All-Southern Conference football teams announced

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Southern Conference’s nine football coaches have selected their annual all-conference teams and specialty awards for the 2025 season. Western Carolina quarterback Taron Dickens is the Offensive Player of the Year and Mercer defensive lineman Andrew Zock is the Defensive Player of the Year. Bears quarterback Braden Atkinson is the Freshman of the Year and head coach Mike Jacobs is the Coach of the Year. The Citadel offensive lineman Mike Bartilucci is the Jacobs Blocking Award winner.
 
The coaches, who could not vote for their own players or themselves, selected all-conference first and second teams and all-freshman teams on offense, defense and special teams. Due to a tie in the voting, there was one additional wide receiver, offensive lineman and defensive back on the second team.
 
2025 Coaches All-Southern Conference Football Team
 
Roy M. “Legs” Hawley Offensive Player of the Year – Taron Dickens, QB, R-So., Western Carolina

Defensive Player of the Year – Andrew Zock, So., DL, Mercer

Freshman of the Year – Braden Atkinson, QB, Mercer

Jacobs Blocking Award – Mike Bartilucci, OL, The Citadel

Wallace Wade Coach of the Year – Mike Jacobs, Mercer

First team offense

QB – Taron Dickens, Western Carolina

RB – Devontae Houston, ETSU 

RB – CJ Miller, Mercer

OL – Mike Bartilucci, The Citadel

OL – Ashton Flinn, ETSU

OL – Seth Williams, ETSU

OL – Luke Petit, Furman

OL – Xavier Jennings, Mercer

TE – Josh Burrell, Furman

WR – Adjatay Dabbs, Mercer

WR – James Tyre, Western Carolina

First team defense

DL – Joshua Stoneking, Furman

DL – Andrew Zock, Mercer

DL – Donovan Grayson, Samford

DL – Brandon Maina, Wofford

LB – Ty Anderson, ETSU

LB – Drew Clare., Mercer

LB – Jaden Mosley, Samford

DB – William Wells, ETSU

DB – Kaleb Hutchinson, Mercer

DB – Ken Moore, Jr., Western Carolina

DB – Maximus Pulley, Wofford

First team special teams

PK – Reice Griffith, Mercer

P – Ben Shrewsbury, VMI

LS – Nathan Payne, VMI

RS – Dominic Dutton, Western Carolina

Second team offense

QB – Braden Atkinson, Mercer

RB – Ryan Ingram, Chattanooga

RB – Ihson Jackson-Anderson, Wofford

OL – Jamari Freeman, Mercer

OL – Tyler Murray, Mercer

OL – Amarii Atchison, Mercer

OL – Ryan Merklinger, Chattanooga

OL – Zack Watson, Western Carolina

OL – Quincy Hughes, Wofford

TE – Josiah Thomas, Western Carolina

WR – Evan James, Furman

WR – Owen Sweeney, VMI

WR – Malik Knight, Western Carolina

Second team defense

DL – Chris Benton, The Citadel

DL – Chris Davis, ETSU

DL – Jordan Swain, Mercer

DL – Conroy Cunningham, Samford

LB – Mikey Rosa, The Citadel

LB – Zion Rutledge, Chattanooga

LB – Stephen Dean III, VMI

DB – Cale Williams, The Citadel

DB – Mike Jenkins, ETSU

DB – Kam Baah-Slay, Chattanooga

DB – Eli Campbell, Wofford

DB – Darius Malcolm, Jr., Wofford

Second team special teams

PK – Ian Williams, Furman

P – James Platte, The Citadel

LS – Alex Applefield, Samford

RS – Brayden Smith, Mercer

All-Freshman Offense

Brady Pickett, The Citadel

Cobey Thompkins, The Citadel

Jeremiah Harrison, ETSU

Cole Norred, ETSU

Braden Atkinson, Mercer

Evan James, Furman

Ty Doughty, Mercer

Gavin Marks, Mercer

Owen Sweeney, VMI

Josiah Thomas, Western Carolina

Markel Townsend, Western Carolina

All-Freshman Defense

Sayre Smothers, The Citadel

Demetrius Baldwin, Furman

Kobe McInnis, Mercer

KJ Thomas, Mercer

Trey Lenhardt, Samford

Kamari Todd, Chattanooga

KJ Sejour, Chattanooga

Donovan Burnett, VMI

Derek Hite, VMI

Darius Malcolm Jr., Wofford

Wyatt Ward, Wofford

All-Freshman Special Teams

Caleb Easterling, Furman

Jake Garner, Samford

Marcus Trout, Western Carolina

Cavan Craig, Wofford

