SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Southern Conference Sports Media Association selected its football all-conference team and specialty awards for the 2018 season. Samford redshirt senior quarterback Devlin Hodges claimed his third consecutive Roy M. “Legs” Hawley Offensive Player of the Year award, while Chattanooga senior defensive lineman Isaiah Mack was tabbed the defensive player of the year. ETSU claimed the other two awards, as running back Quay Holmes was named the freshman of the year and Randy Sanders was named the Wallace Wade Coach of the Year.
Due to ties in the voting, the first-team offense included a sixth spot at offensive line and the first-team defense included extra spots at defensive line and defensive back. The second-team defense also included a fifth defensive back due to a tie.
2018 Media All-Southern Conference Football Team
Roy M. “Legs” Hawley Offensive Player of the Year – Devlin Hodges, Samford, R-Sr., QB
Defensive Player of the Year – Isaiah Mack, Chattanooga, Sr., DL
Freshman of the Year – Quay Holmes, ETSU, RB
Wallace Wade Coach of the Year – Randy Sanders, ETSU
First team offense
QB Devlin Hodges, Samford
RB Quay Holmes, ETSU
RB Andre Stoddard, Wofford
OL Tyler Davis, The Citadel
OL Matt Pyke, ETSU
OL Austin Sanders, Mercer
OL Zach Weeks, Western Carolina
OL Michael Ralph, Wofford
OL Justus Basinger, Wofford
TE Owen Cosenke, Western Carolina
WR Kelvin McKnight, Samford
WR Bryce Nunnelly, Chattanooga
First team defense
DL Joseph Randolph II, The Citadel
DL Nasir Player, ETSU
DL Ahmad Gooden, Samford
DL Isaiah Mack, Chattanooga
DL Miles Brown, Wofford
LB Dylan Weigel, ETSU
LB Adrian Hope, Furman
LB Mitchell Chancey, Western Carolina
DB Jeremy Lewis, ETSU
DB Tyree Robinson, ETSU
DB Kareem Orr, Chattanooga
DB Marvin Tillman, Western Carolina
DB George Gbesee, Wofford
First team special teams
PK Grayson Atkins, Furman
P Matthew Campbell, The Citadel
RS Dejuan Bell, Furman
Second team offense
QB Tyrie Adams, Western Carolina
RB Tee Mitchell, Mercer
RB Tyrell Price, Chattanooga
OL Bo Layton, Furman
OL Antwan Johnson, Samford
OL Nick Nixon, Samford
OL Blake Jeresaty, Wofford
OL Josh Burger, Wofford
TE Evan Wick, ETSU
WR Marquise Irvin, Mercer
WR Kris Thornton, VMI
Second team defense
DL Tremond Ferrell, ETSU
DL Jaylan Reid, Furman
DL Derek Mahaffey, Chattanooga
DL Solomon Clark, Western Carolina
LB Noah Dawkins, The Citadel
LB Jared Folks, ETSU
LB Marshall Cooper, Chattanooga
DB Aron Spann III, The Citadel
DB Aaquil Annoor, Furman
DB Malique Fleming, Mercer
DB Brandon Dowdell, Chattanooga
DB A.J. Smith, VMI
Second team special teams
PK JJ Jerman, ETSU
P Luke Carter, Wofford
RS Quay Holmes, ETSU
Notes:
- Hodges was named the Roy M. “Legs” Hawley Offensive Player of the Year for the third straight year. A finalist for the FCS Walter Payton Award for the second straight season, Hodges leads the FCS in passing yards (4,283), passing yards per game (389.4), total offense (417.8 yards per game), completion percentage (.705), completions per game (35.27), points responsible for (240) and points responsible for per game (21.8).
- Hodges became the FCS career leader in passing yards (14,584), completions (1,310) and pass attempts (1,896) this season. He also set SoCon records for single-season passing yards and total offense (4,596).
- The offensive player of the year award is Samford’s fourth, as Hodges, now a three-time winner, is joined by Andy Summerlin (2013) as Bulldog winners. Samford joined the league in 2008.
- Mack earns Chattanooga’s fourth defensive player of the year honor from the media and first since 2014. Josh Beard won the Mocs’ first in 2009, while Davis Tull won in 2012 and 2014. Mack, who has 78 tackles (7.1 per game) on the season, is part of a defensive unit that ranks second in the SoCon and 17th in the FCS in scoring defense, allowing just 21.0 points per game. The Mocs lead the SoCon in pass defense at just 201.5 yards per game and allow just 164.0 yards per game on the ground. Chattanooga is third in the SoCon in total defense (365.5 yards allowed per game). Mack’s 8.5 sacks (0.77 per game) are good for second in the SoCon and 19th in the FCS.
- Holmes has averaged 120.4 all-purpose yards per game for the Bucs this season, leading the squad with 820 yards rushing (74.5 per game) and leading the league with 13 rushing touchdowns. The redshirt freshman also has 32 catches for 242 yards and two scores and has returned nine kickoffs 262 yards, good for an average of 29.1 per return.
- In his first year as a collegiate head coach, Sanders led ETSU, picked eighth in the preseason SoCon polls, to its first-ever SoCon title. The Bucs enter the FCS playoffs with an 8-3 overall mark and went 6-2 in the SoCon to share the crown. ETSU’s postseason berth is just the second in school history and first since 1996, when the Bucs had their only other media coach of the year selection. Sanders has had his squad in the national rankings since Oct. 8, when ETSU made its first appearance in the polls since 1999.
- Samford wide receiver Kelvin McKnight and defensive lineman Ahmad Gooden were the lone unanimous first-team selections.
- SoCon tri-champion ETSU paced the league with 11 total selections, putting six on the first teams and five on the second teams, both league highs. The Bucs’ 11 selections easily outpaced their two from last season.
- Wofford, which shared the SoCon title with ETSU and Furman, was second with eight total selections, including five first-team picks.
- The Citadel was the lone team in the league with at least one selection on first-team offense, defense and special teams.
- The first-team special teams is entirely a Palmetto State affair, as Furman’s Grayson Atkins is the placekicker and teammate Dejuan Bell is the return specialist, while Citadel freshman Matthew Campbell is the punter.
- Four freshmen earned first-team all-conference honors in ETSU’s Holmes, The Citadel’s Campbell, Furman’s Bell and Furman bandit Adrian Hope.
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