The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga put a league-high 10 student-athletes on the preseason All-Southern Conference Football Team, picked by the league coaches and released as part of SoCon Media Day. The Mocs were picked to finish fourth by the coaches and media.
Senior defensive back Lucas Webb (Northport, Ala.) is one of four Mocs on the first team.
He is joined by junior defensive lineman Isaiah Mack (Tunnel Hill, Ga.), senior linebacker Dale Warren (Covington, Ga.) and senior offensive lineman Josh Cardiello (Buford, Ga.) on offense.
Senior quarterback Alejandro Bennifield (Lovejoy, Ga.), senior running back Richardre Bagley (Powder Springs, Ga.), sophomore offensive lineman Malcolm White (Johnson City, Tenn.) and senior wide receiver James Stovall (Cleveland, Tenn.) were all named to the second team offense. Senior defensive lineman Taylor Reynolds (McCalla, Ala.) and senior defensive back Trevor Wright (Greeneville, Tenn.) earned second team defense honors.
Webb, a three-time All-Southern Conference performer, is ranked sixth all-time at UTC with 10 career interceptions. Last season he had a 37-yard interception return and had eight pass breakups and a fumble recovery.
Warren, an all-conference first team selection last season, was second on the team last season with 91 tackles and recorded a league-best 19 tackles for loss. He had a career-high 15 tackles against The Citadel and had seven at Alabama including three for a loss, a sack and a forced fumble and recovery. His six sacks last season was eighth in the SoCon.
Mack had 36 tackles last season with 14 for a loss and 7.5 sacks including two at Alabama. He finished the season tied for fourth in the SoCon for sacks and fifth for tackles for loss. Rounding out the first team is Cardiello on offense. He is a 2017 UTC graduate and was selected all-conference second team last season.
Bennifield was a second team all-conference selection last season with 29 career passing touchdowns, seventh all-time at UTC. He is tied with former UTC quarterback B.J. Coleman for second most passing touchdowns in a season with 26, ranking 11th in the FCS.
This is the third straight year the Mocs have placed at least 10 on the preseason All-SoCon team. UTC had a school record 12 on the 2015 squad and 10 last year and nine in 2014 and 2013.
The Mocs received 41 points in the Southern Conference Coaches Poll that saw Wofford earn the top pick with 63 points and seven first place votes. Two-time defending champion The Citadel received two votes and finished second in the selection with 54 points followed by Samford in third with 52.
In the media poll, Chattanooga received two first place votes, finishing fourth with 152 points. Wofford is picked by the media to finish first with 178 points and 11 of the 22 votes with The Citadel picking up six votes and 166 points. Samford received the last three votes and is third in the poll with 156 points.
The league coaches picked Samford quarterback Devlin Hodges as the preseason favorite for Offensive Player of the Year and The Citadel defensive back Kailik Williams for Defensive Player of the Year.
Chattanooga led all teams with 10 preseason all-conference selections, putting four on the first team and a league-best six on the second team. Wofford and Samford shared league-high honors with five each on the first team, with the Terriers boasting eight total selections and Samford six. The Citadel also had six total selections, with three first-team and three second-team preseason all-conference picks. Due to ties in the voting, there was an extra linebacker on the first team and an extra defensive lineman and defensive back on the second team.
The 2017 FCS season kicks off Aug. 26 when Chattanooga takes on Jacksonville State in the Guardian Credit Union FCS Kickoff in Montgomery, Alabama. The contest will air nationally on ESPN.
2017 Preseason Southern Conference Media Poll
|
Place
|
Team (1st Place Votes
|
Total
|
|
1
|
Wofford (11)
|
178
|
|
2
|
The Citadel (6)
|
166
|
|
3
|
Samford(3)
|
156
|
|
4
|
Chattanooga (2)
|
152
|
|
5
|
Mercer
|
101
|
|
6
|
Furman
|
87
|
|
7
|
Western Carolina
|
71
|
|
8
|
ETSU
|
49
|
|
9
|
VMI
|
30
|
2017 Preseason Southern Conference Coaches Poll
|
Place
|
Team (1st Place Votes
|
Total
|
|
1
|
Wofford (7)
|
63
|
|
2
|
The Citadel (2)
|
54
|
|
3
|
Samford
|
52
|
|
4
|
Chattanooga
|
41
|
|
5
|
Mercer
|
32
|
|
6
|
Western Carolina
|
27
|
|
7
|
Furman
|
26
|
|
8
|
ETSU
|
17
|
|
9
|
VMI
|
12
|
2017 Preseason All-Southern Conference Football Teams
Offensive Player of the Year: Devlin Hodges, R-Jr., QB, Samford
Defensive Player of the Year: Kailik Williams, Sr., DB, The Citadel
First Team Offense
QB Devlin Hodges, R-Jr., Samford
RB Cam Jackson, Sr., The Citadel
RB Detrez Newsome, Sr., Western Carolina
OL Tyler Davis, Jr., The Citadel
OL Matthew Schmidt, Sr., Furman
OL Thomas Marchman, Sr., Mercer
OL Josh Cardiello, Sr., Chattanooga
OL Roo Daniels, Sr., Wofford
TE Sam Walker, R-Jr., Mercer
WR Kelvin McKnight, Jr., Samford
WR Terryon Robinson, R-Sr., Western Carolina
First Team Defense
DL Ahmad Gooden, R-Jr., Samford
DL Isaiah Mack, Jr., Chattanooga
DL Miles Brown, Jr., Wofford
DL Tyler Vaughn, Sr., Wofford
LB Shaheed Salmon, Sr., Samford
LB Dale Warren, Sr., Chattanooga
LB Allan Cratsenberg, Sr., VMI
LB Datavious Wilson, So., Wofford
DB Kailik Williams, Sr., The Citadel
DB Omari Williams, Sr., Samford
DB Lucas Webb, Sr., Chattanooga
DB Devin Watson, Jr., Wofford
First Team Specialists
PK Cole Fisher, Jr., Mercer
P Ian Berryman, R-Jr., Western Carolina
RS Detrez Newsome, Sr., Western Carolina
Second Team Offense
QB Alejandro Bennifield, Sr., Chattanooga
RB Antonio Wilcox, Sr., Furman
RB Richardre Bagley, Sr., Chattanooga
OL Alex Rios, Sr., ETSU
OL Caleb Yates, Sr., Mercer
OL Malcolm White, So., Chattanooga
OL Nathan Dalton, R-Jr., Western Carolina
OL Ross Demmel, Jr., Wofford
TE Chandler Gouger, Sr., Wofford
WR Marquise Irvin, Jr., Mercer
WR James Stovall, Sr., Chattanooga
Second Team Defense
DL Ken Allen, Jr., The Citadel
DL Jonathan King, Sr., The Citadel
DL Jaylan Reid, R-Jr., Furman
DL Isaiah Buehler, R-Jr., Mercer
DL Taylor Reynolds, Sr., Chattanooga
LB Myles Pierce, Sr., The Citadel
LB Dylan Weigel, R-Jr., ETSU
LB Ryan Francis, R-Sr., VMI
DB Aaquil Annoor, Jr., Furman
DB Trevor Wright, Sr., Chattanooga
DB Greg Sanders, Sr., VMI
DB Keion Crossen, Sr., Western Carolina
DB George Gbesee, So., Wofford
Second Team Specialists
PK JJ Jerman, Jr., ETSU
P Austin Barnard, R-Sr., Samford
RS Chandler Curtis, Sr., Mercer
NOTE: Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players.