FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Zena Lewis JULY 21, 2014 EMAIL: zlewis@thesiac TWITTER: @thesiac ALBANY STATE, RIVERS AND ENGLISH SPOTLIGHT 2014 SIAC FOOTBALL PRESEASON HONORS Frank Rivers (Albany State) and Julantate English (Miles) received SIAC individual preseason accolades with Albany State voted to repeat as league champions ATLANTA - Albany State University and its quarterback, Frank Rivers, along with Miles College linebacker, Julantate English, headline the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (S-I-A-C) 2014 SIAC Preseason Teams. The conference made the announcement during the 2014 SIAC Football Media Day and Luncheon. In a vote by the league football head coaches, Rivers collected SIAC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year honors while English was tabbed as the SIAC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. Rivers and English join 50 players that total this years preseason squads. Eleven member institutions were spotlighted on this years team. Returning players from the 2013 postseason teams received an automatic selection. Players from the second team at the end of 2013 were elevated to the first team as a result of last years voting and positions available for nomination. Albany State registered the most selections on this years preseason squads with 11 including five voted to the first team. Miles posted nine players and led the first team with six picks followed by Tuskegee with seven players tabbed overall. Fort Valley State and Stillman recorded five apiece with Lane (4), Kentucky State (3), Clark Atlanta (3), Central State (2), Morehouse (2), and Benedict (1) rounding out the preseason honors. As a result of entering its first year of conference play, Paine College did not have players on the voting ballot. Last season, Rivers helped lead the Golden Rams to the SIAC Centennial football crown and its second title in four years. He passed for more than 2,000 yards with 19 touchdowns. English spearheaded the Golden Bears defense catapulting to the championship game. He notched 90 tackles in 2013 including 45 solo and 4.5 for a loss. For the predicted order of finish and in addition to receiving the most votes from the East Division, defending SIAC Champions, Albany State was selected to repeat as this years overall winner. ASU received 23 points and all available first-place votes from the East Division poll including 111 points in the overall ranking. To close out the division ballot, Fort Valley State garnered 21 points with two first-place votes followed by Benedict (12), Morehouse (11), Clark Atlanta (8), and Paine (7). For the West Division, Tuskegee landed 23 points with three first-place votes to become the favorite. Miles recorded 21 points including two for first place. Stillman (17), Kentucky State (14), Lane (8) and Central State (7) closed out the preseason ranking. East Division Predicted Order of Finish Team Total Points (First Place Votes) Albany State 20 (4) Fort Valley State 17 Benedict 12 Morehouse 11 Clark Atlanta 8 Paine 7 West Division Predicted Order of Finish Team Total Points (First Place Votes) Tuskegee 23 (3) Miles 21 (2) Stillman 17 Kentucky State 14 Lane 8 Central State 7 Predicted Overall Champion 1. Albany State 111 (3) 2. Tuskegee 103 (5) 3. Miles 102 (4) 4. Fort Valley State 87 5. Stillman 64 6. Kentucky State 63 7. Benedict 62 8. Morehouse 56 9. Clark Atlanta 43 10.Lane 42 11. Central State 31 12. Paine 28 First Team Offense QB Frank Rivers - Albany State RB Jacquise Lockett - Kentucky State RB Hoderick Lowe - Tuskegee OL Victor Moli - Albany State OL Terrence Owens - Miles OL Matthew Reece - Tuskegee OL Michael D. Thornton - Tuskegee OL Aderus Hood - Miles TE Delarius Webb - Miles WR Jamion Dunning - Lane WR Jesse Atkins - Albany State KR Dondre Purnell - Stillman K Zach Holley - Albany State First Team Defense DL Grover Stewart - Albany State DL Bryshon Jones - Miles DL Gabriel Mass - Lane DL Clarence Christian - Morehouse LB Julantate English - Miles LB BreNard Williams - Clark Atlanta LB LeRon Furr - Fort Valley State DB Joe Beckham - Miles DB Cameron Stallings - Stillman DB Michael Robinson - Tuskegee DB Robert Crosby - Stillman P Austin Casillas - Clark Atlanta PR Rodney Hall - Benedict Second Team Offense QB Demetrice Price - Miles RB Montavious Taylor - Clark Atlanta RB Phillip Moore - Albany State OL Montell Collins - Miles OL Shea Martin - Morehouse OL Daniel Ford - Kentucky State OL Brandon Baker - Fort Valley State OL Michael Brown - Fort Valley State TE Zach Thomas - Central State WR Dondre Purnell - Stillman WR Antonio Pitts - Miles KR Darius Mitchell - Lane K Trevor Wylie - Tuskegee Second Team Defense DL Peter Dele - Stillman DL Damien Goosby - Albany State DL Benard Little - Fort Valley State DL Justin Woods-West - Central State LB Terry Horton - Kentucky State LB ElMalik Chinn - Tuskegee LB Larry Whitfield - Albany State DB Dewayne Brown - Lane DB Bryan Walker - Fort Valley State DB Breon Issac - Fort Valley State DB Tyrin Thurmon - Tuskegee P Ryan Latner - Albany State PR Adrian Alexander - Albany State ABOUT THE SIAC The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) is a collegiate athletic conference consisting of historically black colleges and universities located in the southern United States with 15 member institutions (Central State is an affiliate member for football). Formed in 1913, the SIAC is located in Atlanta, Ga. and is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The SIAC competes in Division II sponsoring 13 intercollegiate sports. ###
Posted on: Mon, 21 Jul 2014 21:29:24 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015