Led by wide receiver Felton Huggins' first team selection, a total of 13 Southeastern Louisiana football players earned all-Southland Conference notice in a release by the league office Tuesday.

Huggins, a senior from Zachary, La., was Southeastern's lone first team pick after finishing the season with 46 catches for 520 yards and four touchdowns while helping the Lions to a 4-6 overall record and 2-4 mark in their first season in the Southland Conference.

The Lions placed six players on the all-SLC Second Team and had six Honorable Mention selections.

Wide receiver Hutch Gonzales (Covington), tight end Josh Taylor (Denham Springs), offensive lineman Calvin Greenwood (Jackson, Miss.), defensive lineman Derrick Mincey (Lyons, Ga.), safety Duke Adams (Hammond) and punter Jim Hall (Hammond) were awarded second team notice.

Honorable mention status was awarded to quarterback Trey Willie (Loranger), center Donald Usry (Loranger), defensive end Rudy Johnson (Kentwood), linebacker Demoris Hardiman (Grenada, Miss.), cornerback Charles Hall (Gulfport, Miss.) and linebacker David Daniels (Bradenton, Fla.)

Texas State quarterback Barrick Nealy was named Southland Conference Football Player of the Year after leading his team to its first-ever regular-season championship, a title it shares with Nicholls State. The senior from Dallas, Texas, is one of 10 Bobcats named to the 2005 All-Southland Conference first team with two more tabbed second team. A total of seven Nicholls State student-athletes are on the first team and another four on the second unit after helping the Colonels to their first-ever SLC title.

Nealy, who was invited to the Hula Bowl All-Star game earlier this season, guides his team into the postseason this weekend. The Bobcats (9-2) were selected as an at-large pick to the 16-team NCAA I-AA Playoff field and make an appearance in the tournament for the first time in school history.

Much of the credit for the successful Texas State season goes to Nealy, who was named SLC Player of the Week three times this season. He guided the Bobcats to a 5-1 SLC record with the only loss being an overtime affair at Nicholls. Nealy finished the regular season ranked third in the SLC in
passing and rushing. He accumulated 75.8 yards per game on the ground and threw for 185.7 yards passing per outing to rank second in the league with 261.5 yards per game.

Nealy has completed 151-of-273 passes for a 55.3 completion percentage. He has 14 touchdown passes with just five interceptions and has rushed for another 11 scores to rank fourth in the SLC with 66 points scored. His yardage total of 2,877 derives from 2,043 through the air and another 834
rushing. Nealy's 131.4 passing efficiency ranks first in the SLC among starters.

Nicholls' quarterback Yale Vannoy has been voted SLC Offensive Player of the Year by the panel of head coaches, sports information directors and select media members who cover the SLC. A senior from Kingsville, Texas, Vannoy
ranks fourth in the SLC with 71.9 yards rushing per game for the 6-3 Colonels. The second-team All-SLC performer has helped Nicholls to its first I-AA playoff appearance since 1996 and the third in school history. Vannoy has 647 yards rushing with four touchdowns and passed for 438 yards in
Nicholls' triple-option attack which ranks second in the country in rushing offense at 383.2 ypg.

Texas State's Fred Evans is the Defensive Player of the Year as he anchors the line of the SLC's stingiest defensiveunit. The Bobcats allow 18.4 points, 165 yards passing and 287 total yards per game to rank first in the SLC in all three categories. They are second in rushing defense at 122 yards
per. Individually, Evans leads the conference with 15 tackles for lost yardage (58 yards) and ranks 10th with 3.5 quarterback sacks (24 yards). A first-team all-league pick who was last year's SLC Newcomer of the Year, Evans, a senior from Chicago, Ill., has also been invited to the Hula Bowl.

This year's Newcomer of the Year is Nicholls running back Joseph Tobias, a transfer from Southwest Mississippi Community College. The first-team All-SLC pick, who is a junior from Tangipahoa, La., is sixth in the rushing
statistics at 69.8 yards per game with 628 yards and seven touchdowns. He is one of four Colonels ranked in the SLC top 10 of rushing.

