SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Five Southern Conference football student-athletes earned All-America honors from the Associated Press when the organization announced its FCS teams Wednesday. The league had four first-team selections, with SoCon champion VMI leading the way with two.
 
VMI wide receiver Jakob Herres and linebacker Stone Snyder were joined on the first team by Furman tight end Ryan Miller and Samford defensive back Chris Edmonds. ETSU’s Quay Holmes was the second-team selection at all-purpose player.
 
Herres, named the SoCon Offensive Player of the Year both the league’s coaches and media, led the Keydets in receiving during the season with 80 catches for 978 yards and eight touchdowns, averaging 12.2 yards per grab and 122.2 yards per game, all of which led the Southern Conference. His total receiving yards and receiving yards per game lead the FCS. Herres was also a finalist for the Stats Perform Walter Payton Award for the national FCS Offensive Player of the Year. In addition, the Easton, Pennsylvania, native was named the offensive end Player of the Year for Division I colleges and universities in the commonwealth of Virginia by the Touchdown Club of Richmond.
 
Snyder was named the SoCon Defensive Player of the Year by both the media and coaches after leading the league in tackles per game (11.0) – 76 in seven regular season games, including a career-high 21 versus The Citadel. In helping VMI capture its first SoCon title since 1977 and first-ever FCS playoffs bid, he had 9.5 tackles for loss (64 yards), eight sacks and four QB hurries. He also had 12 tackles in the first round of the playoffs against No. 1 James Madison on April 24.
 
Miller's All-America selection followed a productive 2021 spring season that saw him collect consensus All-Southern Conference accolades after catching 15 passes for 254 yards and a team leading six touchdowns, which ranked second among SoCon receivers. Miller hauled in two touchdown passes, including a fourth-quarter, 73-yard catch and run for a score that helped complete Furman's comeback from 24-7 deficit in an eventual 44-37 overtime win over Samford. The performance against the Bulldogs netted him SoCon Offensive Player of the Week honors – the first by a Paladin receiver since 2004.
 
Edmonds led the SoCon and tied for second in the nation in total interceptions with four. He also led the league and ranked 13th in the nation in interceptions per game, averaging 0.6 picks per contest. Edmonds ranked third on the team in total tackles with 40, including 24 solo stops. He also had 2.5 tackles for loss, and he had one pass break-up for the season. Edmonds tallied one forced fumble and one fumble recovery, as well. He was involved in forcing six turnovers in Samford's first four games of the seven-game spring season. Edmonds was named the SoCon Defensive Player of the Week twice (March 8 and March 15), and he was tabbed as the league's Defensive Player of the Month for March. He was named first-team All-SoCon and was a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, which goes to the top defensive player in all of FCS football.
 
Holmes, a redshirt junior running back, finished the season with 640 rushing yards and eight touchdowns, adding 399 kick-return yards in the process. Holmes accounted for 1,094 all-purpose yards this spring, ranking second in FCS football for all-purpose yards per game (182.3). Holmes capped off the season with a spot on both the coaches’ and media’s All-Southern Conference first teams and is currently third all-time in ETSU history in career rushing yards with 2,711.
 
For the Associated Press’s full release, click here.
 
FIRST TEAM
Offense
Quarterback — Eric Barriere, senior, Eastern Washington.
Running backs — Otis Weah, sophomore; North Dakota; Julius Chestnut, sophomore, Sacred Heart.
Linemen — Cordell Volson, senior, North Dakota State; Drew Himmelman, senior, Illinois State; Garrett Greenfield, sophomore, South Dakota State; David Kroll, senior, Delaware; P.J. Burkhalter, senior, Nicholls.
Receivers — Jakob Herres, junior, VMI; Tyler Hudson, sophomore, Central Arkansas.
Tight end — Ryan Miller, junior, Furman.
All-purpose player — Christian Watson, junior, North Dakota State.
Kicker — Luis Aguilar, senior, Northern Arizona.
 
Defense
Linemen — Jared Brinkman, senior, Northern Iowa; Jahari Kay, senior, Sam Houston; Isiah Chambers, senior, McNeese State; Mike Greene, senior, James Madison.
Linebackers — La’akea Kaho’ohanohano-Davis, junior, Southern Utah; Stone Snyder, sophomore, VMI; Colby Campbell, senior, Presbyterian.
Secondary — Chris Edmonds, sophomore, Samford; Nicario Harper, sophomore, Jacksonville State; Robert Rochell, senior, Central Arkansas; Kendrick Whitehead, junior, Delaware.
Punter — Garrett Wegner, senior, North Dakota State.
 
SECOND TEAM
Offense
Quarterback — Cole Kelley, senior, Southeastern Louisiana.
Running backs — Dejoun Lee, senior, Delaware; Percy Ageyi-Obese, senior, James Madison.
Linemen — Ty Whitworth, senior, Weber State; Nathan Nguon, senior, North Dakota; Colby Thomas, senior, Sam Houston State; Raymond Gillespie, senior, James Madison.
Tight end — Trae Berry, senior, Jacksonville State.
Receivers — Avante Cox, junior, Southern Illinois; Jequez Ezzard, senior, Sam Houston.
All-purpose player — Quay Holmes, junior, ETSU.
Kicker — Ethan Ratke, senior, James Madison.
 
Defense
Linemen — Jordan Lewis, junior, Southern; Kobie Turner, junior, Richmond; Jevon Leon, sophomore, Sam Houston State; Kevin Glajchen, senior, San Diego.
Linebacker — Conner Mortensen, senior, Weber State; Bryson Armstrong, senior, Kennesaw; Tre Walker, junior, Idaho.
Secondary — Don Gardner, senior, South Dakota State; Kordell Jackson, senior, Murray State; Qua Brown, senior, Southern Illinois; Decobie Durant, senior, South Carolina State.
Punter — Cade Coffey, senior, Idaho.