Four Bearkats Named Academic All-Southland
1/8/2016 4:23:00 PM | Football
Josh Reynolds, Jacobi Hunter, P. J. Giddens and Lachlan Edwards all have been named to the 26-player Academic All-Southland Conference football team for the 2015 season.
Reynolds, a senior mass communications major from Axtell, Texas, completed his four-year career at the university with a perfect 4.0 grade point average. The wide receiver and special teams performer is one of only two honorees on the 2015 academic squad with a 4.0 GPA.
A President's List (4.0 semester) and Dean's List member each of his semesters as a Bearkat, Reynolds has lettered the last two years. He caught seven passes for 116 yards this year including a long of 41 yards.
Edwards, a senior kinesiology major from Hastings, Victoria in Australia, has compiled a career 3.55 GPA at Sam Houston. The two-time All-Southland Conference and Academic All-League selection produced a 40.8 season average as the team's punter. He posted 12 punts of more than 50 yards and 24 punts inside the 20-yard line.
Giddens, a sophomore general business major with a 3.83 overall GPA, played in every game during the Kats' 11-4 drive to the NCAA semifinals as a reserve safety and special teams player.
Hunter, a sophomore banking and financial institutions major with a 3.31 overall GPA, earned honorable mention All-Southland honors as a defensive tackle. He ranked third among the Bearkat defensive lineman in tackles with 29 including six for losses and a quarterback sack.
The Southland had six CoSIDA Academic All-District selections in 2015 with Central Arkansas senior offensive lineman Kyle Stouffer and Nicholls junior linebacker Geoffrey Hebert were named to the All-District 6 Team while Sam Houston State senior wide receiver Josh Reynolds, UIW junior defensive back Daryl Irby, Stephen F. Austin sophomore defensive back Marlon Walls and UIW senior linebacker Padyn Giebler earned a spot on the All-District 7 Team.
Four Southland players were named to the FCS ADA Academic All-Star Team this season with UIW's Giebler, Southeastern Louisiana's Joe Graves and Sam Houston State's Josh Reynolds and Lachlan Edwards.
The Academic All-Southland football teams are voted on by the head coaches, sports information directors and academic advisors from each Southland Conference university. Student-athletes must possess a 3.0 cumulative GPA, have completed one full academic year at the nominating institution and participated in at least 50 percent of the team's competition to qualify for the all-academic squad.
2015 Southland Conference Football All-Academic Team
Offense
|
Pos. |
Name |
University |
GPA |
Major |
|
QB |
Trent Brittain |
UIW |
3.19 |
Criminal Justice |
|
WR |
Desmond Smith |
Central Arkansas |
3.22 |
Biology |
|
WR |
Sam Houston |
4.00 |
Sports Management |
|
|
RB |
Kade Harrington |
Lamar |
3.05 |
Finance |
|
RB |
Michael Henry |
Nicholls |
3.28 |
Marketing |
|
TE |
Cole Wick |
UIW |
3.39 |
Business Administration |
|
OL |
Kyle Stouffer |
UCA |
3.20 |
Business |
|
OL |
Joe Graves |
SE La. |
3.89 |
History |
|
OL |
Stockton Mallett |
UCA |
3.15 |
Mathematics |
|
OL |
Hunter Barron |
Houston Baptist |
3.78 |
Accounting |
|
OL |
Pace Murphy |
NW St. |
3.07 |
Liberal Arts |
|
K |
Chris Moore1 |
NW St. |
3.21 |
Communications |
Defense
|
DL |
Jonathan Woodard |
Central Arkansas |
3.16 |
Business |
|||||
|
DL |
John Franklin |
SFA |
3.32 |
Kinesiology |
|||||
|
DL |
Jacobi Hunter |
Sam Houston |
3.31 |
Banking & Financial Inst. |
|||||
|
DL |
Alex Jenkins |
UIW |
3.17 |
Computer Information |
|||||
|
LB |
Sam Denmark |
Ab. Christian |
3.75 |
Engineering |
|||||
|
LB |
Padyn Giebler |
UIW |
3.82 |
Engineering Management |
|||||
|
LB |
Bo Brown |
McNeese St. |
3.52 |
Engineering Technology |
|||||
|
LB |
Geoffrey Hebert |
Nicholls |
4.00 |
Finance & Accounting |
|||||
|
DB |
Daryl Irby |
UIW |
3.79 |
Management |
|||||
|
DB |
Marlon Walls |
SFA |
4.00 |
Engineering Physics |
|||||
|
DB |
Denzel Thompson |
SE La. |
3.03 |
Industrial Technology |
|||||
|
DB |
Bobby Watkins |
UCA |
3.33 |
Business |
|||||
|
DB |
P.J. Giddens |
Sam Houston |
3.83 |
General Business |
|||||
|
P |
Sam Houston |
3.55 |
Kinesiology |
||||||
