Troy University Athletics
Trojans Lead Way With 11 All-Sun Belt Picks
12/4/2007 4:00:00 PM | Football
New Orleans, La. ? After earning a share of their second straight Sun Belt Conference football title, the Troy Trojans led the league with 11 first or second team All-Conference picks, the league announced today.
The Trojans, who finished the 2007 season with an 8-4 overall record, including a 6-1 league mark, placed five players on the All-Sun Belt first team and six on the second team. Two more Trojans were named honorable mention All-Conference.
Troy senior quarterback Omar Haugabook (Belle Glade, Fla.) was named Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year for a second straight season while senior defensive tackle Chris Bradwell (Jacksonville, Fla.), in his only season for the Trojans, was named the league's Newcomer of the Year.
League co-champion Florida Atlantic finished second with 10 All-Sun Belt picks (six first team), followed by Louisiana-Monroe with eight (three), Arkansas State and Louisiana-Lafayette with seven each (five and four), Middle Tennessee with five (four), North Texas with three (two) and Florida International with one (zero).
The other top Sun Belt Conference awards went to Florida Atlantic quarterback Rusty Smith (Player of the Year), Arkansas State defensive back Tyrell Johnson (Defensive Player of the Year), North Texas quarterback Giovanni Vizza (Freshman of the Year) and Florida Atlantic coach Howard Schnellenberger (Coach of the Year).
Despite leading the Sun Belt by a wide margin in both scoring offense and total offense, the Trojans placed just one player on the first team All-Sun Belt squad. Junior lineman Dion Small (Americus, Ga.), who played 980 snaps this season and finished the year with a team-leading 59 knockdown blocks. Small graded out at 86.2 percent for the season.
The Trojans also finished the season first in the league in scoring defense and pass defense and second in total defense. For that, the Trojans earned two spots on the Sun Belt first team defense. Sophomore linebacker Boris Lee (Fargo, Ga.) led the Trojans in tackles with 82. He also had two interceptions and a team-high 60 yards in returns, including one for a touchdown. He recovered four fumbles, one for a touchdown, forced a fumble, have four pass breakups, one quarterback hurry and 1.5 tackles for loss.
Joining Lee on the first team defense was senior cornerback Elbert Mack (Wichita, Kan.), who led the league, and the nation, with eight interceptions. Mack finished the year with 51 tackles, including two for loss, and had a total of 14 pass breakups.
The Trojans also placed two specialists on the All-Sun Belt first team. Senior kicker Greg Whibbs (Pensacola, Fla.) earned a spot by leading the Sun Belt in both scoring (96 points) and field goal percentage (88.9). Whibbs also averaged 64.1 yards on kickoffs with 13 touchbacks and was 48-of-49 on PAT kicks.
In the season finale against Florida Atlantic, Whibbs broke the Troy career record for field goals, finishing his career 50-of-71 to break the old mark of 48 co-held by Lawrence Tynes and Ted Clem. Whibbs broke the record with a school-record four field goals in the season-finale against FAU.
Joining Whibbs as a specialist on the first team All-Sun Belt squad was senior returner Leodis McKelvin (Waycross, Ga.). McKelvin led the league, and was fourth in the nation, with a 17.4 average on punt returns. He also returned three for touchdowns and finished his career one shy of the NCAA record of eight returns for touchdowns.
In addition to the five first team selections, the Trojans placed six players on the Sun Belt's second team All-Conference squad.
Haugabook led the way as the second team quarterback after leading the league in total offense at 300.5 yards per game. He finished second to league Player of the Year Rusty Smith of FAU in passing yards (247.9 ypg) and finished 10th in the league in rushing yards (52.6 ypg). Haugabook's 11 rushing touchdowns were second to ULM's Calvin Dawson and his 30 total touchdowns led the league.
Haugabook was joined on the second team offense by senior running back Kenny Cattouse (Keyport, NJ) and senior receiver Gary Banks (Melvin, Ala.).
Cattouse led the Trojans in rushing with 791 yards and was second on the team with seven rushing touchdowns. He finished fifth in the league in rushing at 65.9 yards per game. He also finished second on the team, to Banks, in receptions with 37, and was tied for ninth in the league at 3.08 receptions per game.
Banks led the Trojans, and was tied for fourth in the league, in receptions with 61 and also led the team with 698 receiving yards, good for sixth in the league. He also tied for the team lead with three TD receptions. In addition to his pass catching, Banks was also a perfect 4-for-4 passing this year for 62 yards and two touchdowns.
The Trojans also placed three players on the second team defense ? McKelvin at cornerback and defensive ends Shawn Todd (Crestview, Fla.) and Kenny Mainor (Brunswick, Ga.).
