SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Southern Conference Sports Media Association has selected its annual all-conference teams and specialty awards for the 2019 season. Wofford senior quarterback Jeo Newman was named the Roy M. “Legs” Hawley Offensive Player of the Year, while Citadel linebacker Willie Eubanks III was tabbed the defensive player of the year. Chattanooga running back Ailym Ford was named the freshman of the year and Wofford’s Josh Conklin was named the Wallace Wade Coach of the Year.
Due to ties in the voting, there were additional spots at linebacker and defensive back on the first team.
2019 SCSMA All-Southern Conference Football Team
Roy M. “Legs” Hawley Offensive Player of the Year – Joe Newman, Sr., QB, Wofford
Defensive Player of the Year – Willie Eubanks III, Jr., LB, The Citadel
Freshman of the Year – Ailym Ford, RB, Chattanooga
Wallace Wade Coach of the Year – Josh Conklin, Wofford
First team offense
QB Joe Newman, Wofford
RB Devin Wynn, Furman
RB Alex Ramsey, VMI
OL Drew McEntyre, The Citadel
OL Bo Layton, Furman
OL Nick Nixon, Samford
OL Justus Basinger, Wofford
OL Michael Ralph, Wofford
TE Chris James, Chattanooga
WR Bryce Nunnelly, Chattanooga
WR Jakob Herres, VMI
First team defense
DL Joseph Randolph II, The Citadel
DL Nasir Player, ETSU
DL Devonnsha Maxwell, Chattanooga
DL Michael Mason, Wofford
LB Willie Eubanks III, The Citadel
LB John Staton, Samford
LB Marshall Cooper, Chattanooga
LB Jireh Wilson, Wofford
DB Artevius Smith, ETSU
DB Eric Jackson, Mercer
DB Brandon Dowdell, Chattanooga
DB A.J. Smith, VMI
DB JerMichael White, Western Carolina
First team special teams
PK Grayson Atkins, Furman
P Matt Campbell, The Citadel
RS David Durden, Mercer
Second team offense
QB Reece Udinski, VMI
RB Ailym Ford, Chattanooga
RB Quay Holmes, ETSU
OL Jordan Harris, Furman
OL Austin Sanders, Mercer
OL Cole Strange, Chattanooga
OL Josh Andre, VMI
OL Blake Jeresaty, Wofford
TE Chris Ellington, Mercer
WR Raleigh Webb, The Citadel
WR Thomas Gordon, Furman
Second team defense
DL Adrian Hope, Furman
DL Armond Lloyd, Samford
DL Khayyan Edwards, Chattanooga
DL Jarrod Richmond, VMI
LB Ty Boeck, Chattanooga
LB Ty Harris, Western Carolina
LB Jayden Pauling, Western Carolina
DB Chris Beverly, The Citadel
DB Bryan Okeh, Furman
DB John Brannon III, Western Carolina
DB George Gbesee, Wofford
Second team special teams
PK Mitchell Fineran, Samford
P Grayson Atkins, Furman
RS Montrell Washington, Samford
Notes:
- Newman is just the second Wofford player to earn offensive player of the year honors from the media, joining former running back Eric Breitenstein, who won in 2011 and 2012.
- Newman has 1,917 yards of total offense and 20 total touchdowns this season. He has rushed for 880 yards and 13 scores and thrown for 1,037 yards and seven TDs.
- Eubanks, a finalist for the STATS FCS Buck Buchanan Award, is The Citadel’s first defensive player of the year since defensive back Kailik Williams in 2016 and is the Bulldogs’ third overall since the media awards were divided by offense and defense starting in 1986.
- Eubanks leads the SoCon with 63 solo tackles and is second in the league with 112 total tackles (9.3 per game). His 112 tackles are the most in a season for a Citadel player 2000.
- Ford is Chattanooga’s first media freshman of the year since quarterback Terrell Robinson in 2011 and the fifth overall.
- Ford finished second in the league in rushing at 108.1 per game, totaling 1,081 before an injury cost him nearly all of the Mocs’ final three games. He finished just nine yards back of Chattanooga’s freshman rushing record that has stood since 1977 and finished seventh in SoCon history for rushing yards by a freshman. He is a finalist for the STATS FCS Jerry Rice Award.
- Ford, who posted six 100-yard rushing games on the season, was the STATS National Freshman of the Week after rushing for 200 yards and two TDs against ETSU on Oct. 17.
- Second-year Wofford coach Conklin earns his first coach of the year honor and Wofford’s first from the media since Mike Ayers in 2010. Ayers won it four times in his career, making Conklin’s win the fifth for the Terriers.
- Conklin has directed Wofford to a top-15 national ranking and its third straight SoCon title. After starting the season 0-2, the Terriers have won eight straight against FCS competition, finishing the regular season 8-3 overall and 7-1 in SoCon play.
- Conklin has the Terriers in the playoffs for the fourth straight season.
- Chattanooga paced the league with nine total selections, followed by Furman with eight and Wofford with seven. The Mocs and Terriers each put a league-best five players on the first teams, while the Paladins led the league with five second-team picks.
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