FRISCO, Texas – The defending Southland Conference champion McNeese Cowboys football team had nine players listed on the 2016 Preseason All-Southland Conference Football Teams released by the league office on Wednesday, including six who garnered first team honors.
 
The announcement comes exactly one week prior to the league's annual Football Media Day event that will be held in Lake Charles at the L'auberge Resort.
 
Headlining the Cowboys' selections are preseason all-America defensive standouts Isaiah Golden and Dominique Hill, both of whom have been tabbed by several organizations on their respective all-America squads.
 
Joining Golden, a junior defensive lineman, and Hill, a junior safety, on the first team is senior tight end Zach Hetrick, junior wide receiver Kent Shelby, senior offensive lineman Mason Martin, and junior linebacker Ashari Goins.
 
Preseason second team honors go to junior running back Ryan Ross, junior defensive lineman Jammerio Gross, and junior cornerback Jermaine Antoine.
 
Golden is being regarded as one of the top defensive linemen in the nation and has already caught attention from NFL scouts. He led the team with 10 quarterback hurries last season to go along with 31 tackles and two tackles for a loss.
 
Goins is the team's top returning tackler from a year ago having recorded 62 stops on the season. He tied for the team lead with four sacks and ranked second on the squad with 8.5 tackles for a loss.
 
Hill led the team with 11 tackles for a loss while ranking fifth with 56 total tackles. He also broke up a team-best nine passes and had one interception.
 
Shelby led the Cowboys with 36 pass receptions last season to go along with a team-high 668 receiving yards and an 18.56 yards per catch average. He also hauled in a team-best six touchdown passes.
 
Hetrick caught 10 passes last season for 104 yards and a touchdown and Martin was a big part of the Cowboys' running game success that saw the team average 233 yards on the ground with scoring 25 rushing touchdowns.
 
Ross is the team's top returning rusher after having tracked 891 yards last season with nine touchdowns. He averaged 81 yards per game and 6.2 yards per carry.
 
Antoine recorded 36 tackles in 2015 and led the team with two pass interceptions. Gross made 22 stops and tied for the team lead with four sacks to go along with 8.5 tackles for a loss.
 
Sam Houston State leads all league schools with 14 all-conference selections followed by Central Arkansas with 10 and McNeese nine. Lamar landed five on the teams followed by Abilene Christian with four and Incarnate Word, Northwestern State and Stephen F. Austin with three each. Houston Baptist and Southeastern Louisiana are represented by two players each while Nicholls placed one on the preseason teams.
 
The conference's two preseason polls – coaches and sports information directors – will be announced the morning of July 27 at Media Day.
 
The Cowboys will report for camp on August 3 and open the season on September 3 at home against Tarleton State.
 
 
2016 Preseason All-Southland Conference Football Teams
First-Team Offense

Pos.	Name	University	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	Hometown
QB	Zach Conque	Stephen F. Austin	6-6	237	Sr.	Little Rock, Ark.
RB	Kade Harrington	Lamar	5-9	190	Sr.	Kingwood, Texas
RB	Corey Avery	Sam Houston State	5-10	190	Jr.	Dallas, Texas
TE/HB	Zach Hetrick	McNeese	6-3	250	Sr.	Baton Rouge, La.
WR	Desmond Smith	Central Arkansas	6-1	201	Sr.	Bentonville, Ark.
WR	Kent Shelby	McNeese	6-3	194	Jr.	New Orleans, La.
WR	Yedidiah Louis	Sam Houston State	5-8	187	Jr.	Richardson, Texas
OL	Bret Treadway	Lamar	6-3	280	Sr.	Silsbee, Texas
OL	Stockton Mallett	Central Arkansas	6-3	298	Jr.	Harrison, Ark.
OL	Mason Martin	McNeese	6-2	286	Sr.	Pineville, La.
OL	Bridge Blount	Sam Houston State	5-10	295	Sr.	Huntsville, Texas
OL	Curtis Riser	Sam Houston State	6-4	320	Sr.	DeSoto, Texas
AP	Yedidiah Louis	Sam Houston State	5-8	187	Jr.	Richardson, Texas
PK	Luc Swimberghe	Sam Houston State	6-0	197	Sr.	Natchitoches, La.