In addition to his kick-return exploits, McKelvin finished tied for third on the team with 60 total tackles, 52 of which were solo stops. He had two interceptions on the season and 11 total pass breakups. He had a 36-yard fumble return and forced three fumbles during the season and was also credited with 2.5 tackles for loss.
Todd, a senior, led the Trojans with 10 tackles for loss during the season and also led the squad with 5.5 sacks. He preserved Troy's win over Western Kentucky with a sack and also had a big sack late in the game against FAU to give Troy a chance to win. He finished with 36 total tackles and recovered one fumble.
Mainor, a junior, split time for much of the season with Todd, and finished second on the team with 9.5 tackles for loss in just 10 games. He was also second on the squad with five sacks and finished the year with 40 tackles. He had two quarterback hurries and forced and recovered one fumble.
Bradwell, who was not named to either first or second team, was named Newcomer of the Year after finishing the year with 36 total tackles, including eight for loss and four sacks. Bradwell recovered two fumbles during the year, one of which he returned 16 yards for a touchdown against Western Kentucky.
Troy's two honorable mention picks were junior lineman Chris Jamison (Columbus, Ga.) and junior defensive back Sherrod Martin (Griffin, Ga.).
Jamison led all Troy offensive linemen with 983 snaps played this year. His 44 knockdown blocks were third on the squad and he finished with a season grade of 81.9 percent.
Martin, who missed all or most of the first four games of the year, led Troy over the final eight games of the season with52 tackles, including 9.5 for loss. He had three sacks and three more quarterback hurries. He led the Sun Belt with six forced fumbles and recovered one.
The most telling stat for Martin was his impact on the defense. In the first four games of the year, when he either didn't play of saw only a couple of snaps, the Troy defense surrendered 39.75 points per game. Over the final eight games, with Martin playing a significant role, the Troy defense surrendered just 17.0 points per game.
At least two Trojans, McKelvin and senior linebacker Marcus Richardson (Pensacola, Fla.) will get to play one more game in their college careers. Richardson will play in the Hula Bowl in Hawaii on January 12 and McKelvin will play in the Senior Bowl in Mobile on January 26.
The complete 2007 All-Sun Belt Conference teams are listed below.
Player of Year ? Rusty Smith (Florida Atlantic, So., QB)
Offensive Player of Year ? Omar Haugabook (Troy, Sr., QB)
Defensive Player of the Year ? Tyrell Johnson (Arkansas State, Sr., DB)
Newcomer of the Year ? Chris Bradwell (Troy, Sr., DL)
Freshman of the Year ? Giovanni Vizza (North Texas, Fr., QB)
Coach of the Year ? Howard Schnellenberger, FAU
First Team All-Sun Belt Conference Offense
Rusty Smith (Florida Atlantic, R-So, QB)
Tyrell Fenroy (Louisiana-Lafayette, Jr., RB)
Calvin Dawson (Louisiana-Monroe, Sr., RB)
Cortez Gent (Florida Atlantic, R-So, WR)
Casey Fitzgerald (North Texas, Jr., WR)
Jason Harmon (Florida Atlantic, Jr, TE)
Matt Mandich (Arkansas State, Jr., OL)
Jesse Newman (Louisiana-Lafayette, Sr., OL)
Franklin Dunbar (Middle Tennessee, Jr., OL)
Kyle Cunningham (ULM, Sr., OL)
Dion Small (Troy, Jr., OL)
First Team All-Sun Belt Conference Defense
Rodney Hardeway (Louisiana-Lafayette, Sr., DL)
Tavares Jones (Middle Tennessee, Sr., DL)
Erik Walden (Middle Tennessee, Sr., DL)
Jeremiah Chapman (North Texas, Sr., DL)
Frantz Joseph (Florida Atlantic, Jr., LB)
Cergile Sincere (Florida Atlantic, Sr., LB)
Boris Lee (Troy, So., LB)
Khayyam Burns (Arkansas State, Sr., DB)
Tyrell Johnson (Arkansas State, Sr., DB)
Tavious Polo (Florida Atlantic, Fr, DB)
Elbert Mack (Troy, Sr., DB)
First Team All-Sun Belt Conference Special Teams
Greg Whibbs (Troy, Sr., PK)
Scott Love (ULM, So., P)
Leodis McKelvin (Troy, Sr., KR)
Desmond Gee (Middle Tennessee, So., All Purpose)
Second Team All-Sun Belt Conference Offense
