SoCon Announces Pre-Season Honors

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Southern Conference football coaches announced their preseason all-conference team on Monday afternoon. The Terriers had six players recognized by the league’s coaches, including two on the first team.

In addition, the conference’s nine head coaches have chosen Appalachian State as the unanimous choice to win the league championship, while Wofford was picked to finish second.

On the Southern Conference All-Conference team for the defense, senior defensive lineman Mitch Clark (New Philadelphia, Ohio) was named to the first team. Clark earned All-SoCon first team honors in 2008 after leading the team in sacks. Sophomore Eric Eberhardt (Suwanee, Ga.) was named to the second team at defensive line. Senior linebacker Gary Blount (St. Mary’s, Ga.) and senior defensive back Mychael Johnson (Fayetteville, N.C.) also earned spots on the second team.

For the offense, junior offensive lineman Pat Illig earned first team honors. Senior center Trey Johnson (Mt. Airy, N.C.) was named to the second team.

In the preseason poll, the Mountaineers garnered eight first-place votes and 64 total points in which coaches were not permitted to vote for their own team. Wofford, which finished second last season, garnered 53 points. Elon was third with 51 points, followed by Furman with 40 points. Georgia Southern earned one first-place vote and 39 total points to finish fifth. The Citadel and Samford tied for sixth with 26 points each, followed by Western Carolina (15) and Chattanooga (10).

The Southern Conference media day will be held on Tuesday, July 28 via conference call. The call will be streamed live throughout the day on SoConSports.com, giving SoCon football fans the chance to hear the league’s head football coaches and select players discuss the upcoming season.

In addition, fans will have the opportunity to contribute to this year’s event by submitting questions for coaches and student-athletes – one of which will be chosen for each participant in the teleconference. Fans should email their questions to SoConFootball2009@gmail.com. The event kicks off at 8:45 a.m. when league commissioner John Iamarino will give remarks and be available for questions from the media. A full schedule can be found at SoConSports.com.

The Terriers will report to campus on Sunday, August 9 and begin practice on Monday, August 10. The first game will be on September 5 at South Florida with a 7:00 pm kickoff.