Notes:
- Mercer quarterback Braden Atkinson and Western Carolina quarterback Taron Dickens (Walter Payton Award), Furman defensive lineman Joshua Stoneking, Mercer defensive lineman Andrew Zock and Wofford defensive back Maximus Pulley (Buck Buchanan Award), Atkinson, Furman wide receiver Evan James and Wofford defensive back Darius Malcolm Jr. (Jerry Rice Award) and Mercer coach Mike Jacobs (Eddie Robinson Award) are all national finalists for FCS legacy awards.

- Both Dickens (WCU) and Zock (Mercer) lived up to their billing as Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and Preseason Defensive Player of the Year

- Entering postseason play, Western Carolina’s Dickens leads FCS football in seven offensive categories, including passing yards (3,508), completion percentage (.742) and passing TDs (38). His 38 touchdown passes set a new SoCon record for passing touchdowns in a season. Dickens passing efficiency rating of 188.24 this season broke Michael Payton’s previous mark of 181.30 set in 1991.

- Dickens claimed SoCon Offensive Player of the Week three times this season, most recently on Monday after a four-touchdown performance at VMI. The other two wins came on Sept. 22 and Oct. 6.

- On Oct. 4 at Wofford, Dickens completed his first 46 passes of the contest, setting a new NCAA record in the process. Dickens’ performance against the Terriers led to him being named the Stats Perform FCS National Player of the Week. He was named honorable mention for the national honor on four other occasions. Combined with his final four completions from the week before at Campbell, Dickens’ multi-game NCAA record is 50 consecutive completions.

- Dickens is the second Catamount quarterback in the past three seasons to be recognized as the conference’s offensive player of the year, as Cole Gonzales received the honor from the media in 2023.

 
- Mercer’s Zock is the second Bear to be named Defensive Player of the Year, joining former teammate Brayden Manley (2024). Zock finished the regular season ranked second nationally in tackles for loss per game (1.81), sixth nationally in sacks per game (1.04), and is among the national leaders with 22 quarterback hurries. Zock’s 20 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks are both new career-high totals and raise his career totals to 34.5 tackles for loss and 18.5 sacks in only 25 games played. Zock was the 2024 SoCon Freshman of the Year.

 - Zock had five games with multiple sacks and seven games with multiple tackles for loss. His most productive outing came on Sept. 13 vs. Wofford, with eight tackles, 4.5 for loss, a sack and two hurries. He registered at least a half TFL in all but two games in 2025.

 
- Zock’s most efficient game came on Oct. 25 vs. VMI, when he had two solo stops, both sacks, and four quarterback hurries.

- Behind Zock’s pressure, the Mercer defense ranks first nationally in team sacks, third in first-down defense, fourth in rushing defense, fourth in team TFL, and 17^th in third down defense. The Bears also rank in the top 25 nationally in red zone defense.

- Mercer’s Atkinson has put together one of the best freshman seasons ever by a quarterback nationally. He needs only 370 more yards through the air to break Elon’s Scott Riddle’s 2007 single-season SoCon and FCS freshman passing mark of 3,817 yards. His 34 passing touchdowns broke the previous FCS freshman mark of 31 set in 2004 by New Hampshire’s Ricky Santos and tied in 2007 by Riddle. Atkinson is within striking distance of Riddle’s SoCon and national freshman mark of 3,738 total offensive yards, which Riddle set in 2007 at Elon. He needs five more touchdowns responsible for to catch Riddle for the SoCon’s freshman record (40), also set in 2007.

