ASHEVILLE, N.C. – ETSU running back Jacob Saylors has been named the Southern Conference Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and Chattanooga defensive lineman Devonnsha Maxwell has been tabbed the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year in voting by the league’s nine head coaches. For the second straight season, the coaches and media both selected Chattanooga to win the SoCon title.
 
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 ties in the voting, the first and second teams both include additional offensive linemen, the first team includes an extra placekicker and the second team includes an extra punter.
 
A second-team All-SoCon running back selection by the coaches and a first-team selection by the media last season, Saylors picked up preseason honors this year on the first team at both running back and return specialist. The Jasper, Tennessee, native ranked sixth in the FCS last season in all-purpose yards with 144.77 per game and sixth in combined return yards with 720. Saylors rushed for 1,019 yards, ranking 15^th in the FCS, and teamed with Walter Payton Award third-place finisher Quay Holmes, who ran for 1,553 yards, to become just the 12^th pair of teammates in the SoCon’s 101-year history of football to eclipse 1,000 yards in the same season. He ran for 10 touchdowns and an average of 7.13 yards per carry to rank third in the FCS and enters his senior campaign with a career average of 6.6 yards per carry, good for sixth in league history. Saylors, who earned second-team All-America honors at all-purpose from the Associated Press and third-team recognition from Stats Perform last season, helped ETSU to its first outright SoCon title and a top-10 national ranking in 2021.
 
Maxwell earned first-team All-America honors from Stats Perform and Phil Steele and second-team honors from the AFCA, the Associated Press and HERO Sports last season. A preseason All-America selection by Athlon Sports this season, he was the league coaches’ pick for SoCon Defensive Player of the Year and shared the honor on the media team in 2021. Maxwell’s 1.09 sacks per game ranked eighth in the FCS last season, while his 1.4 tackles for loss per game ranked 17^th. He totaled 12.0 sacks on the season, a school-record 5.0 of which came in a win over then-No. 10 ETSU on Oct. 16, which earned him Stats Perform National Defensive Player of the Week honors. Maxwell had 42 total tackles on the season, 15.5 of which went for loss, and added five quarterback hurries and one forced fumble. The Valdosta, Georgia, native enters his senior season with 29.5 career sacks to his credit, putting the league record of 37.0, held by former Moc Davis Tull, well within reach. He finished 14^th in voting for the Buck Buchanan Award last season.
 
Chattanooga is the preseason pick to win its first league title since 2015 after going 6-5 overall and 5-3 in league play last season. The Mocs, who spent eight weeks in the national rankings last season and handed ETSU its lone league loss, led Kentucky in the fourth quarter before ultimately falling by five and dropped its three league games by a combined 10 points. UTC features eight players that earned preseason all-conference recognition this season, including five on the first team, but must replace first-round NFL Draft pick Cole Strange, who became the SoCon’s first first-rounder since 1974. The Mocs claimed five first-place votes and 60 points in the coaches poll and 18 of 30 first-place votes and 256 points in the media poll. Chattanooga is ranked 12^th in the Athlon Sports Preseason FCS Top 25 and 16^th in the HERO Sports Preseason FCS Top 25.
 
Defending SoCon champion ETSU is the runner-up in both polls, holding sole possession of second in the coaches poll with two first-place votes and 54 points and sharing the No. 2 spot in the media poll with seven first-place votes and 226 points. The Bucs went 11-2 overall and 7-1 in league play last season, entering the national polls after stunning Vanderbilt in week one and never leaving, peaking at No. 7 in the AFCA FCS Coaches Top 25, where they finished the season. ETSU, which earned the No. 7 national seed in the NCAA Division I Football Championship and reached the quarterfinals in 2021, is under the direction of first-year head coach George Quarles. The Bucs had 10 players claim a league-best 11 spots on the preseason All-SoCon teams, including eight first-team positions, also a league high. ETSU enters the season ranked sixth nationally in the preseason by HERO Sports and 18^th by Athlon Sports.
 
Mercer finished third in the preseason coaches poll and tied for second in the media poll, claiming one first-place vote and 53 points from the coaches and five first-place votes and 226 points from the media. The Bears, who finished second in the league last season at 7-3 overall and 6-2 in SoCon play, spent two weeks in the national rankings last year and put six players on the preseason All-SoCon squads. Mercer enters the season ranked 17^th in the Athlon Sports Preseason FCS Top 25.
 
Furman, which was ranked for one week last season, picked up the remaining first-place vote in the coaches poll, finishing fourth with 43 points and combining for six preseason All-SoCon selections. The Paladins were also picked fourth by the media with 175 points.
 
