SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Six Southern Conference football student-athletes earned All-America honors from HERO Sports on Monday, with Wofford leading the way with two selections.
Wofford quarterback Joe Newman, ETSU defensive end Nasir Player and Samford punt returner Montrell Washington were second-team picks, while Wofford offensive lineman Justus Basinger, VMI running back Alex Ramsey and The Citadel quarterback Brandon Rainey earned spots on the third team.
Wofford’s Newman, the SoCon Offensive Player of the Year, earned the second-team spot at athlete after throwing for 1,150 yards and seven touchdowns and rushing for 889 yards and 13 scores, accounting for 2,039 yards of total offense and 20 total TDs. Newman, who became the first Terrier QB to throw for at least 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons since 1999-01, led the SoCon and is sixth in the FCS with 7.0 rush yards per carry.
ETSU’s Player was recognized to the preseason HERO Sports All-American team and did not disappoint, finishing the season with 45 tackles, including 24 solo. The redshirt senior led the Bucs with 10 tackles for loss, marking the third consecutive season that he finished with double-digit tackles for loss. Player also tallied 4.5 sacks for the Bucs, leading the squad in sacks on the season. In the Bucs’ home-opening game against Shorter on Sept. 7, Player recovered his first career fumble in the 48-10 win over the Hawks. Player also registered a season-high seven tackles against Shorter, including 1.5 tackles for loss. He was on the preseason and midseason watch lists for the STATS Buck Buchanan Award.
Samford’s Washington returned 15 punts during the 2019 season for an average of 21.9 yards per return. He returned one punt for a 59-yard touchdown late in the first quarter of the team’s game at Western Carolina, turning the momentum and helping lead the Bulldogs to a 31-13 win. For his efforts, Washington was named the Southern Conference’s Special Teams Player of the Week presented by GEICO. Washington also returned kickoffs for Samford, returning seven kicks for an average of 22.1 yards per return. As a wide receiver, Washington caught 28 passes for 405 yards and three touchdowns.
Wofford’s Basinger, who was on the preseason HERO Sports All-America team, was a key cog in the offensive line that protected Newman by ranking first in FCS in sacks allowed with just four on the season (0.33 per game). Basinger also helped pave the way for Wofford’s SoCon-leading rushing offense, which averaged 305.8 yards per game and ranks third in the FCS. Basinger helped Wofford post 413.2 yards of total offense per game, also tops in the SoCon, and rank fifth in the FCS in time of possession (33:48).
VMI’s Ramsey a STATS Walter Payton Award finalist, led the SoCon in total rushing (1,326) and rushing yards per game (110.5), becoming the first VMI player to lead the league since 1996. Just the ninth back in school history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season, Ramsey rushed for a school-record 22 touchdowns, good for second in the FCS and tied for ninth in a season in SoCon history. Ramsey, who matched the SoCon record with six rushing TDs against Samford on Oct. 12, surpassed 100 yards rushing six times this season, including a career-high 207 against Wofford to become just the eighth player in school history with 200 in a game. He scored a school-record and SoCon-leading 134 points and his 11.2 points per game rank third in FCS. Ramsey, who earned a spot on the third team at all-purpose, is the first VMI player to lead league in scoring since 1995.
The Citadel’s Rainey, who earned a spot on the third team at athlete, accounted for a school-record 30 touchdowns and became just the second signal-caller in school history to rush for and throw for at least 10 touchdowns in the same season. He finished the year by rushing for 900 yards and 17 touchdowns, while also throwing for 1,114 yards and 13 touchdowns. The 13 touchdown passes tied for the seventh-most in a single season in school history and are the most since the 2008 season. Rainey is also the first Citadel quarterback to throw for more than 1,000 yards in a season since Bart Blanchard in 2008. Rainey rushed for a touchdown in nine of the 11 games played, including three rushing touchdowns each against Elon, Samford and VMI. He also threw for a touchdown in nine games, including throwing two touchdown passes each against Samford and Chattanooga. All in all, Rainey ran for and threw for a touchdown in eight games during the season.
HERO Sports’ full release can be found here.
SoCon selections:
Second team
ATH - Joe Newman, Sr., Wofford
DL - Nasir Player, R-Sr., ETSU
PR - Montrell Washington, Jr., Samford
Third team
OL - Justus Basinger, Sr., Wofford
AP - Alex Ramsey, R-Jr., VMI
ATH - Brandon Rainey, Jr., The Citadel