The Sun Belt isn’t always the most competitive conference in the world of college football, but they have certainly had their share of success in the past. They should have some success this year and they released their preseason all-conference teams on Friday.
The first team offense is headlined by talented players like running backs Larry Rose III and Matt Breida, quarterback Taylor Lamb and wide receiver Penny Hart. On the defense, players like linebackers John Law and Xavier Woodson-Luster and defensive linemen Waylon Roberson and Jay Ellison.
Rose, who was named to the 2015 First Team, was named Preseason Offensive Player of the Year after he rushed for a league-leading 1,657 yards and 14 touchdowns. Law was named Preseason Defensive Player of the Year after recording 72 tackles, 10 for loss, four sacks and two interceptions.
Arkansas State led the selections with 12 total players on the first and second teams. Georgia Southern and Appalachian State each placed four on the All-Sun Belt First Team.
The full team can be seen below:
Preseason Offensive Player of the Year: Larry Rose III (New Mexico State, RB, Jr., Communications)
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: John Law (Appalachian State, LB, Sr., Health Promotion)
* – named to 2015 Preseason Teams
^ – named to 2015 All-Sun Belt First Team
# – named to 2015 All-Sun Belt Second Team
! – named to 2015 All-Sun Belt Honorable Mention Team
First Team Offense | ||||
Name | School | Pos | Year | Major |
Taylor Lamb ! | Appalachian State | QB | Jr. | Physical Education |
Matt Breida *^ | Georgia Southern | RB | Sr. | Accounting |
Larry Rose III ^ | New Mexico State | RB | Jr. | Communications |
Dijon Paschal ! | Arkansas State | WR | Jr. | Sport Management |
Robert Davis ^ | Georgia State | WR | Jr. | Interdisciplinary Studies |
Penny Hart ^ | Georgia State | WR | So. | Exercise Science |
Gerald Everett ^ | South Alabama | TE | Sr. | Interdisciplinary Studies |
Parker Collins # | Appalachian State | OL | Sr. | Interdisciplinary Studies |
Jemar Clark ^ | Arkansas State | OL | Sr. | General Studies |
Colton Jackson *^ | Arkansas State | OL | Sr. | General Studies |
Andy Kwon # | Georgia Southern | OL | Sr. | Sport Management |
Antonio Garcia ! | Troy | OL | Sr. | Post Graduate-Criminal Justice |
First Team Defense | ||||
Waylon Roberson | Arkansas State | DL | Sr. | General Studies |
Ja’Von Rolland-Jones *^ | Arkansas State | DL | Jr. | Sport Management |
Bernard Dawson # | Georgia Southern | DL | Sr. | Information Technology |
Jay Ellison *# | Georgia Southern | DL | Sr. | General Studies |
Rashad Dillard | Troy | DL | Sr. | Psychology |
Eric Boggs # | Appalachian State | LB | Jr. | Physical Education |
John Law *^ | Appalachian State | LB | Sr. | Health Promotion |
Xavier Woodson-Luster *# | Arkansas State | LB | Sr. | Sport Management |
Cody Brown # | Arkansas State | DB | Sr. | Communication Studies |
Bobby Baker | Georgia State | DB | Sr. | Speech |
Savion Brown # | UL Lafayette | DB | Sr. | General Studies |
Jeremy Reaves # | South Alabama | DB | Jr. | Sports and Recreation Management |
First Team Special Teams | ||||
Austin Rehkow *^ | Idaho | P | Sr. | Exercise Science and Health |
Austin Rehkow # | Idaho | PK | Sr. | Exercise Science and Health |
Blaise Taylor * | Arkansas State | RS | Jr. | Business Administration |
Second Team Offense | ||||
Matt Linehan ! | Idaho | QB | Jr. | Broadcast and Digital Media |
Marcus Cox *# | Appalachian State | RB | Sr. | Management |
Elijah McGuire *! | UL Lafayette | RB | Sr. | General Studies |
Callen Hightower | Idaho | WR | Sr. | General Studies |
AJalen Holley * | UL Monroe | WR | Sr. | Kinesiology |
Josh Magee | South Alabama | WR | Sr. | Communication |
Keith Rucker # | Georgia State | TE | Sr. | Speech |
Colby Gossett | Appalachian State | OL | Jr. | Management |
Devin Mondie | Arkansas State | OL | Sr. | Communication Studies |
Anthony McMeans ! | New Mexico State | OL | Sr. | Individualized Studies |
Curtis Williams | South Alabama | OL | Sr. | Interdisciplinary Studies |
Ryan Melton *! | Texas State | OL | Sr. | Agriculture |
Second Team Defense | ||||
Darrius Sapp | Georgia Southern | DL | Jr. | General Studies |
Shawanye Lawrence | Georgia State | DL | Sr. | Psychology |
Karmichael Dunbar | UL Lafayette | DL | Sr. | Criminal Justice |
Taboris Lee | UL Lafayette | DL | Jr. | General Studies |
Khari Lain ! | Arkansas State | LB | Jr. | Strategic Communications/Public Relations |
Otha Peters ! | UL Lafayette | LB | Sr. | General Studies |
Roman Buchanan * | South Alabama | LB | Sr. | Exercise Science |
Chris Humes | Arkansas State | DB | Sr. | Health Promotions |
Blaise Taylor * | Arkansas State | DB | Jr. | Business Administration |
Tracy Walker * | UL Lafayette | DB | Jr. | Sports Management |
Tre’ Hunter | UL Monroe | DB | Sr. | General Studies |
Kalen Jackson ! | South Alabama | DB | Sr. | Communication |
Second Team Special Teams | ||||
Lumi Kaba | Texas State | P | Sr. | Exploratory Professional Studies |
Aleem Sunanon ! | South Alabama | PK | Sr. | Masters of Public Administration |
Xavier Johnson ! | South Alabama | RS | Jr. | Interdisciplinary Studies |