Strange Earns Jacobs Blocking Award, Eight Earn All-SoCon Honors

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team had eight individuals take home Southern Conference postseason honors, the league office announced today. Leading the way was senior Cole Strange, who became the third Moc to win the Jacobs Blocking Award.

Junior offensive lineman McClendon Curtis made the coaches first team, while junior defensive lineman Devonnsha Maxwell was selected to the first team by the league's coaches and media. In an odd result of the voting, Strange was a second team selection by the coaches and media.

Senior wide receiver Reginald Henderson and junior linebacker Ty Boeck joined Strange on the coaches second team, while sophomore defensive lineman Jay Person made both the coaches and media second teams. Wrapping up the selections were defensive linemen John Prince and Quay Wiggles who were both selected to the SoCon All-Freshman team by the league's coaches.

Strange, a four-year starter at left guard and preseason All-American, joins Mike Nease (1983) and current New York Jet Corey Levin (2014-15) as the only Mocs to win the Jacobs Blocking Award. Strange shares the 2021 spring honor with ETSU's Tre'mond Shorts.

The Jacobs Blocking Award originated in 1928 by Dr. William P. Jacobs II, who helped organize Presbyterian College's first varsity football team in 1913. From 1928 to 1932, the Jacobs Award was presented to a player from the state of South Carolina. Dr. Jacobs had a duplicate award made and began presenting it to a Southern Conference player in 1933. Additional awards were subsequently made for the Southeastern (1935) and Atlantic Coast (1953) Conferences.

The head-scratcher of the list was Strange's selection to the coaches and media second teams. He is not the only one to have this anomaly. VMI's Stone Snyder shared the coaches defensive player of they year honor with ETSU's Jared Folks, but was also a second team pick by the coaches.

Curtis has started the last two seasons at right guard for the Mocs. The 6-7, 325-pound Chattanooga native joins Strange on one of the most dominant and experienced lines in the conference.

Maxwell made the first team for the second year in a row after leading the Mocs with 5.0 sacks in four games played. That mark is even more impressive number considering two of those contests were against triple-option Wofford and The Citadel. He tied for team-high with 7.0 tackles-for-loss, while forcing a pair of fumbles. Maxwell's 1.25 sacks-per-game and 1.75 TFLs per outing both led the SoCon.

Henderson led the team with 15 catches for 285 yards in four games for his first career postseason honors. He was third in the league with 71.2 receiving yards per game. He also led the team and was No. 18 in the FCS with 19.0 yards per catch. That is the eighth-highest yards-per-catch in a season in school history.

Person tied with Maxwell for the team lead with 7.0 TFLs. He also played in four games and tied Maxwell for the SoCon lead with 1.75 TLFs per game. He had 3.0 sacks and was third in the league in sacks-per-game.

Boeck totaled 31 tackles in four games to earn his second All-SoCon honors. He was the FCS National Player of the Week after posting a pair of takeaways in the Mocs' win at Furman on March 20.

UTC's defensive line is in good hands for years to come, as evident by Prince and Wiggles selection to the all-freshman team. Prince started four games and had 14 tackles, including 3.0 TFLs, a sack and two hurries. Wiggles, a former three-star prep prospect, made one start in four games on the line.

The Mocs finished the 2020-21 season second in the SoCon with a 3-2 overall record and a 3-1 league tally. They now turn their attention to the fall season, which kicks off in 133 days. Chattanooga hosts Austin Peay for the season opener on Thursday, Sept. 2, at 7:30 p.m. (E.D.T.) at Finley Stadium. Season tickets are on sale now on GoMocs.com.

2020-21 Coaches All-Southern Conference Football Team
Offensive Player of the Year – Liam Welch, Gr., QB, Samford
Offensive Player of the Year – Jakob Herres, Jr., WR, VMI
Defensive Player of the Year ¬ Jared Folks, Gr., ETSU
Defensive Player of the Year ¬ Stone Snyder, So., VMI
Freshman of the Year – Seth Morgan, QB, VMI
Jacobs Blocking Award – Tre'mond Shorts, R-Jr., OL, ETSU
Jacobs Blocking Award – Cole Strange, Sr., OL, Chattanooga
Coach of the Year – Scott Wachenheim, VMI

First team offense
QB      Liam Welch, Gr., Samford
RB       Quay Holmes, R-Jr., ETSU
RB       Donnavan Spencer, R-Sr., Western Carolina
OL       Tre'mond Shorts, R-Jr., ETSU
OL       Anderson Tomlin, R-So., Furman
OL       McClendon Curtis, Jr., Chattanooga
OL       Marshall Gill, Jr., VMI
OL       Isaiah Helms, So., Western Carolina
TE       Nate Adkins, Jr., ETSU
WR      Ty King, So., Samford
WR      Jakob Herres, Jr., VMI

First team defense
DL       Armond Lloyd, Gr., Samford
DL       Devonnsha Maxwell, Jr., Chattanooga
DL       Jordan Ward, Sr., VMI
DL       Micheal Mason, So., Wofford
LB       Jared Folks, Gr., ETSU
LB       Willie Eubanks III, Sr., The Citadel
LB       Donovan Manuel, R-So., ETSU
DB      Tyree Robinson, Sr., ETSU
DB      Lance Wise, So., Mercer
DB      Chris Edmonds, So., Samford
DB      AJ Smith, Sr., VMI

First team special teams
PK       Mitchell Fineran, Jr., Samford
P          Matt Campbell, Jr., The Citadel
RS       Montrell Washington, Sr., Samford

