Greenville, S.C. – Eight Catamount football players garnered preseason All-Southern Conference plaudits on Thursday as representatives from the league gathered for the annual Football Media Day at the Hotel Hartness. WCU landed five players on the SoCon's preseason first team and three on the second squad as selected by the league's nine head coaches.
 
Fifth-year senior offensive lineman Tyler Smith was joined on the preseason first-team offense by senior tight end Ajay Belanger. Juniors in defensive lineman Micah Nelson and defensive back Andreas Keaton were both first-team selections, while redshirt senior Richard McCollum collected the special teams first-team tag at placekicker.
 
WCU's trio of second-team honorees include reigning SoCon Freshman of the Year in running back Desmond Reid, who was joined on the offensive unit by senior lineman Christian Coulter. Redshirt junior transfer linebacker Antoine Williams rounded out the preseason honorees with a second-team defense nod after collecting All-ASUN Conference honors at Austin Peay last fall.
 
Three of WCU's selections – Smith, Keaton, and McCollum – each earned preseason all-conference accolades a season ago with Smith collecting honors for the third consecutive year. Four of WCU's 2023 preseason honorees garnered second-team plaudits in the 2022 postseason including Smith, Keaton, and Reid recognized by the coaches and McCollum earning honors from the media.
 
Western Carolina was picked fifth in both official preseason polls unveiled Thursday by both the league's head coaches and the voting members of the SoCon Sports Media Association (SCSMA) in the media tabulation, both announced as a part of Thursday's festivities.
   
Tyler Smith enters his fifth season along the Catamount offensive line having made 43 consecutive starts over the past four years. He anchors the left side of the line from his tackle position where it's expected that he'll be joined by preseason second-team selection Christian Coulter at left guard in 2023. A versatile lineman, Coulter started all 11 games in 2022 at right tackle for the high-powered WCU offense.
 
Entering his second season after transferring from Tusculum, Ajay Belanger is coming off a 20-reception season a year ago. He finished with 176 receiving yards with one touchdown, adding a two-point conversion catch against nationally-ranked Chattanooga in the victory in the home finale.
 
Andreas Keaton was one of four WCU defenders to start all 11 games in 2022, leading the Catamounts with 72 total tackles, ranking 12th in the league with 6.5 tackles per game. He was also tied for the most interceptions on the team with two. Over 22 career games, the Powder Springs, Ga., product has amassed 117 tackles. He's joined on the first-team defense by lineman Micah Nelson who tallied 35 tackles with 14 solo stops and three tackles for loss last fall.
 
Rounding out the first-team preseason selections is fifth-year kicker Richard McCollum. Named second-team All-SoCon by the media and third-team All-America by the Associated Press, McCollum was 17-of-19 on field goals last season with 40 made PATs for a team-best 91 points. He enters the year with 207 career points scored, sixth-most in program history and just 95 shy of the school record of 302 points held by Kirk Roach (1984-87). McCollum is 34-of-40 (85 percent) on field goals with his 34 successful tries ranking fourth in school history.
 
The SoCon Freshman of the Year and a second-team all-conference selection last season, Desmond Reid capped his rookie season by earning both Stats Perform FCS and HERO Sports Freshman All-America plaudits, and finished sixth in the national vote for the Stats Perform Jerry Rice Award. Reid amassed a team-best 1,038 all-purpose yards last year including 826 on the ground. He ranked fourth in the SoCon by rushing at an 82.6-yard per game clip with four touchdowns, eclipsing the 100-yard mark three times. The Miami Gardens, Fla., product added 21 catches for 212 receiving yards with a TD.
 
New to the Catamount lineup and the SoCon this fall, transfer linebacker Antoine Williams collected second-team preseason honors. Last fall, he garnered both third-team Stats Perform FCS All-America nod and HERO Sports Sophomore All-America honors and was also a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award given to the nation's top defender. The Birmingham, Ala., product posted 91 tackles including 42 solo stops and 12.5 tackles for loss with four sacks at APSU last season.
 
The two SoCon preseason polls were nearly mirror images of one another with Furman picked as the preseason favorite, sharing the honor with defending champion Samford in the coaches poll with the Bulldogs second by the media. Mercer was picked third followed by Chattanooga, WCU, and ETSU in four through six. Wofford and The Citadel swapped seventh and eighth – the Terriers picked seventh by the coaches and the Bulldogs leapfrogging in the media poll. VMI was selected ninth by both groups.
 
Eight of the nine conference schools were represented on the preseason All-SoCon team with The Citadel's first-year head coach Maurice Drayton choosing not to nominate any of his cadet-athletes. Furman led the league with 15 preseason all-conference selections including seven on the first team and eight on the second. Mercer was second with 12 honorees followed by WCU and Chattanooga with eight apiece, just ahead of Samford with seven. Several positions saw additional players recognized due to ties in the voting. Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players or team.
 
The reigning SoCon Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year from 2022 returned to form as the preseason selections in 2023. Samford quarterback Michael Hiers was tabbed as the league's top offensive player with Chattanooga defensive lineman Jay Person as the top defender.
 