Omar Haugabook (Troy, Sr., QB)
Reggie Arnold (Arkansas State, So., RB)
Kenny Cattouse (Troy, Sr., RB)
Levi Dejohnette (Arkansas State, Sr., WR)
Gary Banks (Troy, Sr., WR)
Zeek Zacharie (ULM, Jr., TE)
John Rizzo (Florida Atlantic, Jr, OL)
Jarrid Smith (Florida Atlantic, Sr., OL)
Adam Hill (ULM, Sr., OL)
Chris Fisher (Louisiana-Lafayette, So., OL)
Kelvin Drake (North Texas, So., OL)
Second Team All-Sun Belt Conference Defense
Jervonte Jackson (Florida Atlantic, Jr., DL)
David Cooper (ULM, Sr., DL)
Kenny Mainor (Troy, Jr., DL)
Shawn Todd (Troy, Sr., DL)
Koby McKinnon (Arkansas State, Sr. LB)
Antwyne Zanders (Louisiana-Lafayette, Jr., LB)
Cardia Jackson (ULM, So., LB)
Corey Small (Florida Atlantic, Jr., DB)
Greg James (ULM, So., DB)
Bradley Robinson (Middle Tennessee, Sr., DB)
Leodis McKelvin (Troy, Sr., DB)
Second Team All-Sun Belt Conference Special Teams
Drew Edmiston (Louisiana-Lafayette, Jr., PK)
Brett Shrable (Arkansas State, Jr., P)
Lionell Singleton (Florida International, Sr., KR)
Michael Desormeaux (Louisiana-Lafayette, Jr., All Purpose)
Honorable Mention All-Sun Belt Conference: Corey Leonard (Arkansas State, So., QB), Alex Carrington (Arkansas State, So., DE), Kris Bartels (Florida Atlantic, Sr., DB), Charles Pierre (Florida Atlantic, Jr., RB), Scott Bryant (Florida International, So., LB), Ashlyn Parker (Florida International, So., DB), Korey Raymond (Louisiana-Lafayette, Sr., DL), Grant Fleming (Louisiana-Lafayette, Fr., LB), Frank Goodin (ULM, Fr. RB), Aaron Morgan (ULM, So., DL), DeMarco McNair (Middle Tennessee, Sr., RB), Alex Suber (Middle Tennessee, Jr., DB), Brandon Jackson (North Texas, Sr., WR), Craig Robertson (North Texas, Fr., LB), Chris Jamison (Troy, Jr., OL), Sherrod Martin (Troy, Jr., DB)
The Trojans, who finished the 2007 season with an 8-4 overall record, including a 6-1 league mark, placed five players on the All-Sun Belt first team and six on the second team. Two more Trojans were named honorable mention All-Conference.
Troy senior quarterback Omar Haugabook (Belle Glade, Fla.) was named Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year for a second straight season while senior defensive tackle Chris Bradwell (Jacksonville, Fla.), in his only season for the Trojans, was named the league's Newcomer of the Year.
League co-champion Florida Atlantic finished second with 10 All-Sun Belt picks (six first team), followed by Louisiana-Monroe with eight (three), Arkansas State and Louisiana-Lafayette with seven each (five and four), Middle Tennessee with five (four), North Texas with three (two) and Florida International with one (zero).
The other top Sun Belt Conference awards went to Florida Atlantic quarterback Rusty Smith (Player of the Year), Arkansas State defensive back Tyrell Johnson (Defensive Player of the Year), North Texas quarterback Giovanni Vizza (Freshman of the Year) and Florida Atlantic coach Howard Schnellenberger (Coach of the Year).
Despite leading the Sun Belt by a wide margin in both scoring offense and total offense, the Trojans placed just one player on the first team All-Sun Belt squad. Junior lineman Dion Small (Americus, Ga.), who played 980 snaps this season and finished the year with a team-leading 59 knockdown blocks. Small graded out at 86.2 percent for the season.
The Trojans also finished the season first in the league in scoring defense and pass defense and second in total defense. For that, the Trojans earned two spots on the Sun Belt first team defense. Sophomore linebacker Boris Lee (Fargo, Ga.) led the Trojans in tackles with 82. He also had two interceptions and a team-high 60 yards in returns, including one for a touchdown. He recovered four fumbles, one for a touchdown, forced a fumble, have four pass breakups, one quarterback hurry and 1.5 tackles for loss.
Joining Lee on the first team defense was senior cornerback Elbert Mack (Wichita, Kan.), who led the league, and the nation, with eight interceptions. Mack finished the year with 51 tackles, including two for loss, and had a total of 14 pass breakups.