- Atkinson is the second Mercer player in a row to earn SoCon Freshman of the Year honors, joining Andrew Zock (2024). He is the first Mercer offensive player to win the award since quarterback Kaelan Riley (2017).

- Atkinson ranks second among all quarterbacks nationally in passing yards per game (344.8), passing yards (3,448), completions (25.0), and touchdowns (34). He ranks third nationally among all quarterbacks in total offense (345.8), passing efficiency (173.80), yards per attempt (9.4) and points responsible for (21.0 per game). He leads all FCS freshman in passing offense (by 921 yards) and total offense (by 619 yards).

- Atkinson’s best game through the air this season, a 533-yard effort vs. VMI, fell only seven yards shy of the NCAA FCS freshman record for yards passing in a game. It fell one yard shy of the SoCon freshman mark, set in 2007 by Scott Riddle. Atkinson’s 533 yards are the fifth most in a game in SoCon history overall. He tossed a season-high five touchdowns vs. Samford (10/4), VMI (10/25), and Chattanooga (11/15) and had at least three touchdown passes in eight of the 10 games he played during the regular season.

- Atkinson’s current passing efficiency rating (173.80) would rank third all-time in SoCon history, regardless of class, for a season. Dickens’ rating of 188.24 this season broke Michael Payton’s previous mark of 181.30 set in 1991.

- Atkinson is one of only two quarterbacks in SoCon history to pass for more than 2,000 yards over a five-game stretch, joining Devlin Hodges (Samford). Hodges did so three times over two different seasons. Atkinson’s stretch of six consecutive games with at least 300 passing yards is second in SoCon history behind Riddle’s nine-game stretch in 2007.

- The Citadel’s Bartilucci is the third Bulldog lineman, and second center, to earn the Jacobs Blocking Award. Center Mike Sellers (2012) and tackle Isaiah Pinson (2016) are the other two Bulldogs to earn the prestigious honor.

- Bartilucci built on his preseason first-team All-SoCon honors at center by bulldozing the way for an offense that led the SoCon and ranked No. 9 nationally in rushing yards per game (210.6). The Citadel topped the 300-yard mark on the ground three times in 2025 behind Bartilucci, going 3-0 in those games.

- Mercer’s Jacobs won SoCon Coach of the Year for the second season in a row after leading the Bears to a top 10 ranking and No. 6 national seed in the playoffs. He is the first coach to win SoCon Coach of the Year in back-to-back seasons since Scott Wachenheim (VMI) did so in 2019 and the spring season of 2021.

- Jacobs has posted a 20-5 mark over the past two seasons combined, including a 15-1 mark in SoCon action. His Bears have finished the regular season ranked inside the national top 10 in two consecutive seasons.

- Mercer paced the league with 18 players earning postseason distinction. The Bears had 13 all-conference selections for the second season in a row and five all-freshman picks. Western Carolina had 10 players earn postseason honors, including seven All-SoCon choices and three on the all-freshman team. ETSU and Wofford each had nine total, with the Bucs landing seven players on the All-SoCon team. The Terriers had six All-SoCon picks.

- Mercer’s 13 all-conference selections included seven on the first team. ETSU was second with five players on the first team. Four of Western Carolina’s seven All-SoCon selections were first teamers.

 
- Mercer also led the SoCon with five all-freshmen choices. Furman and The Citadel had three each.

- Furman’s Luke Petit (OL) and Ian Williams (PK), Mercer’s Brayden Smith (RS) and Andrew Zock (DL), Samford’s Alex Applefield (LS), and The Citadel’s James Platte (P) were repeat All-SoCon selections from the 2024 season.