HAMMOND, La. – After helping the Lions to a 7-4 record in his debut season, Southeastern Louisiana senior offensive lineman Taylor Gadbois was named to the 2016 Associated Press FCS All-America Team, the AP announced on Thursday.
 
Gadbois, a native of Dallas, Georgia, was selected to the third team. The Lion tackle was one of four Southland Conference football student-athletes to represent the league on the All-America squad, along with Sam Houston State junior quarterback Jeremiah Briscoe (first team), SHSU junior defensive end P.J. Hall (first team) and Houston Baptist junior linebacker Garrett Dolan (third team).
 
Gadbois' selection marked the fifth straight season that the Lions have placed at least one player on the AP All-America team. He joins Robert Alford (2012), Xavier Roberson (2013), Seth Sebastian (2013), Isiah Corbett (2014) and Harlan Miller (2013, 2015) as AP All-Americans during the Ron Roberts Era.
 
Gadbois is the second offensive lineman to earn All-America accolades since the program returned prior to the 2003 season. Former Lion Kenard White was a second team selection by Don Hansen's Football Gazette in 2004.
 
In his first season after transferring from Miami (Fla.), Gadbois earned first team All-Southland Conference honor after taking over as the starter at left tackle early in the season. The Lions were 7-1 in games that Gadbois started, as he was an anchor for an offensive line that allowed just 15 sacks all season and cleared the way for 2,240 rushing yards under the direction of offensive line coach Travis Mikel.
 
The Lions will open spring practice on March 7 to begin preparations for the 2017 season, which officially opens with a road contest at Louisiana-Lafayette on Sept. 2.
 
2016 Associated Press FCS All-America Team
 
First Team Offense
QB – Jeremiah Briscoe, Jr., Sam Houston State
RB – Chase Edmonds, Jr., Fordham; Tarik Cohen, Sr., North Carolina A&T
OL – Julie'n Davenport, Sr., Bucknell; Jessamen Dunker, Sr., Tennessee State; Zach Johnson, Sr., North Dakota State; Landon Lechler, Sr., North Dakota State; Mitchell Kirsch, Sr., James Madison
TE – Dallas Goedert, Jr., South Dakota State
WR – Cooper Kupp, Sr., Eastern Washington; Karel Hamilton, Sr., Samford
AP – Detrez Newsome, Jr., Western Carolina
K – Griffin Trau, So., Richmond.
 
First Team Defense
DL – P.J. Hall, Jr., Sam Houston State; Karter Schult, Sr., Northern Iowa; Tanoh Kpassagnon, Sr., Villanova; Darius Jackson, Jr., Jacksonville State
LB – Dylan Cole, Sr., Missouri State; Alex Scearce, Sr., Coastal Carolina; Darius Leonard, Jr., South Carolina State
DB – Donald Payne, Sr., Stetson; Cole Reyes, Jr., North Dakota; Lorenzo Jerome, Sr., St. Francis (Pa.); Dee Delaney, Jr., The Citadel
P – Miles Bergner, Sr., South Dakota.
 
Second Team Offense
QB – Gage Gubrud, So., Eastern Washington
RB – Khalid Abdullah, Sr., James Madison; Jonah Hodges, Sr., San Diego
OL – Corey Levin, Sr., Chattanooga; Erik Austell, Sr., Charleston Southern; Brandon Parker, Jr., North Carolina A&T; Casey Dunn, Sr., Jacksonville State; Nick Demes, Sr., Penn
TE – Eric Saubert, Sr., Drake
WR – Brian Brown, Sr., Richmond; Kamron Lewis, So., St. Francis (Pa.)
AP – Rashard Dais, Sr., James Madison
K – Lane Clark, So., Tennessee State.
 
Second Team Defense
DL – Donovan McCray, Sr., Grambling; Keionta Davis, Sr., Chattanooga; Anthony Ellis, Jr., Charleston Southern; Derek Rivers, Sr., Youngstown State
LB – Christian Kuntz, Sr., Duquesne; Folarin Orimolade, Sr., Dartmouth; Brett Taylor, Jr., Western Illinois
DB – Mike Basile, Jr., Monmouth; Casey DeAndrade, Sr., New Hampshire; Deion Harris, Jr., North Dakota; LeRoy Alexander, Sr., Youngstown State
P – Jake Ryder, Sr., Towson.
 
Third Team Offense
QB – Devlin Hodges, So., Samford
RB – Lenard Tillery, Sr., Southern; Lorenzo Long, Sr., Wofford
OL – Taylor Gadbois, Sr., Southeastern Louisiana; Anton Wahrby, Sr., Wofford; Mark Spelman, Sr., Illinois State; Jerry Ugokwe, Sr., William & Mary; Max Rich, Sr., Harvard
TE – Andrew Vollert, Jr., Weber State
WR – Jake Wieneke, Jr., South Dakota State; Troy Pelletier, Jr., Lehigh
AP – Jody Webb, Sr., Youngstown State
K – Erik Medina, Sr., Texas Southern.
 
Third Team Defense
DL – Par Afriyie, Jr., Colgate; Samson Ebukam, Sr., Eastern Washington; Greg Menard, Jr., North Dakota State; Winston Craig, Sr., Richmond.
LB – Garrett Dolan, Jr., Houston Baptist; Darien Anderson, Sr., Alcorn State; Chad Geter, Sr., Gardner-Webb
DB – Nick Gesualdi, Jr., Cornell; Danny Johnson, Jr., Southern; Xavier Coleman, Sr., Portland State; Jaylen Hill, Sr., Jacksonville State.
P – Tate Lewis, Sr., Southern Utah.