Carlton Martial Named SBC Defensive Player of the Year; Five Troy Players Named All-Sun Belt

TROY, Alabama – Troy's All-America linebacker Carlton Martial has been named the Sun Belt Conference Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, the league office announced Tuesday. Martial and four of his teammates were also named to the Preseason All-Sun Belt Team.

Wide receivers Kaylon Geiger (first team) and Reggie Todd (second team) represented the Troy offense on the preseason teams, while Martial, defensive tackle Will Choloh and safety Dell Pettus were all first team selections on defense. Troy's four overall first team picks ranked second behind only App State and the three first team selections on defense led the league.

Troy was picked to finish third in the Sun Belt East Division in a vote of the league's 10 head coaches.

Troy opens its 2020 campaign in just over a week with a Sun Belt matchup against ULM; kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at The Vet. Fans wanting to attend are encouraged to purchase season tickets no later than Sunday, Aug. 30, as the availability of single-game tickets is uncertain due to stadium capacity restrictions.

Carlton Martial
Martial, who has been named to four preseason All-America teams, is coming off a season in which he became just the 12th player and first underclassman in the last 20 years at the FBS level to finish a season with at least 100 tackles, 15 tackles for loss and three interceptions. He closed the year with 126 tackles, the most by a Troy player since 2000, 18.5 tackles for loss, the fifth most in a season in Troy history, and three picks.

The Mobile, Ala., native was named the No. 35 player in all of college football by Pro Football Focus last season and was named to the PFF All-America Second Team. He was the only player in the country to rank in the top eight nationally in tackles and tackles for loss. He recorded double-digit tackles in seven of Troy's games and added seven or more tackles in four other games.

Will Choloh
Choloh, a native of Lawrenceville, Ga., ranked in the top 25 in the league last year in both sacks and tackles for loss despite playing from an inside position on the defensive line. The rising junior finished fourth on the team with 54 tackles to go along with four quarterback hurries; he added 28 pressures and 18 overall hurries, both second best on the team.

Kaylon Geiger
Geiger was named the Sun Belt Conference Newcomer of the Year in 2019 after he finished second in the league in receptions, yards (regular season) and yards per game. A native of Fort Worth, Texas, Geiger's 77 receptions ranked as the third most in a season in Troy history while his 873 yards finished just shy of the top 10.

Geiger, who was named to the Biletnikoff Award Watch List, ranked fourth nationally with receptions on 77.8 percent of his targets (77-of-99). He also cracked the Troy single-game records with 12 catches for 145 yards at Coastal Carolina; the reception tally stands fifth all-time in school history. Geiger tied a single-season Troy record as he topped the 100-yard threshold five times over the course of the season; a number that ranked 13^th nationally.

Dell Pettus
Pettus, who was a Freshman All-America selection by Pro Football Focus last season, led all freshmen in the Sun Belt Conference with 63 tackles after taking over the starting duties at free safety in the third week of the season – he averaged 5.9 tackles in his 10 starts. A native of Harvest, Ala., Pettus ended the regular season ranked eighth nationally among all freshmen with his tackle total and was named to the All-Sun Belt Team as an honorable mention selection.

A Thorpe Award Watch List selection, Pettus recorded three or more tackles in the final 11 games of the season all while playing the second most snaps on defense with 668 over his 12 games. Pettus led the Trojans as opponents completed just 65.4 percent of passes targeted against him.

Reggie Todd
Todd, a Mobile, Ala. native, finished third in the league averaging 27.35 yards per kickoff return. He took one to the house against Southern Miss and returned another 79 yards at Georgia State. Todd also was a force on offense with five touchdown receptions and 666 receiving yards.

2020 Sun Belt Conference Preseason Football Teams

Preseason Offensive Player of the Year: Zac Thomas, (App State, Senior)
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: Carlton Martial (Troy, Junior)

First Team Offense
QB - Zac Thomas, App State
RB - Elijah Mitchell, Louisiana
RB - Josh Johnson, ULM
OL - Noah Hannon, App State
OL - Baer Hunter, App State
OL - Cooper Hodges, App State
OL - Jarrett Horst, Arkansas State
OL - Shamarious Gilmore, Georgia State
TE – Josh Pederson, ULM
WR – Corey Sutton, App State
WR – Jonathan Adams, Arkansas State
WR – Kaylon Geiger, Troy

First Team Defense
DL – Demetrius Taylor, App State
DL – Tarron Jackson, Coastal Carolina
DL – Raymond Johnson III, Georgia Southern
DL – Will Choloh, Troy
LB – Rashad Byrd, Georgia Southern
LB – Joe Dillon, Louisiana
LB – Carlton Martial, Troy
DB – Shaun Jolly, App State
DB – Kenderick Duncan Jr, Georgia Southern
DB – Corey Straughter, ULM
DB – Dell Pettus, Troy

First Team Special Teams
K – Blake Grupe, Arkansas State
P – Rhys Byrns, Louisiana
RS - Wesley Kennedy III, Georgia Southern

Second Team Offense
QB - Levi Lewis, Louisiana
RB - Trey Ragas, Louisiana
RB - CJ Marable, Coastal Carolina
OL - Ryan Neuzil, App State
OL - Jacob Still, Arkansas State
OL - Max Mitchell, Louisiana
OL - O'Cyrus Torrence, Louisiana
OL - TJ Fiailoa, ULM
TE – Isaiah Likely, Coastal Carolina
WR – Thomas Hennigan, App State
WR – Cornelius McCoy, Georgia State
WR – Reggie Todd, Troy

Second Team Defense
DL – Forrest Merrill, Arkansas State
DL – C.J. Brewer, Coastal Carolina
DL – Dontae Wilson, Georgia State
DL – Zi'Yon Hill, Louisiana
LB – Teddy Gallagher, Coastal Carolina
LB – Trajan Stephens-McQueen, Georgia State
LB – Riley Cole, South Alabama
DB – Shemar Jean-Charles, App State
DB – Antonio Fletcher, Arkansas State
DB – Quavian White, Georgia State
DB – Eric Garror, Louisiana

Second Team Special Teams
K – Massimo Biscardi, Coastal Carolina
P – Anthony Beck II, Georgia Southern
RS - Eric Garror, Louisiana

2020 Sun Belt Football Coaches Predicted Order of Finish
First-place votes in parentheses

East Division
1. App State (9) - 49 pts
2. Georgia Southern - 36 pts
3. Troy (1) - 32 pts
4. Georgia State - 20 pts
5. Coastal Carolina - 13 pts

West Division
1. Louisiana (7) - 47 pts
2. Arkansas State (2) - 40 pts
3. South Alabama (1) - 22 pts
4. Texas State - 21 pts
5. ULM - 20 pts

Troy University Athletics

Carlton Martial Named SBC Defensive Player of the Year; Five Troy Players Named All-Sun Belt

Players Mentioned

Will Choloh

Kaylon Geiger

Carlton Martial

Dell Pettus

Reggie Todd

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