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Mocs' Huesman, Beard get more SoCon honors from media

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (SoCon Media Relations) -- The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team continued to bring in the postseason awards with the announcement of the Southern Conference Sports Media Association All-Conference honors Wednesday.

Head Coach Russ Huesman was named the league's Coach of the Year while senior Josh Beard earned Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Huesman, in his first year as the head coach of his alma mater, guided Chattanooga to a five-game improvement from a year ago. The Mocs finished 6-5 overall and 4-4 in the Southern Conference, following a winless league campaign in 2008. Their four league wins were the most since 1998 while the overall winning record was just the second for the program in the last 12 years.

Huesman had already earned co-Coach of the Year honors from the SoCon coaches, sharing the award with Appalachian State's Jerry Moore on Tuesday. 

Joe Morrision was the last UTC coach to be selected Coach of the Year by the SoCon media. Morrison earned the honor in 1979 during Huesman's sophomore year when the Mocs went 9-2 and won their third straight SoCon title with a 5-1 league mark.

Beard, a 6-1, 250-pound senior defensive end, leads the SoCon and is tied for the national lead with 12 sacks on the season, a number that equals the ninth-highest single-season total in league history.

 The Lincolnton, Ga., native recorded at least one sack in eight games in 2009, including a stretch in mid-October where he tallied two sacks in three consecutive games. In addition to his sacks, Beard tallied 62 tackles and four quarterback hurries.

He is the first-ever Chattanooga player to be honored by the SoCon media as a league player of the year.

Between the SoCon media and coaches all-conference teams, eight Mocs were honored for their play in 2009, tying the school record since joining the SoCon in 1977 for all-conference recognition in a single season. UTC also had eight honorees on the 1979 squad.

Joining Beard on the media's first team is sophomore Jordan Tippit.

Tippit, a safety from Huntsville, Ala., was second in the SoCon with five interceptions and added two fumble recoveries overall. He was fifth on the team with 60 tackles to go with a pair of sacks and two pass breakups.

Senior Craig Camay (Marietta, Ga.) swept the first team place-kicking honors, having also earned the spot on the coaches' team.

Camay tied for the league lead with 16 field goals, also tying for the second most in a season at UTC. His 84.2% (16-19) accuracy was the highest among the league leaders and second in the conference overall.

Junior Buster Skrine (Woodstock, Ga.), a first-team selection by the coaches, was a second team honoree by the SoCon media.

Skrine was the Mocs' lone selection to the preseason All-SoCon squad and lived up to the billing throughout the season. He recorded two interceptions on the year and was second in the league with eight pass-breakups. His 10 passes defended were fifth in the SoCon.

Senior receiver Blue Cooper (Rome, Ga.) and junior offensive lineman Chris Harr (Chattanooga, Tenn.) were both selected to the second team by the SoCon coaches and media.

Harr led an offensive line that did not allow a sack the last four games of the season, including a trip to No. 2 Alabama. The Mocs gave up just nine sacks on the year, which tied for the lowest number in the league and the fifth-lowest in the nation.

Cooper finished the year with 84 catches for 824 yards. He was second in the SoCon and No. 7 in the nation with 7.6 receptions per game. His 84 catches were the third highest for a season in UTC history.

Freshman Joshua Williams, a defensive end from Griffin, Ga., earned a spot on the second-team after not receiving recognition on the all-conference team from the coaches. He was an All-Freshman honoree by the coaches after recording a UTC freshman record seven sacks on the year.

Senior Joseph Thornton (Stone Mountain, Ga.) was the only Moc selected for all-conference recognition by the league's coaches who was left off the media's team. Thornton led the team with 95 tackles and was sixth in the SoCon in stops for the season.

SoCon champion Appalachian State placed 15 players on the all-conference team, including nine first-team selections. Eight Elon players were honored along with seven from Chattanooga and five each from The Citadel, Furman and Samford.

2009 Media All-Southern Conference Football Team
Roy M. "Legs" Hawley Offensive Player of the Year – Armanti Edwards, QB, Appalachian State *
Defensive Player of the Year – Josh Beard, Sr., DE, Chattanooga
Freshman of the Year – Michael Johnson, RB, Western Carolina
Wallace Wade Coach of the Year – Russ Huesman, Chattanooga

* - Unanimous selection

First Team Offense
QB Armanti Edwards, Sr., Appalachian State
RB Chris Evans, Jr., Samford
RB Devon Moore, Jr., Appalachian State
OL Mario Acitelli, Sr., Appalachian State
OL David Harrison, Sr., Elon
OL Jon Weber, Sr., Samford
OL Pat Illig, Jr., Wofford
OL Brett Irvin, Jr., Appalachian State
TE Alex Sellars, Jr., The Citadel
WR Terrell Hudgins, Sr., Elon
WR Andre Roberts, Sr., The Citadel
 
First Team Defense
DL Josh Beard, Sr., Chattanooga
DL Andre Campbell, Sr., Elon
DL Jabari Fletcher, Jr., Appalachian State
DL Brent Russell, Fr., Georgia Southern
LB D.J. Smith, Jr., Appalachian State
LB Kadarron Anderson, So., Furman
LB Bryce Smith, Jr., Samford
DB Mark LeGree, Jr., Appalachian State
DB Jordan Tippit, So., Chattanooga
DB Ryan Steed, So., Furman
DB Cortez Gilbert, Sr., Appalachian State
 
First Team Specialists
PK Craig Camay, Sr., Chattanooga
P Bob Hooper, So., Samford
RS CoCo Hillary, Jr., Appalachian State 

Second Team Offense
QB Scott Riddle, Jr., Elon
RB Tersoo Uhaa, So., Furman
RB Jamal Shuman, So., Elon
OL Chris Werden, Sr., Elon
OL Daniel DeHaven, Sr., The Citadel
OL Tyler Haynes, Sr., Furman
OL Pat Mills, Jr., Appalachian State
OL Chris Harr, Jr., Chattanooga
TE Ben Jorden, So., Appalachian State
WR Blue Cooper, Sr., Chattanooga
WR Adam Mims, Jr., Furman
 
Second Team Defense
DL John Michael Clay, Jr., Samford
DL Lanston Tanyi, So., Appalachian State
DL Eric Ludwig, Sr., Elon
DL Joshua Williams, Fr., Chattanooga
LB Adrian McLeod, Sr., Western Carolina
LB Chris Collins, Sr., Western Carolina
LB Jacque Roman, Sr., Appalachian State
DB Karlos Sullivan, Sr., Elon
DB Buster Skrine, Jr., Chattanooga
DB Cortez Allen, Jr., The Citadel
DB Ed Gainey, So., Appalachian State 

Second Team Specialists
PK Jason Vitaris, Jr., Appalachian State
P Chris Tommie, Sr., Wofford
RS Andre Roberts, Sr., The Citadel