LAKE CHARLES – McNeese sophomore quarterback
James Tabary has been named the 2016 Southland Conference Newcomer of the Year while senior kick returner
Khalil Thomas has garnered All-SLC first team honors at that spot, the league released on Tuesday.
Four players earned second team honors – DL Jammerio Gross, S
Andre Fuller, WR
Darious Crawley and TE
Zach Hetrick while DL
Chris Livings picked up honorable mention honors.
Tabary, a transfer from Arkansas State and native of New Orleans, came within 33 yards of setting a new school record for most passing yards in a season as he finished with 3,036 yards. He's just the second quarterback in school history to throw for 3,000 yards in a season.
In addition to his passing yards, Tabary set single-season school records for most completions (249) and pass attempts (415) in a season and played a major role in McNeese setting team records for most total passing yards in a season (3,346) and average passing yards per game (304.2).
He set a school record for most 300 yard passing games in a season (4) and tied a school record with five touchdowns passes in a game, that coming against Sam Houston State.
Thomas led the Southland Conference and ranked ninth in the FCS in kickoff return average with a 27.8 mark. He returned one for a touchdown, a 97-yarder against Incarnate Word.
The Baton Rouge native ended his career with 1,524 kick return yards to rank fourth all-time in the McNeese career record book.
Hetrick, a senior from Baton Rouge who earned all-SLC second team honors last season and was a preseason first team pick to start the year, repeated his second team accolades after catching 13 passes for 125 yards.
Gross, an honorable mention recipient last season, picked up second team honors after posted the best season of his career. The junior from Shreveport led the Cowboys with 59 total tackles and was second on the team and fifth in the league with 7.5 sacks. He also collected 13 tackles for a loss that ranked tied for fifth in the conference.
Fuller earned his first-ever postseason conference honor. The junior from Monroe ranked second on the team with 58 tackles to go along with six pass breakups, a sack, interception and three tackles for a loss.
Crawley, a junior transfer out of Kansas and a native of Houston, led the Cowboys with 41 catches for 701 yards. He also led the team with seven TD catches and averaged 17.1 yards per catch.
Livings led the Cowboys with eight sacks on the season, the most since Bryan Smith collected 11.5 in 2006. In addition, the sophomore Lake Charles native led the team with 14 tackles for a loss – 4
th-most in the SLC – and collected 47 tackles while starting all 11 games.
Tabary was the only non-Sam Houston State representative to claim a major award.
Bearkats' quarterback Jeremiah Briscoe was voted the league's player of the year; defensive lineman P.J. Hall defensive player of the year; wide receiver Yedidiah Louis the offensive player of the year; and K.C. Keeler the league's coach of the year.
2016 All-Southland Conference Football Teams
First-Team Offense
| Pos. |
Name |
University |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Cl. |
Hometown |
| QB |
Jeremiah Briscoe |
Sam Houston State |
6'3" |
220 |
Jr. |
Houston, Texas |
| RB |