The Trojans also placed two specialists on the All-Sun Belt first team. Senior kicker Greg Whibbs (Pensacola, Fla.) earned a spot by leading the Sun Belt in both scoring (96 points) and field goal percentage (88.9). Whibbs also averaged 64.1 yards on kickoffs with 13 touchbacks and was 48-of-49 on PAT kicks.
In the season finale against Florida Atlantic, Whibbs broke the Troy career record for field goals, finishing his career 50-of-71 to break the old mark of 48 co-held by Lawrence Tynes and Ted Clem. Whibbs broke the record with a school-record four field goals in the season-finale against FAU.
Joining Whibbs as a specialist on the first team All-Sun Belt squad was senior returner Leodis McKelvin (Waycross, Ga.). McKelvin led the league, and was fourth in the nation, with a 17.4 average on punt returns. He also returned three for touchdowns and finished his career one shy of the NCAA record of eight returns for touchdowns.
In addition to the five first team selections, the Trojans placed six players on the Sun Belt's second team All-Conference squad.
Haugabook led the way as the second team quarterback after leading the league in total offense at 300.5 yards per game. He finished second to league Player of the Year Rusty Smith of FAU in passing yards (247.9 ypg) and finished 10th in the league in rushing yards (52.6 ypg). Haugabook's 11 rushing touchdowns were second to ULM's Calvin Dawson and his 30 total touchdowns led the league.
Haugabook was joined on the second team offense by senior running back Kenny Cattouse (Keyport, NJ) and senior receiver Gary Banks (Melvin, Ala.).
Cattouse led the Trojans in rushing with 791 yards and was second on the team with seven rushing touchdowns. He finished fifth in the league in rushing at 65.9 yards per game. He also finished second on the team, to Banks, in receptions with 37, and was tied for ninth in the league at 3.08 receptions per game.
Banks led the Trojans, and was tied for fourth in the league, in receptions with 61 and also led the team with 698 receiving yards, good for sixth in the league. He also tied for the team lead with three TD receptions. In addition to his pass catching, Banks was also a perfect 4-for-4 passing this year for 62 yards and two touchdowns.
The Trojans also placed three players on the second team defense ? McKelvin at cornerback and defensive ends Shawn Todd (Crestview, Fla.) and Kenny Mainor (Brunswick, Ga.).
In addition to his kick-return exploits, McKelvin finished tied for third on the team with 60 total tackles, 52 of which were solo stops. He had two interceptions on the season and 11 total pass breakups. He had a 36-yard fumble return and forced three fumbles during the season and was also credited with 2.5 tackles for loss.
Todd, a senior, led the Trojans with 10 tackles for loss during the season and also led the squad with 5.5 sacks. He preserved Troy's win over Western Kentucky with a sack and also had a big sack late in the game against FAU to give Troy a chance to win. He finished with 36 total tackles and recovered one fumble.
Mainor, a junior, split time for much of the season with Todd, and finished second on the team with 9.5 tackles for loss in just 10 games. He was also second on the squad with five sacks and finished the year with 40 tackles. He had two quarterback hurries and forced and recovered one fumble.
Bradwell, who was not named to either first or second team, was named Newcomer of the Year after finishing the year with 36 total tackles, including eight for loss and four sacks. Bradwell recovered two fumbles during the year, one of which he returned 16 yards for a touchdown against Western Kentucky.
Troy's two honorable mention picks were junior lineman Chris Jamison (Columbus, Ga.) and junior defensive back Sherrod Martin (Griffin, Ga.).
Jamison led all Troy offensive linemen with 983 snaps played this year. His 44 knockdown blocks were third on the squad and he finished with a season grade of 81.9 percent.
Martin, who missed all or most of the first four games of the year, led Troy over the final eight games of the season with52 tackles, including 9.5 for loss. He had three sacks and three more quarterback hurries. He led the Sun Belt with six forced fumbles and recovered one.
The most telling stat for Martin was his impact on the defense. In the first four games of the year, when he either didn't play of saw only a couple of snaps, the Troy defense surrendered 39.75 points per game. Over the final eight games, with Martin playing a significant role, the Troy defense surrendered just 17.0 points per game.
At least two Trojans, McKelvin and senior linebacker Marcus Richardson (Pensacola, Fla.) will get to play one more game in their college careers. Richardson will play in the Hula Bowl in Hawaii on January 12 and McKelvin will play in the Senior Bowl in Mobile on January 26.
The complete 2007 All-Sun Belt Conference teams are listed below.
