The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team placed six individuals on the 2019 Preseason Southern Conference Football Team, the league office announced today. The Mocs were picked to finish fourth by the coaches and fifth by the media..
The coaches selected all-conference first and second teams and were not allowed to vote for their own student-athletes or teams in the voting process. Wofford led all teams with nine total preseason all-conference selections, putting three on the first team and a league-best six on the second team.
Mercer was second with eight total selections, three on the first team and five on the second team, while Furman and ETSU had seven total selections each. ETSU and Chattanooga shared league-high honors with four first-team selections apiece. All nine schools had at least two first-team picks.
Junior receiver
Bryce Nunnelly earned a spot on the first team offense. He was a first team All-SoCon pick last season after finishing second in the conference and No. 6 in the FCS with 112.5 receiving yards per game. He was also third in the league and No. 8 in the FCS with 7.2 receptions per game.
Senior linebacker
Marshall Cooper, and junior defensive backs
Brandon Dowdell and
Jerrell Lawson made the first team defense. Cooper was a second-team All-SoCon selection last season when he led the team and was third in the league with 8.9 tackles per game.
Dowdell was a first team pick by the league's coaches in 2018, posting three interceptions and six pass breakups. Lawson started the season as a defensive back, but moved up to linebacker the last eight games. He was fourth on the team with 53 tackles, including 2.5 sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss.
Senior running back
Tyrell Price and junior OL
Cole Strange were both second team offense selections on the preseason squad. Price was a second team All-SoCon choice by the league's media last season when he led the team with 63.4 rushing yards per game. Strange started all 11 games at left guard and was also a second team All-SoCon pick by the league's coaches.
Wofford, Furman and ETSU were the top three picks in both the coaches and media preseason polls. Mercer, Samford and The Citadel followed the Mocs in the coaches poll, with Western Carolina and VMI filling in the last two spots in both listings. Mercer is fourth in the media poll, followed by UTC, Samford and The Citadel.
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First Team Offense
QB - Tyrie Adams, R-Sr., Western Carolina - Preseason Offensive Player of the Year
RB - Quay Holmes, R-So., ETSU
RB - Tyray Devezin, Jr., Mercer
OL - Bo Layton, R-Jr., Furman
OL - Austin Sanders, R-Sr., Mercer
OL - Nick Nixon, Sr., Samford
OL - Justus Basinger, Sr., Wofford
OL - Michael Ralph, Sr., Wofford
TE - Owen Cosenke, Jr., Western Carolina
WR - Bryce Nunnelly, Jr., Chattanooga
WR - Javeon Lara, Sr., VMI
First Team Defense
DL - Joseph Randall II, Sr., The Citadel
DL - Jason Maduafokwa, R-Sr., ETSU
DL - Nasir Player, R-Sr., ETSU
DL - Thad Mangum, Sr., Wofford
LB - Willie Eubanks III, Jr., The Citadel
LB - Adrian Hope, R-So., Furman
LB - Marshall Cooper, Sr., Chattanooga
DB - Tyree Robinson, Jr., ETSU
DB - Brandon Dowdell, Jr., Chattanooga
DB - Jerrell Lawson, R-Jr., Chattanooga
DB - A.J. Smith, Jr., VMI
DB - Ronald Kent Jr., So., Western Carolina
First Team Specialists
PK - Grayson Atkins, Jr., Furman
PK - Mitchell Fineran, So., Samford
P - Matthew Campbell, So., The Citadel
RS - David Durden, So., Mercer
Second Team Offense
QB - Reece Udinski, Jr., VMI
RB - Devin Wynn, Jr., Furman
RB - Tyrell Price, Sr., Chattanooga
OL - Haden Haas, R-So., The Citadel
OL - Drew McEntyre, Sr., The Citadel
OL - Ben Blackmon, R-Sr., ETSU
OL - Tre'mond Shorts, R-So., ETSU
OL - Andy Godwin, R-Sr., Furman
OL - Cole Strange, R-Jr., Chattanooga
OL - Blake Jeresaty, Jr., Wofford
TE - Chris Ellington, Sr., Mercer
WR - Thomas Gordon, Sr., Furman
WR - David Durden, So., Mercer
Second Team Defense
DL - Dorian Kithcart, R-Sr., Mercer
DL - Justin Foster, Sr., Samford
DL - Nelson Jordan, So., Samford
DL - Mikel Horton, Jr., Wofford
LB - Elijah McKoy, Jr., Furman
LB - Will Coneway, R-Sr., Mercer
LB - Jireh Wilson, Sr., Wofford
DB - Jeremy Lewis, Sr., ETSU
DB - Malique Fleming, R-Jr., Mercer
DB - Mason Alstatt, Sr., Wofford
DB - George Gbesee, Sr., Wofford
Second Team Specialists
PK - Jacob Godek, Sr., The Citadel
P - Luke Carter, Sr., Wofford
RS - Rohan Martin, Sr., VMI
Preseason polls
Coaches
# Team (first-place) - Points
1. Wofford (7) - 63
2. Furman (1) - 55
3. ETSU (1) - 44
4. Chattanooga - 40
5. Mercer - 34
6. Samford - 33
7. The Citadel - 22
8. Western Carolina - 21
9. VMI - 12
Media
# Team (first-place) - Points
1. Wofford (21) - 253
2. Furman (6) - 229
3. ETSU (2) - 187
4. Mercer - 146
5. Chattanooga - 134
6. Samford - 125
7. The Citadel - 111
8. Western Carolina - 88
9. VMI - 32