De'Mard Llorens |
Northwestern State |
5'10" |
212 |
Sr. |
Natchitoches, La. |
| RB |
Corey Avery |
Sam Houston State |
5'10" |
190 |
Jr. |
Dallas, Texas |
| TE/HB |
Juwaan Rogers |
Southeastern Louisiana |
6'0" |
245 |
Sr. |
Amite, La. |
| WR |
Yedidiah Louis |
Sam Houston State |
5'8" |
187 |
Jr. |
New Orleans, La. |
| WR |
Desmond Smith |
Central Arkansas |
6'1" |
202 |
Sr. |
Bentonville, Ark. |
| WR |
Nathan Stewart |
Sam Houston State |
6'1" |
169 |
Fr. |
Dallas, Texas |
| OL |
Bridge Blount |
Sam Houston State |
5'9" |
295 |
Sr. |
Huntsville, Texas |
| OL |
Stockton Mallett |
Central Arkansas |
6'3" |
307 |
Jr. |
Harrison, Ark. |
| OL |
Chandler Arceneaux |
Nicholls |
6'4" |
260 |
RS-So. |
Bourg, La. |
| OL |
Tyler Tezeno |
Sam Houston State |
6'4" |
317 |
Jr. |
Spring, Texas |
| OL |
Taylor Gadbois |
Southeastern Louisiana |
6'6" |
300 |
Sr. |
Dallas, Ga. |
| AP |
Jatavius Wilson |
Central Arkansas |
5'9' |
173 |
Sr. |
Bastrop, La. |
| K |
Nik Grau |
Abilene Christian |
6'1" |
230 |
RS-Jr. |
Grapevine, Texas |
First-Team Defense
| Pos. |
Name |
University |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Cl. |
Hometown |
| DL |
P.J. Hall |
Sam Houston State |
6'1" |
280 |
Jr. |
Seguin, Texas |
| DL |
Sully Laiche |
Nicholls |
6'2" |
255 |
Fr. |
Gramercy, La. |
| DL |
Jordan Toliver |
Central Arkansas |
6'1" |
299 |
Sr. |
Duncanville, Texas |
| DL |
John Franklin |
Stephen F. Austin |
6'4" |
278 |
Jr. |
Greenville, Texas |
| LB |
Garrett Dolan |
Houston Baptist |
6'2" |
240 |
Jr. |
Mont Belvieu, Texas |
| LB |
Sam Denmark |
Abilene Christian |
6'1" |
230 |
Jr. |
Las Cruces, N.M. |
| LB |
Justin Johnson |
Sam Houston State |
6'1" |
224 |
So. |
Converse, Texas |
| DB |
Brendan Langley |
Lamar |
6'2" |
193 |
Sr. |
Marietta, Ga. |
| DB |
Tremon Smith |
Central Arkansas |
6'0" |
186 |
Jr. |
Anniston, Ala. |
| DB |
George Odum |
Central Arkansas |
6'2" |
190 |
Jr. |
Millington, Tenn. |
| DB |
Tyler Williams |
Central Arkansas |
6'1" |
194 |
Sr. |
Norcross, Ga. |
| DB |
Darion Flowers |
Sam Houston State |
6'0" |
195 |
Jr. |
Tyler, Texas |
| P |
Joseph Figenshaw |
Sam Houston State |
6'1" |
205 |
Sr. |
Rosenberg, Texas |
| KR |
Khalil Thomas |
McNeese |
5'9" |
184 |
Sr. |
Baton Rouge, La. |
| PR |
Brendan Langley |
Lamar |
6'2" |
193 |
Sr. |
Marietta, Ga. |
Second-Team Offense
| Pos. |
Name |
University |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Cl. |
Hometown |
| QB |
Hayden Hildebrand |
Central Arkansas |
6'3" |
196 |
Jr. |
Bossier City, La. |
| RB |
Julius Maracalin |
Southeastern Louisiana |
6'0" |
215 |
So. |
Plaquemine, La. |
| RB |
Remus Bulmer |
Sam Houston State |
5'7" |
185 |
So. |
Missouri City, Texas |
| TE/HB |
Zach Hetrick |
McNeese |
6'3" |
246 |
Sr. |
Baton Rouge, La. |
| WR |
C.J. Bates |
Nicholls |
6'1" |
200 |
Sr. |
Louisville, Miss. |
| WR |
Davion Davis |
Sam Houston State |
5'11" |
175 |
So. |
Hutto, Texas |
| WR |
Darious Crawley |
McNeese |
5'11" |
190 |
Jr. |
Houston, Texas |
| OL |
John Cook |
Central Arkansas |
6'4" |
319 |
So. |
Grenada, Miss. |
| OL |
Curtis Riser |
Sam Houston State |
6'4" |
320 |
Sr. |
DeSoto, Texas |
| OL |
Chris Bordelon |
Nicholls |
6'6" |
315 |
Sr. |
White Castle, La. |
| OL |
Josh Keith |
Stephen F. Austin |
6'7" |
318 |
Jr. |
Katy, Texas |
| OL |
