Troy Lands Thirteen on Athlon Preseason All-Sun Belt Team

TROY, Ala. – Preseason honors are beginning to roll in for the 2022 football season, and Troy saw 13 players land on the Athlon Sports Preseason All-Sun Belt Team, led by four first team selections.

Austin Stidham represented the Troy offense on the first team, while Carlton Martial, Javon Solomon and Will Choloh were all first team defensive selections.

Stidham finished third in the league last year among tackles (min 400 pass blocking snaps) with a 77.1 pass blocking grade per Pro Football Focus and ranked 13^th among all tackles in the Group of Five. In addition, he was not called for a penalty in a pass blocking situation all season; one of just 12 tackles in the Group of Five to do so. The senior from Russellville, Ala., also became just the fifth two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American in Troy Athletics history.

Martial, a senior from Mobile, Ala., was one of three finalists for the Burlsworth Trophy in 2021 and finished the year ranked sixth nationally in tackles per game. He enters the 2022 season just 104 tackles shy of setting the all-time FBS record. Additionally, Martial is one of just two players at the FBS level since 2000 to record more than 425 tackles, 45 tackles for loss and five interceptions in their career. Martial is the nation's leading tackler since the start of the 2018 season, with 442 tackles: 66 more than the next closest player.

Choloh earned his third career All-Sun Belt honor last season after finishing as the Sun Belt's top-rated run-stopper per Pro Football Focus. He became just the third Troy player since 2000 to record at least 2.5 sacks, eight tackles and four tackles for loss in a single game when he did so against Liberty. Choloh, a senior from Lawrenceville, Ga., ranked in the top 10 among interior defensive linemen in the league in pressures and hurries as he finished the year with 40 tackles, seven tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks.

Solomon, a sophomore from Tallahassee, Fla., earned Pro Football Network All-America honors last year after leading the Sun Belt and ranking ninth nationally in tackles for loss. He became one of just 31 players since 2000 to record 17 tackles for loss and 11 sacks through the first 10 games of a season. His 11 sacks were the most by a Trojan since Jonathan Massaquoi's 13 in 2010, and he finished seventh nationally with 0.92 sacks per game. Solomon set the Troy single-game record with five tackles for loss in victory at Southern Miss, and he was tied for third nationally with three games where he recorded at least 2.5 tackles for loss.

Season tickets for Troy's six home games are available by visiting TroyTrojans.com/tickets or by calling 877-878-WINS (9467).

First Team Offense
OL Austin Stidham

First Team Defense
DL Javon Solomon
DL Will Choloh
LB Carlton Martial

Second Team Offense
WR Tez Johnson

Second Team Defense
DL Richard Jibunor

Third Team Offense
OL Jake Andrews

Third Team Defense
S Dell Pettus
S TJ Harris

Fourth Team Offense
RB Kimani Vidal

Fourth Team Defense
LB KJ Robertson
CB Reddy Steward

Fourth Team Specialists
K Brooks Buce

Troy University Athletics

Troy Lands Thirteen on Athlon Preseason All-Sun Belt Team

Players Mentioned

Jake Andrews

Brooks Buce

Will Choloh

TJ Harris

Richard Jibunor

Tez Johnson

Carlton Martial

Dell Pettus

KJ Robertson

Javon Solomon

Reddy Steward

Austin Stidham

Kimani Vidal

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