 
First-Team Defense

Pos.	Name	University	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	Hometown
DL	P.J. Hall	Sam Houston State	6-1	280	Jr.	Seguin, Texas
DL	Isaiah Golden	McNeese	6-2	335	Jr.	Carthage, Texas
DL	Larance Hale	Lamar	6-2	280	Sr.	Tatum, Texas
DL	John Franklin	Stephen F. Austin	6-4	284	Jr.	Greenville, Texas
LB	Sam Denmark	Abilene Christian	6-1	230	Jr.	Las Cruces, N.M.
LB	Ashari Goins	McNeese	5-10	200	Jr.	Monroe, La.
LB	Antreon Bennett	Southeastern La.	6-0	225	Sr.	West Point, Miss.
DB	Tremon Smith	Central Arkansas	6-0	185	Jr.	Anniston, Ala.
DB	Jabari Butler	Abilene Christian	5-11	180	So.	Potomac, Md.
DB	Dominique Hill	McNeese	5-10	177	Jr.	Mansfield, La.
DB	B.T. Sanders	Nicholls	6-0	190	Sr.	Foley, Ala.
DB	Darion Flowers	Sam Houston State	6-0	195	Sr.	Tyler, Texas
P	Christian Guzman	Houston Baptist	5-11	165	Jr.	Brookshire, Texas
KR	Rodney Randle	Lamar	5-10	200	So.	Beaumont, Texas
PR	Brandon Cox	Central Arkansas	5-9	180	Jr.	Conway, Ark.

 
Second-Team Offense

Pos.	Name	University	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	Hometown
QB	Jeremiah Briscoe	Sam Houston State	6-3	220	Jr.	Houston, Texas
RB	Ryan Ross	McNeese	5-9	205	Jr.	Richwood, Texas
RB	De'Mard Llorens	Northwestern State	5-10	214	Sr.	Natchitoches, La.
TE/HB	Cody Dauksch	Central Arkansas	6-1	221	Sr.	West Memphis, Tenn.
WR	Jatavious Wilson	Central Arkansas	5-9	171	Sr.	Bastrop, La.
WR	Davion Davis	Sam Houston State	5-11	175	So.	Hutto, Texas
WR	Shakeir Ryan	Northwestern State	5-8	161	Sr.	Lafayette, La.
OL	Riley Mayfield	Abilene Christian	6-7	305	Jr.	Cedar Park, Texas
OL	Terrance Boyd	Northwestern State	6-3	324	Sr.	Baytown, Texas
OL	Dakota Laws	Abilene Christian	6-3	320	So.	Denton, Texas
OL	Sam Hardy	Sam Houston State	6-3	310	Sr.	West Hills, Calif.
OL	Travis Romero	Southeastern La.	6-3	320	Jr.	Manvel, Texas
AP	Jatavious Wilson	Central Arkansas	5-9	171	Sr.	Bastrop, La.

 
Second-Team Defense

Pos.	Name	University	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	Hometown
DL	Luis Carreno	Sam Houston State	6-2	245	Sr.	Coppell, Texas
DL	Jammerio Gross	McNeese	6-3	240	Jr.	Shreveport, La.
DL	Terrence Partee	Central Arkansas	6-3	278	Sr.	Memphis, Tenn.
DL	Sione Latu	Sam Houston State	6-0	285	Sr.	Euless, Texas
LB	Josh Zellars	UIW	6-0	210	Sr.	Baytown, Texas
LB	Collins Okotcha	Sam Houston State	6-1	220	So.	Coppell, Texas
LB	Garrett Dolan	Houston Baptist	6-2	240	Jr.	Mont Belvieu, Texas
DB	Jermaine Antoine	McNeese	5-11	191	Jr.	Loreauville, La.
DB	George Odum	Central Arkansas	6-2	185	Jr.	Millington, Tenn.
DB	Brendan Langley	Lamar	6-1	190	Sr.	Marietta, Ga.
DB	Adrian Norwood	UIW	6-0	210	Sr.	Waco, Texas
DB	Patrick Martin	Stephen F. Austin	5-9	186	Sr.	Spring, Texas
KR	Jatavious Wilson	Central Arkansas	5-9	171	Sr.	Bastrop, La.
PR	Jordan Hicks	UIW	5-8	175	Sr.	Arlington, Texas