Phil Steele Publications Places Eight Eagles on All-Sun Belt Conference Teams
12/19/2014 6:56:00 PM | Football
2014 Champion Georgia Southern finishes season with perfect 8-0 mark in league
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CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Eight Eagles were named to Phil Steele Publication's All-Sun Belt Conference team as announced by the national publication today. Four first-team choices, three on offense and one on defense highlighted the list with Kevin Ellison slotted as the second-team quarterback. Two Eagles, one on offense and one on defense, made the media outlet's third-team list with Derek Keaton picking up second-team honors for his role as a kickoff returner.
Sophomore running back Matt Breida, who led the nation in rushing yards per carry with a Sun Belt record 8.68 average and topped the league with 123.8 rushing yards per game, earned a spot on the first team. Georgia Southern's offensive line, which paved the way for the nation's top rushing offense had three seniors selected for league honors with Garrett Frye and Manrey Saint-Amour on the first team and Logan Daves on the third team.
Edwin Jackson represented Georgia Southern as a first-team pick on defense after leading the Eagles in tackles for the second-straight year. Jackson helped key a defense that allowed the least number of points in the Sun Belt with a 23.4 points allowed average. A third-team pick on the defense, Matt Dobson had three interceptions in 2014 with two returned for touchdowns. His 100-yard interception return at Texas State set a league mark for the longest interception return and shares a record as the Georgia Southern's longest play in history.
Georgia Southern had the best kickoff return average in the Sun Belt with Derek Keaton earning second team honors for his 27.8 average. He had a return of 60 yards for his long of the season at Georgia State and totaled 146 in the game at Navy.
With the exception of the Sun Belt Conference's first year of competition in 2001, the Eagles became the first team in league history to win the conference championship and to do so with an undefeated mark. Only Georgia Southern, Florida State and Ohio State finished with perfect marks in conference play in 2014.
These awards and others will be presented at the banquet and gala on Saturday, February 8th. Details on the event will be announced soon.
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, twitter.com/GSAthletics, iOS app Georgia Southern Eagles and Android app Eagles GATA. Fans can follow Coach Willie Fritz on his official twitter account, @CoachWEFritz.
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