STATESBORO, Ga. – Seventy-two members of the Georgia Southern Football team earned letters for their efforts during the 2013 season with 11 individuals joining an elite group of Eagles who have received four letters during their careers. Of the Eagles' 32 first-year letterwinners, 21 were freshmen or redshirt freshmen competing in their first year.

Georgia Southern completed its first year of transition to the FBS in 2013, posting an overall record of 7-4 with three straight wins to end its season. The Eagles' final game of the year was an epic 26-20 victory over Florida in "The Swamp."

Sixty-one letterwinners, including eight men who earned letters prior to this season, would return for 2014. Georgia Southern opens at N.C. State on Saturday, August 30th with the opener at the expanded Allen E. Paulson Stadium against Savannah State on September 6th.

The breakdown of the letterwinner awards is as follows:

Four-year letterwinners
Dorian Byrd, OT, Macon, Ga.
Johnathan Bryant, RB, Cairo, Ga.
Carlos Cave, LB, Macon, Ga.
Josh Gebhardt, DE, Douglasvile, Ga.
Zach Lonas, OL, Acworth, Ga.
Jerick McKinnon, QB/RB, Marietta, Ga.
Javon Mention, DL, Tampa, Fla.
Kyle Oehlbeck, LB, Gainesville, Fla.
Blake Riley, DL, Crescent, Ga.
Josh Rowe, LB, Opelika, Ala.
Lavelle Westbrooks, CB, Riverdale, Ga.

Three-year letterwinners
Tray Butler, RB, Stockbridge, Ga.
Logan Daves, OL, Blue Ridge, Ga.
Justice Ejike, DL, Covington, Ga.
Garrett Frye, OT, Cumming, Ga.
Edwin Jackson, LB, Atlanta, Ga.
Raymond Klugey, OL, Norcross, Ga.
Javonte Martin, DB, Tampa, Fla.
Trevor McBurnett, OL, Lawrenceville, Ga.
Manrey Saint-Amour, C, Suwanee, Ga.
Devin Scott, RB, Tucker, Ga.
Kentrellis Showers, WR, Dublin, Ga.
Deion Stanley, S, Dry Branch, Ga.
Zach Walker, WR, Wrightsville, Ga.
Rashad Williams, DL, Roswell, Ga.
Nick Wright, CB, Lithonia, Ga.

Two-year letterwinners
William Banks, RB, Augusta, Ga.
Jake Banta, LS, Lawrenceville, Ga.
Jonathan Battle, DL, Americus, Ga.
Luke Cherry, P/PK, Neptune Beach, Fla.
Valdon Cooper, DB, Elberton, Ga.
Matt Dobson, DB, Monticello, Fla.
Darien Foreman, OL, Ellenwood, Ga.
Alex Hanks, PK, Marietta, Ga.
Tay Hicklin, DB, Rock Hill, S.C.
Maurice Hunt, Jr., OL, Lyons, Ga.
Cody Rediger, TE, Hoschton, Ga.
Lennie Richardson, DL, Ashburn, Ga.
Michael Shealy, LB, Batesburg, S.C.

First-year letterwinners
Robert Brice, DB, Decatur, Ga.
Matt Breida, RB, Brooksville, Fla.
William Bussey, DB, Thomson, Ga.
Montay Crockett, WR, Rock Hill, S.C.
Bernard Dawson, DL, Thomson, Ga.
Jay Ellison, DL, Hamilton, Ga.
Kevin Ellison, QB, Cornelia, Ga.
Antonio Glover, DB, Atlanta, Ga.
Tre Griffin, TE, Powder Springs, Ga.
Nardo Govan, RB, Garden City, Ga.
Rafael Hardee, DL, Kingsland, Ga.
Vegas Harley, QB, Mount Dora, Fla.
Da'Quan Heard, Washington, Ga.
Torrance Hunt, RB, Raleigh, N.C.
Irving Huggins, RB, St. Cloud, Fla.
B.J. Johnson, WR, Woodruff, S.C.
Jamal Johnson, DL, Statesboro, Ga.
Darius Jones, DB, Woodruff, S.C.
Younghoe Koo, PK, Ridgewood, N.J.
Andy Kwon, OL, Suwanee, Ga.
Hunter Lamar, OL, Statesboro, Ga.
Allen Lee, WR, Savannah, Ga.
Ryan Nowicki, P, Peachtree City, Ga.
Kel Parham, DB, Powder Springs, Ga.
Darius Safford, DB, Douglasville, Ga.
Brandan Thomas, RB, Milledgeville, Ga.
Connor Tierney, PK, Augusta, Ga.
Xavier Tobler, DB, Waycross, Ga.
Dylan D. Turner, TE, Augusta, Ga.
Jeff Ward, OL, Suwanee, Ga.
Keigan Williams, WR, Metter, Ga.
Steve Williams, DB, Savannah, Ga.

Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics and twitter.com/GSAthletics, and its "Eagles GATA" mobile app.