Western Carolina is fifth in both polls, followed by Samford and VMI in the coaches poll, with those squads swapping places in the media poll. The Keydets were nationally ranked for nine weeks last season and grabbed the second-most preseason All-SoCon selections with 10, including linebacker Stone Snyder, who shared SoCon Defensive Player of the Year honors with Maxwell on the media team last season, and three first-team specialists.
 
The Citadel is eighth in the coaches poll and Wofford is ninth, with those teams switching positions in the media poll.
 
The SoCon’s 2022 season gets underway with Mercer hosting Morehead State on Saturday, Aug. 27, for a week zero game, followed by four games on Thursday, Sept. 1, and four games on Saturday, Sept. 3. Chattanooga will get its first SoCon test immediately, as it hosts Wofford to open the season on Sept. 3.
 
 
2022 Preseason Southern Conference Coaches Poll
Team (1st-place votes)                  Total
1. Chattanooga (5)                          60
2. ETSU (2)                                     54
3. Mercer (1)                                   53
4. Furman (1)                                  43
5. Western Carolina                         38
6. Samford                                      26
7. VMI                                             23
8. The Citadel                                  14
9. Wofford                                       13 


2022 Preseason All-Southern Conference Football Teams
Offensive Player of the Year: Jacob Saylors, Sr., RB, ETSU
Defensive Player of the Year: Devonnsha Maxwell, Sr., DL, Chattanooga
 
First team offense
QB         Tyler Riddell, R-So., ETSU
RB         Jacob Saylors, Sr., ETSU
RB         Ailym Ford, Jr., Chattanooga
OL         Tavon Matthews, Jr., ETSU
OL         Anderson Tomlin, R-Sr., Furman
OL         Pearson Toomey, R-Jr., Furman
OL         John Thomas, Jr., Mercer
OL         McClendon Curtis, Sr., Chattanooga
OL         Tyler Smith, R-Jr., Western Carolina
TE         Ryan Miller, 5th, Furman
WR        Will Huzzie, R-Jr., ETSU
WR        Raphael Williams, R-So., Western Carolina
 
First team defense
DL         Jalen Porter, R-Jr., ETSU
DL         Devonnsha Maxwell, Sr., Chattanooga
DL         Jay Person, Jr., Chattanooga
DL         Micheal Mason, Sr., DL, Wofford
LB          Nathan East, Gr., Samford
LB          Ty Boeck, Sr., Chattanooga
LB          Stone Snyder, Sr., VMI
DB         Destin Mack, Sr., The Citadel
DB         Mike Price, R-Jr., ETSU
DB         Travis Blackshear, R-Sr., Furman
DB         Lance Wise, Jr., Mercer

First team specialists
PK         Tyler Keltner, Jr., ETSU
PK         Jerry Rice, R-Jr., VMI
P           Jack Culbreath, Jr., VMI
LS          Robert Soderholm, R-Sr., VMI
RS         Jacob Saylors, Sr., ETSU
 
Second team offense
QB         Seth Morgan, R-Jr., VMI
RB         Dominic Roberto, R-Jr., Furman
RB         TJ Jones, Sr., Western Carolina
OL         Tereis Drayton, Jr., The Citadel
OL         Fred Norman, R-So., ETSU
OL         Joe Schreiber, R-Jr., ETSU
OL         Gavin Orr, Gr., Samford
OL         Colin Truett, Jr., Chattanooga
OL         Jarvis Chandler, R-Jr., VMI
OL         Al Hogan, 5th, Wofford
TE         Aidan Twombly, Jr., VMI
WR        Ty James, R-So., Mercer
WR        Leroy Thomas, Sr., VMI
 
Second team defense
DL         Carson Hatchett, Jr., The Citadel
DL         Cameron Coleman, R-Sr., Furman
DL         Solomon Zubairu, Jr., Mercer
DL         Eric Weaver, R-Sr., VMI
LB          Marquise Blount, Sr., The Citadel
LB          Isaac Dowling, So., Mercer
LB          Kam Jones, Sr., Chattanooga
DB         Alijah Huzzie, R-So., ETSU
DB         CaMiron Smith, Sr., Chattanooga
DB         Aljareek Malry, Sr., VMI
DB         Andreas Keaton, So., Western Carolina
 
Second team specialists
PK         Richard McCollum, Jr., Western Carolina
P           Trey Turk, So., Mercer
P           Bradley Porcellato, Gr., Samford
LS          Colin Springer, 5th, Wofford
RS         Calvin Jones, So., Western Carolina
 
NOTE: Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players or team.
 
2022 Preseason Southern Conference Media Poll
Team (1st-place votes)                  Total
1. Chattanooga (18)                        256
t2. ETSU (7)                                    226
t2. Mercer (5)                                  226
4. Furman                                       175
5. Western Carolina                         125
6. VMI                                             119
7. Samford                                      106
8. Wofford                                       60
9. The Citadel                                  57