Single-game tickets for WCU football's 2023 home opener against defending SoCon champion Samford are on sale now, with single-game sales for the remaining four home dates available on Tues., Aug. 1. The opener against the Bulldogs, which finished seventh in the final national polls last fall, has been designated as the "White Out Whitmire" game, presented by Ingles, 99.9 FM Kiss Country, and Star 104.3. The first 5,000 fans through the gates will receive a free "White Out Whitmire" t-shirt.
 
Season tickets and season-long Catamount Club parking for WCU's five-game 2023 home schedule remain on sale through the WCU Athletics Ticket Office and online at CatamountSports.com/BuyTickets. A variety of season ticket packages are available including the 2023 Football Family Four Pack and the new "Fight On" package which includes two tickets and a $100 membership into the Catamount Club.
 
Keep track of everything related to Catamount Football and WCU Athletics through its social media outlets on Facebook (FB.com/CatamountSports) and Twitter (@Catamounts, @CatamountsFB).
 

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2023 Preseason Southern Conference Coaches Poll
Team (1st-place votes)             Total
T1. Furman (5)  -  59
T1. Samford (4)  -  59
3. Mercer  -  49
4. Chattanooga  -  47
5. Western Carolina  -  35
6. ETSU  -  29
7. Wofford  -  22
8. The Citadel  -  14
9. VMI  -  10 

2023 Preseason All-Southern Conference Football Teams
Offensive Player of the Year: Michael Hiers, Sr., QB, Samford
Defensive Player of the Year: Jay Person, Sr., DL, Chattanooga
 
First team offense
QB       Michael Hiers, Sr., Samford
RB        Dominic Roberto, R-Sr., Furman
RB        Ailym Ford, Sr., Chattanooga
OL        Jacob Johanning, R-Sr., Furman
OL        Pearson Toomey, R-Sr., Furman
OL        John Thomas, Sr., Mercer
OL        Jabari Brooks, Jr., Samford
OL        Reid Williams, Jr., Chattanooga
OL        Tyler Smith, R-Sr., Western Carolina
TE        Ajay Belanger, Sr., Western Carolina
WR       Devron Harper, Sr., Mercer
WR       Ty James, R-Jr., Mercer
WR       Chandler Smith, Sr., Samford
 
First team defense
DL        Solomon Zubairu, Sr., Mercer
DL        Joseph Mera, Sr., Samford
DL        Ben Brewton, Sr., Chattanooga
DL        Jay Person, Sr., Chattanooga
DL        Micah Nelson, Jr., Western Carolina
LB        Braden Gilby, Gr., Furman
LB        Isaac Dowling, Jr., Mercer
LB        Noah Martin, Jr., Samford
DB       Travis Blackshear, Gr., Furman
DB       Hugh Ryan, R-Sr., Furman
DB       Kourtlan Marsh, Jr., Samford
DB       Kameron Brown, Sr., Chattanooga
DB       Alex Oliver, Sr., VMI
DB       Andreas Keaton, Jr., Western Carolina

First team specialists
PK        Richard McCollum, R-Sr., Western Carolina
P          Jack Culbreath, Sr., VMI
LS        Julian Ashby, R-Jr., Furman
RS        Devron Harper, Sr., Mercer
 
Second team offense
QB       Tyler Huff, Gr., Furman
RB        Jay Stanton, Sr., Samford
RB        Desmond Reid, So., Western Carolina
OL        Israel Mukwiza, R-Jr., Mercer
OL        Bryce Goodner, R-So., Chattanooga
OL        Tyriq Poindexter, R-So., VMI
OL        Christian Coulter, Sr., Western Carolina
OL        Jason Swann, Sr., Wofford
TE        Noah West, R-Jr., ETSU
WR       Will Huzzie, R-Sr., ETSU
WR       Joshua Harris, Jr., Furman
 
Second team defense
DL        Max Evans, R-Jr., ETSU
DL        Jack Barton, R-Sr., Furman
DL        Sirod Cook, Gr., Furman
DL        Matt Sochovka, Gr., Furman
DL        Savio Frazier, Jr., Mercer
DL        Marlon Taylor, R-Jr., Chattanooga
DL        Chuck Smith, Sr., Wofford
LB        Ken Standley, R-Jr., Mercer
LB        Evan Eller, Sr., VMI
LB        Antoine Williams, R-Jr., Western Carolina
DB       Sheldon Arnold II, Jr., ETSU
DB       Kam Brinson, R-Sr., Furman
DB       Richie Coffey, Sr., Mercer
DB       Myles Redding, Jr., Mercer
DB       Lance Wise, Sr., Mercer
DB       Reuben Lowery III, Jr., Chattanooga
 
Second team specialists
PK        Ian Williams, R-Jr., Furman
P          Trace Kelley, R-So., ETSU
LS        Ryan Phillips, So., ETSU
RS        Wayne Anderson Jr., R-Sr., Furman
 
NOTE: Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players or team.
 
 2023 Preseason Southern Conference Media Poll
Team (1st-place votes)  -  Total
1. Furman (30)  -  345
2. Samford (8)  -  316
3. Mercer (2)  -  263
4. Chattanooga  -  250
5. Western Carolina  -  218
6. ETSU  -  143
7. The Citadel  -  103
8. Wofford  -  102
9. VMI  -  60