SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Southern Conference Sports Media Association has selected its annual all-conference teams and specialty awards for the 2021 season. ETSU running back Quay Holmes was named the Roy M. “Legs” Hawley Offensive Player of the Year, while Chattanooga defensive end Devonnsha Maxwell and VMI linebacker Stone Snyder shared Defensive Player of the Year honors. The Citadel defensive back Dominick Poole is the Freshman of the Year and ETSU’s Randy Sanders was named the Wallace Wade Coach of the Year.
 
Due to ties in the voting, there is an additional running back on the all-conference first team and two extra defensive backs and an extra return specialist on the second teams.

Only true freshmen and traditional redshirt freshmen who played four or fewer games last season were eligible for Freshman of the Year honors.
 
2021 SCSMA All-Southern Conference Football Team
 
Roy M. “Legs” Hawley Offensive Player of the Year – Quay Holmes, R-Jr., RB, ETSU
Defensive Player of the Year – Devonnsha Maxwell, Jr., DL, Chattanooga
Defensive Player of the Year – Stone Snyder, Jr., LB, VMI
Freshman of the Year – Dominick Poole, DB, The Citadel
Wallace Wade Coach of the Year – Randy Sanders, ETSU
 
First team offense
QB       Liam Welch, Gr., Samford
RB       Quay Holmes, R-Jr., ETSU
RB       Jacob Saylors, Jr., ETSU
RB       Ailym Ford, So., Chattanooga
OL        Tre'mond Shorts, R-Jr., ETSU
OL        Jason Poe, Gr., Mercer
OL        McClendon Curtis, Jr., Chattanooga
OL        Cole Strange, Sr., Chattanooga
OL        Nick Hartnett, R-Jr., VMI
TE        Ryan Miller, Jr., Furman
WR      Montrell Washington, Sr., Samford
WR      Raphael Williams, R-Fr., Western Carolina
 
First team defense
DL        Adrian Hope, Sr., Furman
DL        Solomon Zubairu, So., Mercer
DL        Devonnsha Maxwell, Jr., Chattanooga
DL        Warren Dabney, Sr., VMI
LB        Donovan Manuel, R-So., ETSU
LB        Ty Boeck, Jr., Chattanooga
LB        Stone Snyder, Jr., VMI
DB       Tyree Robinson, Sr., ETSU
DB       Lance Wise, So., Mercer
DB       Brandon Dowdell, Sr., Chattanooga
DB       Jerrell Lawson, Sr., Chattanooga
 
First team special teams
PK        Tyler Keltner, So., ETSU
P          Jack Culbreath, So., VMI
LS        Chandlor Mullins, R-So., ETSU
RS       Montrell Washington, Sr., Samford
 
Second team offense
QB       Rogan Wells, Gr., Western Carolina
RB       Fred Davis, R-Fr., Mercer
RB       Irvin Mulligan, Jr., Wofford
OL        Haden Haas, Gr., The Citadel
OL        Tavon Matthews, So., ETSU
OL        Anderson Tomlin, R-Jr., Furman
OL        Pearson Toomey, So., Furman
OL        Gavin Orr, Sr., Samford
TE        Michael Vice, Jr., Samford
WR      Jakob Herres, Sr., VMI
WR      Michael Jackson, Sr., VMI
 
Second team defense
DL        Parker Stokes, Sr., Furman
DL        Seth Simmer, Gr., Samford
DL        Ben Brewton, So., Chattanooga
DL        Micheal Mason, Jr., Wofford
LB        Willie Eubanks III, Sr., The Citadel
LB        Jared Folks, Gr., ETSU
LB        Kareem Taylor, Gr., Western Carolina
DB       Destin Mack, Jr., The Citadel
DB       Alijah Huzzie, R-Fr., ETSU
DB       Travis Blackshear, Jr., Furman
DB       Ethan Caselberry, Sr., VMI
DB       Ronald Kent Jr., Jr., Western Carolina
 
Second team special teams
PK        Jerry Rice, R-So., VMI
P          Matt Campbell, Jr., The Citadel
LS        Robert Soderholm, Sr., VMI
RS       Jacob Saylors, Jr., ETSU
RS       Calvin Jones, Fr., Western Carolina
 
Notes:
- Holmes (Walter Payton Award), Maxwell and Snyder (Buck Buchanan Award), Poole (Jerry Rice Award) and Sanders (Eddie Robinson Award) are all national finalists for FCS legacy awards, as are Samford quarterback Liam Welch (Payton) and Western Carolina safety Andreas Keaton (Rice).
 
- Holmes is the first ETSU player to earn offensive player of the year honors from the league’s media since wide receiver B.J. Adigun in 1997. Running back George Searcy was the first Buc to earn the honor, in 1989. He is the first running back to earn the offensive award since Wofford’s Eric Breitenstein won his second straight in 2012.
 
- In 11 games, Holmes has rushed for an FCS-best 1,431 yards. His 130.1 per game also lead the FCS, while he ranks fourth in the subdivision with 1,635 all-purpose yards and fifth at 148.64 per game.
 
- Chattanooga’s Maxwell paces the SoCon in sacks and tackles for loss, with his 12.0 sacks tied for fifth in the FCS and his 1.09 per game good for eighth. He had a school-record 5.0 sacks in a win over then-No. 10 ETSU on Oct. 16 to earn Stat Perform National Defensive Player of the Week honors and finished the season with 29.5 in his career, putting him a half-sack outside of the league’s career top 10. He 15.5 tackles for loss rank 15tth in the FCS this season and his 1.4 per game rank 17^th.
 
- Maxwell earns Chattanooga’s fifth Defensive Player of the Year honor from the media and the first since defensive lineman Isaiah Mack in 2018.
 
- VMI’s Snyder is tied for third in the FCS with three fumble recoveries this season. He is fifth nationally and leads the SoCon with 120 total tackles and 10.9 tackles per contest. His 11.0 tackles for loss are tied for second in the SoCon.
 
- Snyder repeats as the Defensive Player of the Year after becoming VMI’s first-ever selection last season.
 
- Poole is The Citadel’s first media Freshman of the Year since wide receiver Victor Frazier and running back Stanford Glenn shared the award in 1982 for the only other time a Bulldog has been honored.
 
- Poole came off the bench in The Citadel’s first two games before starting the final nine. He finished the season with 51 total tackles (27 solo) and had a pair of interceptions, in wins over then-No. 22/18 VMI and Chattanooga. With two picks and a team-high nine pass breakups, Poole tied for second in the league with 11 passes defended on the season.
 
- ETSU’s Sanders earned his second Wallace Wade Coach of the Year award after leading the Bucs to a 10-1 overall record and a 7-1 SoCon mark for their first outright league title and second overall. Sanders got the 2021 season off to a fantastic start by leading his squad to a win at FBS Vanderbilt, which propelled the Bucs into the national rankings. ETSU enters the postseason ranked in the top 10 in both major national polls.
 
- Sanders, who is a Robinson Award finalist for the second time in his career, guided the Bucs to a first-round FCS playoff bye and the No. 7 national seed in the NCAA Division I Football Championship. ETSU awaits either Davidson or Kennesaw State on Dec. 4.
 
- SoCon champion ETSU led the way with 11 All-SoCon selections, sharing league-high honors with Chattanooga with seven first-team picks.
 
- Samford’s Montrell Washington earned a pair of first-team honors, earning spots at wide receiver and return specialist, while ETSU’s Jacob Saylors earned a first-team nod at running back and a second-team spot at return specialist.