Michael Mayers, Elon
P- Brandon Lane, Elon
Specialists ? Second Team
PK- Jesse Hartley, GSU
RS- Mike Malone, WCU
P- Mark Kaspar, CIT