The Freshman of the Year honor goes to McNeese State kicker Blake Bercegeay, from Gonzales, La. He's also an All-SLC second-teamer at the position. Bercegeay is second in the SLC with 7.1 points scored per game after hitting 16-of-19 (84.2 percent) field goals and16-of-18 point-after-touchdowns for a total of 64 points.

Jay Thomas of Nicholls State has been voted Coach of the Year in just his second year in charge of the Colonels. Last year, Thomas guided Nicholls to a 5-5 record after being named to the top spot 11 days into preseason practice. A year later, despite having two early-season games canceled because of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and a 1-3 start to the season, Thomas kept his Colonels focused. After losing the SLC opener in overtime at Stephen F. Austin, Nicholls rebounded and won its final five of the regular-season to share the title with Texas State. Nicholls was picked to
finish sixth in the SLC head coaches' preseason poll.



2005 All-Southland Conference Football Teams

First Team Offense

POS NAME UNIVERSITY HT. WT. CL. HOMETOWNQB Barrick Nealy Texas State 6-5 230
Sr. Dallas, Texas

RB Joseph Tobias Nicholls State 5-11 220 Jr. Tangipahoa, La.

RB Stevie Smith Sam Houston State 5-11 185 Sr. Sweeny, Texas

FB Broderick Cole Nicholls State 5-10 230 So. New Orleans, La.

WR Felton Huggins Southeastern Louisiana 6-4 198 Sr. Zachary, La.

WR Markee White Texas State 6-7 205 Sr. Long Beach, Calif.

TE Corey Roberts Sam Houston State 6-5 235 Sr. Carthage, Texas

OL Jacob Bender Nicholls State 6-6 305 Jr. Mayo, Md.

OL Tom Keresztury Texas State 6-6 260 Sr. New Braunfels, Texas

OL Luke Horder Texas State 6-5 298 Sr. Hurst, Texas

OL Brian Booth Northwestern State 6-2 262 Sr. Baton Rouge, La.

OL Cody Stogner Nicholls State 6-0 285 Sr. Picayune, Miss.

PK Stan Jones Texas State 5-8 171 Sr. Corsicana, Texas

First Team Defense

DL Fred Evans Texas State 6-5 300 Sr. Chicago, Ill.

DL Michael Young Nicholls State 6-4 250 Sr. New Orleans, La.

DL Travis Upshaw Texas State 6-1 311 Sr. Burleson, Texas

DL Tory Collins Northwestern State 6-3 265 Jr. New Orleans, La.

LB Cory Vavala Nicholls State 6-2 225 Jr. San Antonio, Texas

LB David Simmons Texas State 5-11 200 Sr. Houston, Texas

CB David Pittman Northwestern State 6-0 160 Sr. Gramercy, La.

CB Walter Musgrove Texas State 5-9 190 Jr. Duncanville, Texas

S Keldrick Holman Stephen F. Austin 6-0 195 Jr. Hemphill, Texas

S Joe Ogletree Nicholls State 5-11 200 Sr. Houston, Texas

S Russ Washington Northwestern State 5-8 170 Jr. LaMarque, Texas

P Cory Elolf Texas State 6-1 175 Sr. Converse, Texas

RS Toby Zeigler Northwestern State 6-0 190 Sr. Monroe, La.

Second Team Offense

QB Yale Vannoy Nicholls State 6-2 225 Sr. Kingsville, Texas

RB Louie Runnels Stephen F. Austin 6-0 234 So. Bellville, Texas

RB Daniel Jolly Texas State 6-0 233 Jr. San Antonio, Texas

FB Michael Motte Stephen F. Austin 5-11 225 Jr. Houston, Texas

WR Hutch Gonzales Southeastern Louisiana 6-1 200 Sr. Covington, La.

