Monken, Russell and Swope Earn Major SoCon Awards
11/22/2011 7:19:00 PM | Football
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - After winning the 2011 Southern Conference Championship, three members of the Georgia Southern Football team earned major SoCon Awards as voted by the league's head coaches. Head Coach Jeff Monken, Brent Russell (Cormer, Ga.) and Dominique Swope (Buford, Ga.) represented the team as the Coach of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Co-Freshman of the Year, respectively.
Russell was one of nine Eagles to be named to the All-Southern Conference First or Second Team. Three more were selected to the All-Freshmen Squad, including Swope, Manrey Saint-Amour (Suwanee, Ga.) and Deion Stanley (Dry Branch, Ga.).
Coach Monken was recognized as the 2011 Coach of the Year after leading Georgia Southern to back-to-back playoff appearances and their first SoCon Title since 2004. In just his second year at the helm of the program, Monken owns a 19-7 record after leading GSU to a 9-2, 7-1 mark this year.
Russell is the first Eagle since 2001 to be named the Defensive Player of the Year. A force in the middle of the defense, he led the team with 12 tackles for a loss and tied for the led with five sacks. The Comer, Ga., native was also fourth on the team with 48 tackles.
Swope shared the Freshman of the Year award with Terrell Robinson of Chattanooga. The Buford, Ga., native came on strong down the final stretch of the regular season and was second on the team with 593 yards rushing, 318 of them came in the final two contests of the year. Swope rushed for a career-high 165 yards at Wofford to seal the SoCon Title and followed that up with 153 yards at Alabama, the most allowed by the Crimson Tide since 2010.
The only Georgia Southern player to be named to the First Team Offense, Brett Moore (Warner Robins, Ga.) started all 11 games at right tackle and was third on the squad with 44 knockdowns. The senior lineman posted a season-high 11 knockdowns against Western Carolina.
Laron Scott (Warner Robins, Ga.) joined Russell on the All-Southern Conference First Team. The senior cornerback finished with a SoCon best 16 passes defend, 13 breakups and three interceptions. After a fine season of returning kicks, Scott was also named to the Specialist First Team with a SoCon-best 33.4 yards per kickoff return and two touchdowns.
Adrian Mora (Dalton, Ga.), who missed only one field goal all season, joined Scott on the Specialist First Team. He set a number of records during the 2011 season, including the FCS consecutive extra point record and the GSU career field goal mark. Mora was a perfect 51-for-51 on point after attempts and was third in the league with 87 points.
Quarterback Jaybo Shaw (Flowery Branch, Ga.) along with offensive linemen Dorian Byrd (Macon, Ga.) and William Maxwell (Quitman, Ga.) were second team offensive selections. The trio powered an offense that ranked second in the nation in rushing and was seventh in scoring.
John Douglas (Augusta, Ga.) was GSU's only second team defensive selection. The senior defensive end tied Russell for the team lead in sacks with five and was second on the team with 8.5 tackles for a loss.
Georgia Southern's season continues on December 3rd in the second round of the FCS Playoffs. The Eagles await the winner of Old Dominion and Norfolk State.
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2011 Coaches All-Southern Conference Football Team
Offensive Player of the Year - Eric Breitenstein, Jr., RB, Wofford
Defensive Player of the Year - Brent Russell, Jr., DL, Georgia Southern
Co-Freshman of the Year - Terrell Robinson, QB, Chattanooga & Dominique Swope, RB, Georgia Southern
Jacobs Blocking Award - Nate Page, Sr., OL, Wofford
Coach of the Year - Jeff Monken, Georgia Southern
First Team Offense
QB Chris Forcier, Sr., Furman
RB Fabian Truss, So, Samford
RB Eric Breitenstein, Jr., Wofford
OL Orry Frye, Sr., Appalachian State
OL Mike Sellers, So., The Citadel
OL Ned Cuthbertson, Sr., Elon
OL Brett Moore, Sr., Georgia Southern
OL Nate Page, Sr., Wofford
TE Colin Anderson, Jr., Furman
WR Brian Quick, Sr., Appalachian State
WR Aaron Mellette, Jr., Elon
First Team Defense
DL Derek Douglas, So., The Citadel
DL Brent Russell, Jr., Georgia Southern
DL Josh Williams, Jr., Chattanooga
DL Eric Eberhardt, Sr., Wofford
LB Jeremy Kimbrough, Jr., Appalachian State
LB Ryan Consiglio, Sr., Chattanooga
LB Wes Dothard, So., Chattanooga
DB Demetrius McCray, Jr., Appalachian State
DB Ryan Steed, Sr., Furman
DB Laron Scott, Sr., Georgia Southern
DB Corey White, Sr., Samford
First Team Specialists
PK Adrian Mora, Sr., Georgia Southern
P Cass Couey, Jr., The Citadel
RS Laron Scott, Sr., Georgia Southern
Second Team Offense
QB Jaybo Shaw, Sr., Georgia Southern
RB Travaris Cadet, Sr., Appalachian State
RB Jerodis Williams, Jr., Furman
OL Dakota Dozier, So., Furman
OL Dorian Byrd, So., Georgia Southern
OL William Maxwell, Sr., Georgia Southern
OL Ryan Dudchock, Jr., Samford
OL Jake Miles, Jr., Wofford
TE Ben Jorden, Sr., Appalachian State
WR Kelsey Pope, So., Samford
WR Joel Bradford, Sr., Chattanooga
Second Team Defense
DL Ameet Pall, Sr., Wofford
DL Josh Lynn, Jr., Furman
DL Chris Billingslea, Jr., The Citadel
DL John Douglas, Sr., Georgia Southern
LB Joshua Jones, Sr., Elon
LB Kadarron Anderson, Sr., Furman
LB Alvin Scioneaux, Wofford
DB Troy Sanders, Jr., Appalachian State
DB D.J. Key, So., Chattanooga
DB Chris Lewis-Harris, Sr., Chattanooga
DB Kadeem Wise, So., Chattanooga
Second Team Specialists
PK Cameron Yaw, Jr., Samford
P Sam Martin, Jr., Appalachian State
RS Fabian Truss, So., Samford
2011 Southern Conference All-Freshman Football Team
All-Freshman Offense
Alex Acey, OL, Appalachian State
Aaron Miller, QB, The Citadel
Austin Sowell, OL, Elon
Charles Emert, OL, Furman
Manrey Saint Amour, OL, Georgia Southern
Dominique Swope, RB, Georgia Southern
Kelvin Clay, WR, Samford
Marquis Green, RB, Chattanooga
Terrell Robinson, QB, Chattanooga
Faysal Shafaat, TE, Chattanooga
Shaun Warren, RB, Western Carolina
All-Freshman Defense
Ronald Blair, DL, Appalachian State
Doug Middleton, DB, Appalachian State
Rock Muhammad, LB, The Citadel
Jonathan Spain, LB, Elon
Tyreek Phillips, DL, Furman
Gary Wilkins, LB, Furman
Deion Stanley, DB, Georgia Southern
Josh Freeman, DL, Chattanooga
Keyon Reed, DL, Chattanooga
Davis Tull, DL, Chattanooga
Ace Clark, DB, Western Carolina
Tarek Odem, DL, Wofford
All-Freshman Specialists
Greg Peranich, P, Samford
Nick Pollard, PK, Chattanooga