Player of Year ? Rusty Smith (Florida Atlantic, So., QB)
Offensive Player of Year ? Omar Haugabook (Troy, Sr., QB)
Defensive Player of the Year ? Tyrell Johnson (Arkansas State, Sr., DB)
Newcomer of the Year ? Chris Bradwell (Troy, Sr., DL)
Freshman of the Year ? Giovanni Vizza (North Texas, Fr., QB)
Coach of the Year ? Howard Schnellenberger, FAU
First Team All-Sun Belt Conference Offense
Rusty Smith (Florida Atlantic, R-So, QB)
Tyrell Fenroy (Louisiana-Lafayette, Jr., RB)
Calvin Dawson (Louisiana-Monroe, Sr., RB)
Cortez Gent (Florida Atlantic, R-So, WR)
Casey Fitzgerald (North Texas, Jr., WR)
Jason Harmon (Florida Atlantic, Jr, TE)
Matt Mandich (Arkansas State, Jr., OL)
Jesse Newman (Louisiana-Lafayette, Sr., OL)
Franklin Dunbar (Middle Tennessee, Jr., OL)
Kyle Cunningham (ULM, Sr., OL)
Dion Small (Troy, Jr., OL)
First Team All-Sun Belt Conference Defense
Rodney Hardeway (Louisiana-Lafayette, Sr., DL)
Tavares Jones (Middle Tennessee, Sr., DL)
Erik Walden (Middle Tennessee, Sr., DL)
Jeremiah Chapman (North Texas, Sr., DL)
Frantz Joseph (Florida Atlantic, Jr., LB)
Cergile Sincere (Florida Atlantic, Sr., LB)
Boris Lee (Troy, So., LB)
Khayyam Burns (Arkansas State, Sr., DB)
Tyrell Johnson (Arkansas State, Sr., DB)
Tavious Polo (Florida Atlantic, Fr, DB)
Elbert Mack (Troy, Sr., DB)
First Team All-Sun Belt Conference Special Teams
Greg Whibbs (Troy, Sr., PK)
Scott Love (ULM, So., P)
Leodis McKelvin (Troy, Sr., KR)
Desmond Gee (Middle Tennessee, So., All Purpose)
Second Team All-Sun Belt Conference Offense
Omar Haugabook (Troy, Sr., QB)
Reggie Arnold (Arkansas State, So., RB)
Kenny Cattouse (Troy, Sr., RB)
Levi Dejohnette (Arkansas State, Sr., WR)
Gary Banks (Troy, Sr., WR)
Zeek Zacharie (ULM, Jr., TE)
John Rizzo (Florida Atlantic, Jr, OL)
Jarrid Smith (Florida Atlantic, Sr., OL)
Adam Hill (ULM, Sr., OL)
Chris Fisher (Louisiana-Lafayette, So., OL)
Kelvin Drake (North Texas, So., OL)
Second Team All-Sun Belt Conference Defense
Jervonte Jackson (Florida Atlantic, Jr., DL)
David Cooper (ULM, Sr., DL)
Kenny Mainor (Troy, Jr., DL)
Shawn Todd (Troy, Sr., DL)
Koby McKinnon (Arkansas State, Sr. LB)
Antwyne Zanders (Louisiana-Lafayette, Jr., LB)
Cardia Jackson (ULM, So., LB)
Corey Small (Florida Atlantic, Jr., DB)
Greg James (ULM, So., DB)
Bradley Robinson (Middle Tennessee, Sr., DB)
Leodis McKelvin (Troy, Sr., DB)
Second Team All-Sun Belt Conference Special Teams
Drew Edmiston (Louisiana-Lafayette, Jr., PK)
Brett Shrable (Arkansas State, Jr., P)
Lionell Singleton (Florida International, Sr., KR)
Michael Desormeaux (Louisiana-Lafayette, Jr., All Purpose)
Honorable Mention All-Sun Belt Conference: Corey Leonard (Arkansas State, So., QB), Alex Carrington (Arkansas State, So., DE), Kris Bartels (Florida Atlantic, Sr., DB), Charles Pierre (Florida Atlantic, Jr., RB), Scott Bryant (Florida International, So., LB), Ashlyn Parker (Florida International, So., DB), Korey Raymond (Louisiana-Lafayette, Sr., DL), Grant Fleming (Louisiana-Lafayette, Fr., LB), Frank Goodin (ULM, Fr. RB), Aaron Morgan (ULM, So., DL), DeMarco McNair (Middle Tennessee, Sr., RB), Alex Suber (Middle Tennessee, Jr., DB), Brandon Jackson (North Texas, Sr., WR), Craig Robertson (North Texas, Fr., LB), Chris Jamison (Troy, Jr., OL), Sherrod Martin (Troy, Jr., DB)
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