The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga put six football student-athletes on the 2018 Coaches Preseason All-Southern Conference Team, the league office announced today.  The Mocs were picked to finish fifth in the league in the coaches poll and sixth by the media covering the SoCon. 

Senior Isaiah Mack led the way on the first team defensive unit.  He was a second team All-SoCon choice a year ago and has played in 37 games with 21 starts on the defensive line. He has 30 career TFLs to go with 12.5 sacks. 

Sophomore Brandon Dowell made the first team as a return specialist.  He played in 10 games as a true freshman, leading the SoCon and No. 6 in the FCS with 12.6 yards per punt return.  That helped him land a spot on the SoCon All-Freshman Team.   
Three Mocs made second team offense, led by senior receiver Bingo Morton.  Morton led UTC with 39 catches last year, tying for the team lead with four receiving touchdowns.  Junior Malcolm White has started all 24 games of his career and was on the SoCon All-Freshman team in 2016. 

Newcomer Tyrell Price was a member of the NJCAA National Championship team at East Mississippi Community College last year.  He led the nation with 24 rushing TDs in 2017, and made the second team as a running back. 

Senior Kareem Orr rounds out the Mocs recognized in the preseason with his selection to the second team defense.  He posted 36 tackles and a pick in the secondary last year.    

Samford quarterback Devlin Hodges is the SoCon Preseason Offensive Player of the Year for the second straight season, while teammate and defensive lineman Ahmad Gooden is the Defensive Player of the Year in preseason voting by the league's nine head coaches, who chose the Bulldogs as the favorites to win the SoCon in their annual predictive poll.

The coaches were not allowed to vote for their own student-athletes or teams in the voting process. Due to several ties in the voting, the second team includes three additional offensive linemen, one extra wide receiver and one additional punter.

2018 Preseason Southern Conference Coaches Poll
Team (1st-place votes)             Total
1. Samford (7)                             63
2. Wofford (1)                              53
3. Furman (1)                              52
4. Western Carolina                   39
5. Chattanooga                         34
6. Mercer                                    32
7. The Citadel                             28
8. ETSU                                      15
9. VMI                                         8

2018 Preseason Southern Conference Media Poll
Team (1st-place votes)            Total
1. Samford (20)                          204
2. Furman (2)                             174
3. Wofford (1)                             163
4. Mercer                                    133
5. Western Carolina                   114
6. Chattanooga                          88
7. The Citadel                              83
8. ETSU                                       53
9. VMI                                          23

2018 Preseason All-Southern Conference Football Teams
Offensive Player of the Year: Devlin Hodges, R-Sr., QB, Samford
Defensive Player of the Year: Ahmad Gooden, R-Sr., DL, Samford

First team offense
QB    Devlin Hodges, R-Sr., Samford
RB    Kealand Dirks, R-Sr., Furman
RB    Andre Stoddard, Sr., Wofford
OL     Tyler Davis, Sr., The Citadel
OL     Austin Sanders, R-Jr., Mercer
OL     Nick Nixon, Jr., Samford
OL     Zach Weeks, R-Sr., Western Carolina
OL     Michael Ralph, Jr., Wofford
TE     Sam Walker, R-Sr., Mercer
WR   Marquise Irvin, Sr., Mercer
WR   Kelvin McKnight, Sr., Samford

First team defense
DL     Nasir Player, R-Jr., ETSU
DL     Ahmad Gooden, R-Sr., Samford
DL     Isaiah Mack, R-Sr., Chattanooga
DL     Miles Brown, Sr., Wofford
LB     Elijah McKoy, So., Furman
LB     LeMarkus Bailey, R-Sr., Mercer
LB     Datavious Wilson, Jr., Wofford
DB    Aron Spann III, Sr., The Citadel
DB    Aaquil Annoor, Sr., Furman
DB    Marvin Tillman, Sr., Western Carolina
DB    Devin Watson, Sr., Wofford

First team specialists
PK     Luke Carter, Jr., Wofford
P       Ian Berryman, R-Sr., Western Carolina
RS    Brandon Dowdell, So., Chattanooga

Second team offense
QB    Tyrie Adams, R-Jr., Western Carolina
RB    Tee Mitchell, Sr., Mercer
RB    Tyrell Price, Jr., Chattanooga
OL     Drew McEntyre, Jr., The Citadel
OL     Matt Pyke, R-Sr., ETSU
OL     Reed Kroeber, R-So., Furman
OL     Malcolm White, R-Jr., Chattanooga
OL     Brad Davis, So., VMI
OL     Nathan Dalton, R-Sr., Western Carolina
OL     Andrew Miles, R-Sr., Western Carolina
OL     Justus Basinger, Jr., Woffor
TE     Jake Walker, So., Furman
WR   Thomas Gordon, Jr., Furman
WR   Chris Shelling, Jr., Samford
WR   Bingo Morton, R-Sr., Chattanooga

Second team defense
DL     Ja'Lon Williams, Jr., The Citadel
DL     Jaylan Reid, R-Sr., Furman
DL     Isaiah Buehler, R-Sr., Mercer
DL     Mikel Horton, Jr., Wofford
LB     Noah Dawkins, Sr., The Citadel
LB     Dylan Weigel, R-Sr., ETSU
LB     Christian Stark, Sr., Samford
DB    Eric Jackson, R-Jr., Mercer
DB    Darius Harvey, R-Sr., Samford
DB    Kareem Orr, Sr., Chattanooga
DB    Mason Alstatt, Jr., Wofford

Second team specialists
PK     JJ Jerman, Sr., ETSU
P       Matt Shiel, Gr., Mercer
P       Luke Carter, Jr., Wofford
RS    Quan Harrison R-Jr., ETSU
NOTE: Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players.