Second team offense
QB      Reece Udinski, Sr., VMI
RB       Devin Wynn, Sr., Furman
RB       Deondre Johnson, R-So., Mercer
OL       Haden Haas, R-Jr., The Citadel
OL       Gavin Orr, Jr., Samford
OL       Mike Williams, Sr., Samford
OL       Cole Strange, Sr., Chattanooga
OL       Nick Hartnett, R-So., VMI
TE       Ryan Miller, Jr., Furman
WR      Montrell Washington, Sr., Samford
WR      Reginald Henderson, Sr., Chattanooga

Second team defense
DL       Cameron Coleman, R-So., Furman
DL       DJ McDaniel, Jr., Mercer
DL       Solomon Zubairu, So., Mercer
DL       Nelson Jordan, Jr., Samford
DL       Jay Person, So., Chattanooga
LB       Isaac Dowling, Fr., Mercer
LB       Nathan East, Gr., Samford
LB       Ty Boeck, Jr., Chattanooga
LB       Stone Snyder, So., VMI
DB      Parrish Gordon, Gr., The Citadel
DB      Yahsyn McKee, So., Mercer
DB      Ethan Caselberry, Jr., VMI
DB      Tahir Annoor, So., Wofford

Second team special teams
PK       Tyler Keltner, So., ETSU
P          Timmy Bleekrode, R-So., Furman
P          Caleb Dowden, R-So., Mercer
RS       Quay Holmes, R-Jr., ETSU

All-Freshman Offense
Ben Brockington, The Citadel
Nathan Storch, The Citadel
Fred Norman Jr., ETSU
Noah West, ETSU
Jacob Johanning, Furman
Ethan Dirrim, Mercer
Ty James, Mercer
Carter Peevy, Mercer
Cooper Frazier, Samford
Seth Morgan, VMI
Irvin Mulligan, Wofford

All-Freshman Defense
Carson Hatchett, The Citadel
Di'Andre Davis, ETSU
Max Evans, ETSU
Alijah Huzzie, ETSU
Nick Kuzemka, Furman
Isaac Dowling, Mercer
Noah Martin, Samford
John Prince, Chattanooga
Quay Wiggles, Chattanooga
Alex Oliver, VMI
Dorian Davis, Western Carolina
Jaquarius Guinn, Western Carolina

All-Freshman Special Teams
Chance Knox, VMI
Jerry Rice, VMI
Paxton Robertson, Western Carolina

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2020-21 SCSMA All-Southern Conference Football Team
Roy M. "Legs" Hawley Offensive Player of the Year – Jakob Herres, Jr., WR, VMI
Defensive Player of the Year ¬ Stone Snyder, So., LB, VMI
Freshman of the Year – Carter Peevy, QB, Mercer
Wallace Wade Coach of the Year – Scott Wachenheim, VMI

First team offense
QB      Liam Welch, Gr., Samford
RB       Quay Holmes, R-Jr., ETSU
RB       Donnavan Spencer, R-Sr., Western Carolina
OL       Haden Haas, R-Jr., The Citadel
OL       Tre'mond Shorts, R-Jr., ETSU
OL       Mike Williams, Sr., Samford
OL       Marshall Gill, Jr., VMI
OL       Nick Hartnett, R-So., VMI
TE       Ryan Miller, Jr., Furman
WR      Ty King, So., Samford
WR      Jakob Herres, Jr., VMI

First team defense
DL       Dalton Owens, R-Jr., The Citadel
DL       Solomon Zubairu, So., Mercer
DL       Devonnsha Maxwell, Jr., Chattanooga
DL       Micheal Mason, So., Wofford
LB       Anthony Britton Jr., So., The Citadel
LB       Isaac Dowling, Fr., Mercer
LB       Stone Snyder, So., VMI
DB      Tyree Robinson, Sr., ETSU
DB      Darius Kearse, Sr., Furman
DB      Lance Wise, So., Mercer
DB      Chris Edmonds, So., Samford

First team special teams
PK       Mitchell Fineran, Jr., Samford
P          Matt Campbell, Jr., The Citadel
RS       Montrell Washington, Sr., Samford

Second team offense
QB      Reece Udinski, Sr., VMI
RB       Devin Wynn, Sr., Furman
RB       Deondre Johnson, R-So., Mercer
OL       Anderson Tomlin, R-So., Furman
OL       John Harris, R-So., Mercer
OL       Gavin Orr, Jr., Samford
OL       Cole Strange, Sr., Chattanooga
OL       Isaiah Helms, So., Western Carolina
TE       Michael Vice, So., Samford
WR      A.J. Toney, So., Samford
WR      Montrell Washington, Sr., Samford

Second team defense
DL       Carson Hatchett, Fr., The Citadel
DL       Nelson Jordan, Jr., Samford
DL       Armond Lloyd, Gr., Samford
DL       Jay Person, So., Chattanooga
DL       Jordan Ward, Sr., VMI
LB       Jared Folks, Gr., ETSU
LB       Connor Riddle, R-Sr., VMI
LB       Ty Harris, Sr., Western Carolina
DB      Alijah Huzzie, R-Fr., ETSU
DB      AJ Smith, Sr., VMI
DB      Ethan Caselberry, Jr., VMI
DB      Ronald Kent Jr., Jr., Western Carolina

Second team special teams
PK       Tyler Keltner, So., ETSU
P          Timmy Bleekrode, R-So., Furman
RS       Quay Holmes, R-Jr., ETSU

Players Mentioned

Ty Boeck

McClendon Curtis

Reginald Henderson

Corey Levin

Devonnsha Maxwell

Jay Person

John Prince

Cole Strange

Quay Wiggles

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