Eight Southland Players Named to STATS FCS All-America Teams
Southland Conference
FRISCO, Texas – Eight Southland Conference football players were named to the STATS FCS All-America Teams with three players earning first-team accolades.
Lamar junior running back Kade Harrington, Sam Houston State senior offensive lineman Donald Jackson III and UIW senior linebacker Myke Tavarres were first-team selections out of the Southland. Sam Houston defensive end P.J. Hall, Southeastern Louisiana defensive back Harlan Miller and McNeese State defensive Wallace Scott were named to the second team while McNeese offensive lineman Quinton Marsh and Northwestern State placekicker Chris Moore were tabbed to the third team.
Conference champion McNeese State and conference runner-up Sam Houston State each placed two players on the team while Lamar, UIW, Southeastern Louisiana and Northwestern State had one selection apiece.
Harrington set numerous records during the 2015-16 campaign, becoming just the seven back in NCAA Division I history to rush for 2,000 yards in just 10 games – a list that includes Barry Sanders and Marcus Allen. Harrington attacked the school's single-game rushing record almost on a weekly basis, recording eight of the school's top 16 single-game performances this season. He ended the year as the Southland's single-game and single-season leader in rushing yards, and just missed the league's all-purpose record. He also set new league standards for points per game and rush yards per game, while setting the school's single-season all-purpose yards mark. He set a program record for consecutive 100-yard rushing performances – a streak that included six games of at least 200 yards, and a single-game record of 347 against Abilene Christian. A two-time STATS FCS National Offensive Player of the Week selection, Harrington became the first Cardinal in program history to be named Southland Player of the Year. The honor coming just two years after Harrington became the first Cardinal to receive Southland Freshman of the Year honors.
Jackson is a three-time All-Southland Conference performer who started every game this season, helping lead the Bearkats to their fifth consecutive NCAA Division I Football Championships playoff berth. He is part of an offensive line that has paved the way for a Sam Houston attack that leads all FCS teams in total offense with 551.1 yards per game and first downs with 399. The Kats also rank third nationally in scoring (43.3), ninth in rushing (264.1), 9th in third down conversion percentage (.462) and 13th in passing yards per game (287.0). A starter in the offensive line each of the past four years, Jackson has helped lead Sam Houston to a 42-17 record since 2012.
Tavarres had a record-breaking season for the Cardinals as an outside linebacker. He set school records with 110 tackles, 22.5 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks while adding five pass breakups, seven quarterback hurries and three forced fumbles. He played a key role in a defensive unit that was one of the best in the Southland Conference. Tavarres was previously named the Southland Conference Newcomer of the Year and a first team player. Tavarres finished the year tied for fourth in the nation in tackles for loss per game and 14th in sacks per game.
Hall is a two-time all-Southland player who stands as the Bearkats’ tackle leader. Hall has been credited with 63 stops this season including 44 solo stops. He has 21 tackles for 87 yards in losses and 11 quarterback sacks. He also has blocked five kicks (three PATs, a punt and a field goal), intercepted two passes, had 10 pass break-ups and both a fumble recovery and a caused fumble to his credit. Only in his second season, Hall now holds the Sam Houston career mark with 51 tackles for losses and is second in career sacks (22) and kick blocks (10).
Miller capped his Southeastern career with a standout senior season. On the way to becoming the first player in school history to earn first team All-Southland for three straight seasons, Miller led the Lions with four interceptions and 10 pass breakups. Miller, who joined Southeastern Athletics Hall of Fame members Huey Husser (1954-56, Gulf States Conference) and Ronnie Hornsby (1968-70, Gulf States Conference) as the only players in school history to earn first team all-conference in any league three straight years, finished fourth on the Lion career list with 11 interceptions. He was also named the first-team all-conference punt returner after averaging 10.5 yards per punt return.
Scott was one of the leaders of the Cowboys who finished the regular season with a perfect 10-0 mark and won its league-record 14th championship. The defensive leader helped carry a defensive unit that ranked No. 1 in the Southland Conference this past season in total defense (300.2 ypg), rushing defense (87.4 ypg), and scoring defense (13.2 ppg). McNeese ranked No. 12, 4, and 3 respectively in those categories in the FCS. The three-time conference defensive player of the week finished the season with 59 total tackles with two sacks and 5.5 tackles for a loss. He set a school records with two fumble recoveries for a touchdown in a season and 142 fumble return yards in a season. Scott and the McNeese defense have allowed just three rushing touchdowns on the year and have only allowed one player to break the century mark rushing in a game.
Marsh started every game in 2015 and made 35 consecutive starts to end his career. The first team all-Southland Conference lineman was the anchor of an offensive line unit that allowed just 10 sacks in the season while helping the offense average 233 yards per game rushing, the most by a McNeese team in 33 years (the 1982 team averaged 243.7 rushing yards per game). Marsh’s recognition makes it three straight years a McNeese offensive lineman has garnered all-American honors (Antoine Everett in 2014; Arinze Agada in 2013).
Moore broke Demon career records for scoring (248 points) and field goals (45) while making 16 of 19 field goals and 35 of 37 extra points this season. He tied NSU's single-game record with four field goals in his final game, scoring 15 points as the Demons ended their season well with a 33-17 victory over rival Stephen F. Austin. He had 25 touchbacks on 62 kickoffs (40 percent) as a senior. A first-team All-Southland Conference selection, Moore's 83 points this season was fifth-best all-time in school history. He holds the school season record for kick scoring with 90 last year.
The three All-America teams went 102 players deep, spread out among 57 schools from all 13 FCS conferences. The Big Sky Conference led all leagues with 17 selections followed by the Missouri Valley Football Conference with 13 and CAA with 12. The remaining breakdown of All-Americans among conferences saw the Big South with nine, Southern and Southland with eight each, the Ohio Valley with seven, the Ivy and Patriot with six apiece. The Mid-Eastern Athletic and Northeast had five each, and the Pioneer and Southwestern Athletic three apiece.
The offensive players of the year in nine conferences and defensive players of the year in 13 conferences made the All-America team.