SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Western Carolina quarterback Tyrie Adams has been named the Southern Conference Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and ETSU defensive lineman Nasir Player has been tabbed the Defensive Player of the Year in voting by the league’s nine head coaches, who chose Wofford as the favorite to win the SoCon in their annual preseason poll.
The coaches also selected all-conference first and second teams and were not allowed to vote for their own student-athletes or teams in the voting process. Due to several ties in the voting, the first teams include an extra defensive back and an extra place kicker, while the second teams include two additional offensive linemen.
The Catamounts’ Adams was a second-team All-SoCon selection in each of the last two seasons. As a redshirt junior last year, the St. Petersburg, Florida, native became just the 11th player in FCS history and the fourth SoCon player to rush for at least 1,000 yards and throw for at least 2,000 in the same season. Adams led the league in rushing at 91.5 yards per game, totaling 1,006 on the year, and ran for 10 touchdowns. Adams also went 188-for-300 through the air for 2,417 yards and 16 touchdowns, notching 311.2 yards of total offense per game to rank second in the SoCon and eighth in the FCS. The dual threat earned second-team All-America honors from STATS and third-team honors from HERO Sports last year. Adams is a second-team preseason All-America pick by HERO Sports entering his senior campaign.
The Bucs’ Player earned All-America honors from the AFCA (second team), Phil Steele Magazine (second team) and STATS (third team) as a redshirt junior last season. The Columbia, South Carolina, native notched 43 tackles last season, 11.0 of which went for loss, tying him for sixth in the league at 1.0 per game. Player tied for fourth in the league with 0.55 sacks per contest, notching 6.0 on the year. He also three forced three fumbles and tallied 11 quarterback hurries and a pair of pass breakups. Player was part of a defense that ranked in the top 50 in the FCS in rushing defense (27th, 132.3 yards per game), scoring defense (49th, 26.4 points per game) and total defense (32nd, 351.2 yards per game) and helped ETSU to a share of its first SoCon champion, a spot in the national polls and its first FCS playoff berth since 1996. He has earned preseason first-team All-America accolades from HERO Sports and Athlon so far this year.
Two-time defending champion Wofford is the coaches’ pick to win the league again in 2019. Under the direction of first-year coach Josh Conklin, the Terriers went 9-4 overall and 6-2 in the league last year to earn a share of their sixth league title. Wofford was nationally ranked throughout the season and advanced to the second round of the FCS playoffs, downing 17th-ranked Elon in the opening round before falling to No. 2 Kennesaw State in the second round. The Terriers, who earned seven first-place votes and 63 points in the coaches’ poll, return nine starters on offense and five on defense. Wofford is the preseason favorite for the second time and first since 2017.
Furman landed second in the preseason poll with 55 points and one first-place vote. The Paladins won their final four games last year to finish 6-4 overall and 6-2 in SoCon play, clinching a share of their record 14th SoCon title. The title was Furman’s first since 2013. The Paladins bring back eight starters on offense and seven on defense.
In his first season at the helm, reigning SoCon Coach of the Year Randy Sanders led ETSU to a 6-2 league record (8-4 overall) to claim a share of its first SoCon title. The Bucs totaled 44 points and the remaining first-place vote to edge Chattanooga for third in the preseason poll. The Mocs, who tied for fifth at 4-4 in the league last year, totaled 40 points in the poll.
Mercer finished fifth in the poll with 34 points after tying for fifth at 4-4 in the league last season, while Samford, which was fourth at 5-3, was just one point back with 33. The Bulldogs must replace a trio of All-Americans in Devlin Hodges, Kelvin McKnight and Ahmad Gooden. Hodges was the Walter Payton Award winner and finished his career as the FCS leader with 14,584 career passing yards.
The Citadel is seventh in the poll with 22 points after a fifth-place, 4-4 SoCon finish last year. Western Carolina is right behind the Bulldogs with 21 points, while VMI rounds out the poll with 12.
