SPARTANBURG, S.C. ? Georgia Southern University had five football players earn All-Southern Conference accolades, as voted on by the league head coaches. The conference office made the announcement Tuesday afternoon (Nov. 25).
Seniors Chris Covington
(Lawrenceville/Brookwood) and
Dakota Walker (Mays Landing, N.J./Oakcrest) earned First Team honors on defense.
Dio Herrera (Hollywood, FL/Hollywood Christian) and
Raja Andrews (Swainsboro/Swainsboro), another pair of seniors, earned Second Team honors on offense. Redshirt-freshman place kicker
Adrian Mora (Dalton/Dalton) also earned Second Team accolades.
Georgia Southern finished the year 6-5 overall (4-4 SoCon). Covington was the only one to repeat as an All-SoCon selection (1st team defensive back by media and 2nd team by coaches in 2007).
For the second straight year Covington earned all-conference honors on defense, his first two years playing on that side of the ball. He had to make an adjustment midway through the year, moving to linebacker for the first time in his collegiate career during week five and responded with a career-high 19 tackles against Wofford. Covington averaged 11.7 tackles per game in his linebacker role, 8.6 overall (95 in 11 games) to tie him for 50th nationally.
He finished the year ranked fourth among the SoCon leaders in tackles, third in sacks (6.5) and second in tackles for a loss (14.0). Five times this season Covington recorded 11 or more tackles in a game. He registered a career-high 3.0 sacks and 4.5 tackles for a loss against Appalachian State. Covington led all active players with 171 tackles in just two years.
Walker dominated the opposing offensive lines from his defensive end position. He finished the 2008 campaign as the league-leader in sacks (8.5 for 66 yards) and tackles for a loss (17.5 for 81 yards). Among the national leaders, Walker is tied for 14th in sacks and stands 13th in TFL. He was fourth on the team making 55 tackles, forced three fumbles and recovered a fumble for a 78-yard touchdown against Wofford. Walker also blocked a kick at The Citadel.
He recorded three sacks and forced a fumble in the record-setting come-from-behind win at Western Carolina. Two of his three sacks came during Western's drive in overtime to help seal the win. He followed that with 5.0 tackles for a loss (2.0 sacks) and two forced fumbles during the triple-overtime win at The Citadel.
Herrera returned to the line-up after missing most of the 2007 season with an injury. He started at left guard in all 11 games played. Herrera helped the Eagles offense finish 21st nationally in passing, 23rd in scoring and 39th in total offense. Herrera finished his senior year with a 76 percent overall grade and allowed only one quarterback sack in 408 team pass attempts.
Andrews turned in a record-breaking senior year, setting new Georgia Southern season standards with 64 receptions totaling 873 yards. He also caught five touchdowns. Among the national leaders, Andrews ranks 15th in receptions per game, 20th in receiving yards, 12th in punt returns (14.0) and 42nd in all-purpose yards (125.5 ypg).
Along the way, Andrews set a GS career record with 127 receptions. His 1,538 receiving yards rank second-most in program history while his nine touchdown receptions place him sixth all-time. He recorded five 100-yard receiving games this year, not only setting a Georgia Southern season record but career mark as well. He caught 10 passes in consecutive games this year (The Citadel, Samford) which also broke the team's single-game record. Andrews closed out his Eagle career tying the record for most punt return touchdowns in a season (1) and career (2).
Mora took over the place kicking duties in week four and never looked back. He joined an elite group of Georgia Southern players, becoming just the sixth freshman to ever earn All-Southern Conference accolades (Dan Jordan, 2004; Jermaine Austin, 2002; James Young, 2001; Freddie Pesqueira, 1999; Adrian Peterson, 1998; Arkee Thompson, 1998). Mora, who was also named to the SoCon All-Freshman team earlier in the day, was just one of two freshman league-wide to earn All-Conference honors.
On his first collegiate field goal attempt Mora connected from 41 yards out, and would eventually hit 10-of-12 on the season. Mora made all 31 extra point attempts as well. The redshirt-freshman ranked fifth in scoring among all players in league-only games (7.6 points per game/second among the kickers), first in field goal percentage (.833) and tied for first in PAT kicking percentage (1.000). At Chattanooga, Mora nailed all seven extra point attempts. He finished the year having made a field goal in every game played, including a season-long 42-yarder in the season-finale win at Furman.
2008 Coaches All-Southern Conference Football Team
Offensive Player of the Year ? Armanti Edwards, Appalachian State
Defensive Player of the Year ? Jacque Roman, Appalachian State
Freshman of the Year ? Dustin Taliaferro, Samford
Jacobs Blocking Award ? Joel Bell, Furman
Coach of the Year ? Jerry Moore, Appalachian State
First Team Offense
QB Armanti Edwards, Jr., Appalachian State
RB Chris Evans, So., Samford
RB Dane Romero, Sr., Wofford
OL Jon Bieschke, Sr., Appalachian State
OL Brad Coley, Sr., Appalachian State
OL David Harrison, Jr., Elon
OL Joel Bell, Sr., Furman
OL Derek Wooten, Sr., Wofford
OL Dan DeHaven, Jr., The Citadel
TE Ben Jorden, Fr., Appalachian State
WR Andre Roberts, Jr., The Citadel
WR Terrell Hudgins, Jr., Elon
First Team Defense
DL Dakota Walker, Sr., Georgia Southern
DL Mitch Clark, Jr., Wofford
DL Jabari Fletcher, So., Appalachian State
DL Terrence Reese, Jr., The Citadel
LB Jacque Roman, Jr., Appalachian State
LB Chris Covington, Sr., Georgia Southern
LB Pierre Banks, Sr., Appalachian State
DB Cortez Gilbert, Jr., Appalachian State
DB Mark LeGree, So., Appalachian State
DB William Middleton, Sr., Furman
DB Thomas Twitty, Sr., Furman
DB Max Lerner, So., Furman
First Team Specialists
PK Andrew Wilcox, Sr., Elon
P Neil Young, Sr., Appalachian State
RS Andre Roberts, Jr., The Citadel
Second Team Offense
QB Scott Riddle, So., Elon
RB Brandon Newsome, So., Elon
RB Mike Brown, So., Furman
OL Ben Quick, Sr., Wofford
OL Mario Acitelli, Jr., Appalachian State
OL Daniel Kilgore, So., Appalachian State
OL Ben Miller, Sr., Wofford
OL Jon Weber, Jr., Samford
OL Dio Herrera, Sr., Georgia Southern
TE Taylor Cornett, Sr., The Citadel
WR Raja Andrews, Sr., Georgia Southern
WR Andy Strickland, Sr., Wofford
Second Team Defense
DL Anthony Williams, Jr., Appalachian State
DL Jeff Bradley, Sr., Western Carolina
DL Eric Ludwig, Jr., Elon
DL Layton Baker, Sr., Wofford
LB Corey Weaver, Sr., Elon
LB Bryce Smith, So., Samford
LB D.J. Smith, So., Appalachian State
DB Andy Davis, So., Samford
DB Mychael Johnson, Jr., Wofford
DB Walker White, Jr., Elon
DB Jason Leventis, Sr., Wofford
DB Mitchell Bell, So., Western Carolina
Second Team Specialists
PK Adrian Mora, Fr., Georgia Southern
P Brandon Lane, Sr., Elon
RS Adam Mims, So., Furman