WR Quinten Lawrence McNeese State 6-0 175 So. Carencro, La.

TE Josh Taylor Southeastern Louisiana 6-3 195 Sr. Denham Springs, La.

OL Jerry Little Stephen F. Austin 6-8 322 Sr. Boerne, Texas

OL Brent Pousson McNeese State 6-4 290 Jr. Iota, La.

OL Woodly Telfort Northwestern State 6-7 320 Sr. Miami, Fla.

OL Ben Gombossy Nicholls State 6-1 280 So. Monroe, La.

OL Calvin Greenwood Southeastern Louisiana 6-6 335 Sr. Jackson, Miss. PK
Blake Bercegeay McNeese State 6-2 168 Fr. Gonzales, La.

Second Team Defense

DL Jeff Mayhew Sam Houston State 6-4 290 Sr. Nederland, Texas

DL Carlos Stephens Northwestern State 5-11 235 Sr. Bastrop, La.

DL Bryan Paille Nicholls State 6-2 250 Sr. Gonzales, La.

DL Derrick Mincey Southeastern Louisiana 6-1 290 Sr. Lyons, Ga.

LB Ryan Luedecke Stephen F. Austin 6-0 193 Sr. Bay City, Texas

LB Trey Bennett McNeese State 6-1 230 So. Newton, Texas

CB Tommy Lee Brown Nicholls State 6-2 188 Sr. Amite, La.

CB Jonathan Walker McNeese State 5-11 180 So. Lake Charles, La.

S Gary Shepard Texas State 5-10 212 Jr. Houston, Texas

S Jamelle Juneau McNeese State 6-2 215 So. Bunkie, La.

S Duriel Adams Southeastern Louisiana 5-10 190 Jr. Hammond, La.

P Jim Hall Southeastern Louisiana 6-3 198 Jr. Hammond, La.

RS Stephen Whitehead McNeese State 5-7 165 So. Slidell, La.

2005 All-Southland Conference Football Teams


Honorable Mention: QB: Trey Willie, SLU; Davon Vinson, NWLa.; Zeke Dixon,
SFA. RB: Chris Thomas, McN; Jason Godfrey, SHSU; Zach Morgan, NICH; Anthony
Harris, NICH. FB: Blake Burton, TXST. WR: Carl Price, SFA; Tyrone Scott,
TXST. TE: Randy Moshier, TXST; Matt Bodley, SFA. OL: Lance Hancock, SHSU;
Donald Usry, SLU; Jarrod Westerman, SHSU; John Vasilakis, McN; Jesse
Frazier, NICH; Matt Jenkins, TXST. PK: Cory Long, SFA; Lance Garner, SHSU.
DL: Chris Hester, NICH; David Branch, SHSU; Vaalyn Jackson, McN; John
Griffin, SHSU; Ed Jackson, SHSU; Bryan Smith, McN; Rudy Johnson, SLU;
Anthony Camp, McN; Greg Casnave, NICH. LB: David Daniels, SLU; Jeremy
Castillo, TXST; Demoris Hardiman, SLU; Paul Mefford, NWLa.; Levon Bailey,
NICH. CB: Derrick Harris, SHSU; Krys Williams, SFA; Greg Brown, SHSU; Henry
Johnson, NICH; Charles Hall, SLU; Jamarqus O'Neal, TXST. S: Robert Herron,
SHSU; Daniel Varvel, TXST; Toney Edison, NICH; Lawrence Darby, McN. P:
Curtis Parks, SHSU; Ryan Gooch, SFA. RS: Stevie Smith, SHSU; Dameon
Williams, TXST.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR, Barrick Nealy, Texas State
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Yale Vannoy, Nicholls State
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Fred Evans, Texas State
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Blake Bercegeay, McNeese State
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Joseph Tobias, Nicholls State
COACH OF THE YEAR: Jay Thomas, Nicholls State