Cameron Hussey |
Northwestern State |
6'2" |
281 |
Sr. |
Houston, Texas |
| AP |
Kody Edwards |
UIW |
6'0" |
165 |
Jr. |
Mesquite, Texas |
| K |
Alec Chadwick |
Houston Baptist |
6'2" |
162 |
So. |
Valencia, Calif. |
Second-Team Defense
| Pos. |
Name |
University |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Cl. |
Hometown |
| DL |
Kedrick Harrison |
Stephen F. Austin |
6'2" |
246 |
Sr. |
Coldspring, Texas |
| DL |
Cardell Best |
Central Arkansas |
6'3" |
248 |
Jr. |
Little Elm, Texas |
| DL |
Jammerio Gross-Whitaker |
McNeese |
6'3" |
224 |
Jr. |
Shreveport, La. |
| DL |
Mouf Adebo |
Sam Houston State |
6'0" |
196 |
Jr. |
Monroe, La. |
| LB |
Allen Pittman |
Nicholls |
5'11" |
205 |
RS-Fr. |
St. Rose, La. |
| LB |
Sione Teuhema |
Southeastern Louisiana |
6'4" |
260 |
Jr. |
Keller, Texas |
| LB |
Josh Zellars |
UIW |
6'0" |
210 |
Sr. |
Baytown, Texas |
| DB |
Xavier Bethany |
Lamar |
6'0" |
192 |
Sr. |
Burton, Texas |
| DB |
Devin Spurlock |
Central Arkansas |
6'2" |
201 |
Sr. |
Dallas, Texas |
| DB |
Andre Fuller |
McNeese |
6'0" |
196 |
Jr. |
Monroe, La. |
| DB |
Javon Tillman |
Southeastern Louisiana |
6'2" |
180 |
Jr. |
Oakland, Calif. |
| DB |
B.T. Sanders |
Nicholls |
6'0" |
195 |
Sr. |
Foley, Ala. |
| P |
Patrick Ponder |
Central Arkansas |
6'1" |
200 |
Jr. |
Bay St. Louis, Miss. |
| KR |
Jaylen Harris |
Sam Houston State |
5'8" |
175 |
R-Fr. |
Cibolo, Texas |
| PR |
Trae Hart |
Stephen F. Austin |
5'11" |
175 |
Jr. |
Mesquite, Texas |
Honorable Mentions
Quarterback: Chase Fourcade, Nicholls; Tony Dawson, Houston Baptist; Zach Conque, Stephen F. Austin.
Running Back: Terrance Peters, Houston Baptist; Kade Harrington, Lamar.
Tight End/H-Back: Cody Dauksch, Central Arkansas; Deon Hutchinson, Sam Houston State; DeAndre Jennigs, Lamar; Kiki Hill, Stephen F. Austin.
Wide Reciver: Jatavious Wilson, Central Arkansas; Brandon Acker, Southeastern La.; Juwan Dickey, Southeastern La.; Tamrick Pace, Stephen F. Austin.
Offensive Lineman: Riley Mayfield, Abilene Christian; Dakota Laws, Abilene Christian; Draven Taylor, UIW; Travis Romero, Southeastern La.
Offensive All-Purpose: Tony Dawson, Houston Baptist.
Defensive Lineman: Chris Terrell, Central Arkansas; Terrence Partee, Central Arkansas; Andre Walker, Houston Baptist; Koby Couron, Lamar;
Chris Livings, McNeese; Ronald Ollie, Nicholls; Ryan Hanley, Nicholls; Chris Zirkle, Northwestern State; James DeLaRosa, Sam Houston State; Sione Latu, Sam Houston State; Anthony Murphy, Southeastern La.; Jon Taylor, Southeastern La.
Linebacker: Bryson Gates, Abilene Christian; Cameron Hampton, Abilene Christian; Cody Moncure, Houston Baptist; A.J. Davis, Sam Houston State; Tre' Bennett, Southeastern La.; George Stone, Stephen F. Austin.
Defensive Back: Derek Broussard, Houston Baptist; Jeff Hall, Nicholls; Austin Balthazor, Northwestern State; Tyrel Stokes, Sam Houston State; Will Hines, Southeastern La.; Torrance Mosley, Southeastern La.; Max Lyons, Southeastern La.; Alize Ward, Stephen F. Austin.
Kick Return Specialist: Jordan Hicks, UIW.
Punt Return Specialist: Tremon Smith, Central Arkansas; Shakeir Ryan, Northwestern State.
Placekicker: Eric Piccione, Northwestern State; Luc Swimberghe, Sam Houston State; Storm Ruiz, Stephen F. Austin.
Punter: Christian Guzman, Houston Baptist
