Southland Announces 2019 Preseason All-Conference Football Teams
OL Toby Sanderson Central Arkansas Jr. Edmond, Okla. OL P.J. Burkhalter Nicholls R-Jr. Franklinton, La. The 2019 preseason poll will be revealed next Thursday, July 18, to kick off Southland Football Media Day at the Hilton Houston Post Oak.First Team All-Conference Offense OL Brandon Floores* UIW Sr. La Vernia, Texas WR Jerreth Sterns Houston Baptist So. Midlothian, Texas The Lions boast a talented crop of return specialists with returning all-conference selections Juwan Petit-Frere and Devonte Williams named to the top squad and punt returner Austin Mitchell appearing on the second team. Defending co-champion UIW and Abilene Christian placed five on the teams, while Northwestern State garnered four preseason all-conference selections. Houston Baptist, Lamar, McNeese and Stephen F. Austin earned three spots each. KR Juwan Petit-Frere* Southeastern Louisiana Sr. Orlando, Fla. LB Allen Pittman* Nicholls Sr. St. Rose, La. Pos. Name School Class Hometown P Winston Jones* Nicholls Sr. Thibodaux, La. P David Balcomb UIW Sr. Gordon, Australia Pos. Name School Class Hometown First Team All-Conference Defense WR Nathan Stewart* Sam Houston State Sr. Dallas, Texas WR Dai’Jean Dixon* Nicholls Jr. New Orleans, La. OL Chris Zirkle Northwestern State Sr. League City, Texas OL Jair Joseph Nicholls Jr. Napoleonville, La. LB Royce See Sam Houston State Sr. Shepherd, Texas KR Myles Ward Northwestern State So. Harvey, La. DL Daniel Crosley* Lamar Sr. DeRidder, La. DB Bolu Onifade* Abilene Christian Sr. Oklahoma City, Okla. WR Juwan Petit-Frere* Southeastern Louisiana Sr. Orlando, Fla. LB Jeremiah Chambers* Abilene Christian Sr. Austin, Texas DL Erick Fowler* Sam Houston State Sr. Austin, Texas Led by senior quarterback Chase Fourcade and senior defensive lineman Sully Laiche, the Colonels accounted for eight of the 28 first-team slots. Fourcade, the 2018 Southland Conference Player of the Year, enters his final season with the 10th-most career total offense yards in league history (8,990), and Laiche begins his senior campaign as the active FCS leader in career sacks (25.5). DL Chris Livings* McNeese Sr. Lake Charles, La. PR Devonte Williams* Southeastern Louisiana Sr. Columbia, Md. The Bears’ secondary placed three on the all-league teams with Juan Jackson earning first-team honors after leading the team with 91 tackles in 2018. UCA’s second-leading tackler, junior Jackie Harvell (69), joins classmate Robert Rochell on the second team. OL Kade Parmelly Abilene Christian Jr. Abilene, Texas TE/HB Bransen Schwebel* Southeastern Louisiana Sr. Amite, La. With 1,000 receiving yards in 2019, Sam Houston State wide receiver Nathan Stewart would become just the third player in FCS history to tally 1,000 yards all four years, joining Elon’s Terrell Hudgins and Eastern Washington’s Cooper Kupp. DL Sully Laiche* Nicholls Sr. Grammercy, La. QB Jon Copeland* UIW So. Argyle, Texas DB Zyon McCollum* Sam Houston State Jr. Galveston, Texas OL Terence Hickman II* UIW Sr. Converse, Texas Second Team All-Conference Offense WR Tamrick Pace Stephen F. Austin Sr. Brownsboro, Texas Returning all-conference selections from the previous season are automatically named to the preseason all-conference teams and may advance to higher team slots if they are vacated by non-returning players. Open positions are nominated and voted upon by the league’s head coaches. DB Darren Evans* Nicholls Jr. Baton Rouge, La. RB Dontrell Taylor* Nicholls Sr. White Castle, La. PK Elvin Martinez Lamar Jr. Huntsville, Texas TE/HB Woody Brandom Sam Houston State R-Sr. Corona, Calif. RB Billy McCrary* Abilene Christian Sr. Austin, Texas RB Myles Wanza Lamar Jr. Houston, Texas Second Team All-Conference Defense Central Arkansas earned the second-most selections with seven, followed by six each for Sam Houston State and Southeastern Louisiana. PK Storm Ruiz Stephen F. Austin Sr. League City, Texas RB Carlos Blackman* Central Arkansas Sr. Gosnell, Ark. QB Chase Fourcade* Nicholls Sr. Metairie, La. Pos. Name School Class Hometown DB Juan Jackson* Central Arkansas Sr. Gardendale, Ala. DB Alize Ward* Stephen F. Austin Sr. San Diego, Calif. OL Uzoma Okere UIW Jr. Grand Prairie, Texas OL Hunter Watts* Central Arkansas Sr. San Antonio, Texas LB Evan Veron* Nicholls Sr. LaPlace, La. DL O’Shea Jackson Northwestern State Sr. Arlington, Texas DB Khristian Mims* Nicholls Sr. Baton Rouge, La. OL Grant Burguillos* McNeese Sr. Mandeville, La. DL Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund Southeastern Louisiana Sr. Dartmouth, Nova Scotia FRISCO, Texas – The 2019 Southland Conference Football Preseason All-Conference Teams were announced on Thursday, with defending co-champion Nicholls leading the league with 11 total selections. DL Andre Walker Houston Baptist Sr. Slidell, La. LB Caleb Johnson Houston Baptist Jr. San Diego, Calif. Pos. Name School Class Hometown DB Robert Rochell Central Arkansas Jr. Shreveport, La. DB Hayden Bourgeois* Northwestern State Jr. Church Point, La. WR Josh Fink Abilene Christian Sr. Coppell, Texas LB Hunter Brown Sam Houston State R-Sr. Weston, Fla. DB Jackie Harvell Central Arkansas Jr. Gurdon, Ark. DL Chris Terrell* Central Arkansas Sr. Pensacola, Fla. DB Colby Burton* McNeese Sr. League City, Texas PR Austin Mitchell Southeastern Louisiana Jr. Plaquemine, La. * Automatic selection; returning all-conference player