Wofford led all teams with nine total preseason all-conference selections, putting three on the first teams and a league-best six on the second teams.
Mercer was second with eight total selections, putting three on the first teams and five on the second teams, while Furman and ETSU had seven total selections each. ETSU and Chattanooga shared league-high honors with four first-team selections apiece.
All nine schools had at least two first-team picks.
Samford gets the season started when it faces Youngstown State in the Guardian Credit Union FCS Kickoff at 3 p.m. Eastern on Aug. 24 in Montgomery, Alabama. That game will air on ESPN.
2019 Preseason Southern Conference Coaches Poll
Team (1st-place votes) Total
1. Wofford (7) 63
2. Furman (1) 55
3. ETSU (1) 44
4. Chattanooga 40
5. Mercer 34
6. Samford 33
7. The Citadel 22
8. Western Carolina 21
9. VMI 12
2019 Preseason All-Southern Conference Football Teams
Offensive Player of the Year: Tyrie Adams, QB, R-Sr., Western Carolina
Defensive Player of the Year: Nasir Player, DL, R-Sr., ETSU
First team offense
QB Tyrie Adams, R-Sr., Western Carolina
RB Quay Holmes, R-So., ETSU
RB Tyray Devezin, Jr., Mercer
OL Bo Layton, R-Jr., Furman
OL Austin Sanders, R-Sr., Mercer
OL Nick Nixon, Sr., Samford
OL Justus Basinger, Sr., Wofford
OL Michael Ralph, Sr., Wofford
TE Owen Cosenke, Jr., Western Carolina
WR Bryce Nunnelly, Jr., Chattanooga
WR Javeon Lara, Sr., VMI
First team defense
DL Joseph Randolph II, Sr., The Citadel
DL Jason Maduafokwa, R-Sr., ETSU
DL Nasir Player, R-Sr., ETSU
DL Thad Mangum, Sr., Wofford
LB Willie Eubanks III, Jr., The Citadel
LB Adrian Hope, R-So., Furman
LB Marshall Cooper, Sr., Chattanooga
DB Tyree Robinson, Jr., ETSU
DB Brandon Dowdell, Jr., Chattanooga
DB Jerrell Lawson, R-Jr., Chattanooga
DB A.J. Smith, Jr., VMI
DB Ronald Kent Jr., So., Western Carolina
First team specialists
PK Grayson Atkins, Jr., Furman
PK Mitchell Fineran, So., Samford
P Matthew Campbell, So., The Citadel
RS David Durden, So., Mercer
Second team offense
QB Reece Udinski, Jr., VMI
RB Devin Wynn, Jr., Furman
RB Tyrell Price, Sr., Chattanooga
OL Haden Haas, R-So., The Citadel
OL Drew McEntyre, Sr., The Citadel
OL Ben Blackmon, R-Sr., ETSU
OL Tre’mond Shorts, R-So., ETSU
OL Andy Godwin, R-Sr., Furman
OL Cole Strange, R-Jr., Chattanooga
OL Blake Jeresaty, Jr., Wofford
TE Chris Ellington, Sr., Mercer
WR Thomas Gordon, Sr., Furman
WR David Durden, So., Mercer
Second team defense
DL Dorian Kithcart, R-Sr., Mercer
DL Justin Foster, Sr., Samford
DL Nelson Jordan, So., Samford
DL Mikel Horton, Jr., Wofford
LB Elijah McKoy, Jr., Furman
LB Will Coneway, R-Sr., Mercer
LB Jireh Wilson, Sr., Wofford
DB Jeremy Lewis, Sr., ETSU
DB Malique Fleming, R-Jr., Mercer
DB Mason Alstatt, Sr., Wofford
DB George Gbesee, Sr., Wofford
Second team specialists
PK Jacob Godek, Sr., The Citadel
P Luke Carter, Sr., Wofford
RS Rohan Martin, Sr., VMI
NOTE: Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players.
-www.SoConSports.com-