GWU Places 12 On Big South's 2008 All-Conference Football Team
November 26, 2008 | Football
CHARLOTTE – Gardner-Webb landed 12 student-athletes on the
2008 All-Big South Conference Football team, with the Defensive
Player of the Year Jeffrey Williams leading the charge.
Williams (6-0, 221, So.) was the league's Freshman of the Year in
2007, and followed that effort up by leading the Big South
Conference in tackles (119) as a sophomore. The Frisco City, Ala.,
native is the sixth GWU player to earn the league's Defensive
Player of the Year award, joining Mario Williams (2002, 2003),
Harold Wells (2004) and Brian Johnston (2006, 2007).
Williams averaged 13.2 tackles per game against league foes in
2008, and finished the regular season ranked 11th-nationally in
overall tackles per game (10.8) and solo tackles per game (5.6).
Williams' prowess and hard-hitting helped Gardner-Webb rank among
the nation's best against the run for much of the season, which saw
GWU hold seven of its 11 opponents to less than 100 yards on the
ground – including the first six of the 2008 season, a new
league record. Gardner-Webb allowed just 118 yards per game on the
ground this past season, which rates as the second-best effort in
league history.
Williams, also a first-team All-Conference selection at linebacker,
also finished the season with 9.0 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks,
three interceptions, five pass break ups and two forced fumbles. He
has registered 239 total tackles in 22 career starts during his
brief Gardner-Webb career, averaging an impressive 10.9 stops per
game. The FCS All-America candidate has made at least 10 stops 14
times in his college career so far.
Joining Williams on the first-team defense for the Bulldogs were
safety Daniel Cooke (6-1, 200, Sr.) and corner Cedric McGowan (6-0,
193, Jr.).
Cooke earned All-Conference honors for the fourth time in four
seasons, and is a member of the league's first-team defense for the
third time. The Charlotte, N.C., native registered 51 hits while
splitting time between strong safety and free safety in 2008 and
picked off a pair of passes – one of which he returned 72
yards for his first career touchdown against Presbyterian on
October 18. Cooke, who started all 44 games during his career at
Gardner-Webb, finished in the top-20 on the Bulldogs' career stat
sheet in total tackles with 282 stops, including 163 of the solo
variety. He added 10.0 career tackles for loss, eight interceptions
and 21 pass break ups during that same time.
Cooke's Gardner-Webb career isn't over, as he will suit up again
for the GWU baseball squad in 2009. In those two sports combined,
Cooke has started an eye-popping 201 contests and is on track to
become the first student-athlete in NCAA Division I history to
compile at least 275 tackles, 200 base hits and 75 stolen bases
over a two-sport career.
McGowan earned his second nod as an All-Conference corner, picking
off three passes and making 46 tackles (31 solo) during the 2008
season. He added a tackle for loss and broke up eight passes to
finish among the league leaders in passes defended again in 2008.
Over the past two seasons, McGowan has made 96 tackles and has
intercepted eight passes.
Gardner-Webb had three men earn first-team All-Big South honors on
offense, including four-time All-Conference tackle Demario Deese
(6-4, 310, Sr.), tight end Josh Miller (6-2, 226, So.) and standout
receiver Dobson Collins (6-2, 188, Sr.)
Deese is the first man in Big South Conference history to earn
first-team All-Big South Conference honors all four seasons he
played. The Charlotte, N.C., native has been the Bulldogs' top
blocker since his arrival on campus in 2005, and made 41 starts
during his time in Boiling Springs.
Miller led the Big South in receptions for a tight end in 2008,
hauling in a career-high 18 passes for 203 yards and a touchdown.
The Danville, Ky., native had a pair of big games in league play
– including a six-catch effort in a win over Stony Brook in
early November.
Collins led the Big South and ranked No. 7 nationally in receptions
per game in 2008, hauling in 76 balls for 937 yards and 10
touchdowns. He had six games with at least 90 yards receiving, and
posted four 100-yard games on the year. In Big South games, the
Stone Mountain, Ga., native averaged 106.2 yards per game to lead
the league in that category. He also ran five times for 52 yards on
the season, and finished among the league leaders in punt return
average. Collins was also named second-team All-Big South as a punt
returner for the second year in a row.
A fast-rising NFL prospect with 4.4 speed in the 40-yard dash,
Collins closed out his career at Gardner-Webb ranked seventh in
school history with 143 career receptions for 1,745 yards and 14
scores. The FCS All-America candidate caught more passes in 2008
(76) than he had hauled in his previous three seasons at GWU
combined.
Freshman kicker Ryan Gates (5-9, 187) was named first-team All-Big
South Conference on special teams, after leading the league and
establishing a new Big South Conference record for a freshman with
16 field goals and 75 points. Gates ranked in the top-10 nationally
in kick scoring and field goals per game – and boomed six
kicks longer than 40 yards on the year.
Gardner-Webb saw two players earn second-team All-Conference honors
offensively, with James Perry III (6-0, 172, RFr.) and Corey
O'Daniel (6-7, 305, So.) getting the nod.
Perry led the league's freshmen in receptions and finished fourth
in the league overall, hauling in 55 catches for 661 yards and a
pair of scores in his rookie campaign. The athletic Greensboro,
N.C., native became the first freshman since William Andrews, Jr.,
in 2000 to catch at least 50 balls and made starts in 10 games for
the Bulldogs.
O'Daniel emerged as a durable option for the Bulldogs in 2008,
moving full time to left guard prior to the season. The towering
Louisville, Ky., native started all 11 games at the position and
– along with Deese – helped Gardner-Webb rank
16th-nationally in passing offense.
GWU also had a pair of the second-team All-Big South defense.
Jordan Woods (6-3, 225, Fr.) earned a spot on the defensive line
after finishing his rookie campaign with a solid 51 total tackles,
7.5 tackles for loss and 6.0 quarterback sacks. The former West
Charlotte (N.C.) High standout led the Big South with three forced
fumbles, finished second in sacks and started 10 games (11 games
played) this past season.
Marty Patterson (6-3, 212, So.) emerged as a key cog in the
Gardner-Webb defense as well, and earned second-team honors as a
result. Forced into action in the season's second game after
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year Mario Brown was lost for the
season with an injury, Patterson responded with a bang. The Mt.
Airy, Ga., native posted a career-high 81 total tackles (37 solo),
led Gardner-Webb with 12.0 tackles for loss and had three sacks. He
also broke up three passes and recovered a fumble in 10 starts.
Cooke, who carries a 3.34 grade point average in his major of
Sports Management, was named to the Big South's All-Academic squad,
which features a player from each of the league's seven teams.
Gardner-Webb finished second to league champion Liberty (16
selections) with its 12 members on this year's All-Big South
squad.
Breakdown By Team
Liberty (16)
Gardner-Webb (12)
Charleston Southern (8)
Stony Brook (7)
VMI (6)
Presbyterian (5)
Coastal Carolina (4)
FIRST-TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
OFFENSE
QB Brock Smith, Sr., Liberty
RB Rashad Jennings, R-Sr., Liberty
RB Edwin Gowins, Fr., Stony Brook
WR Dobson Collins, Sr., Gardner-Webb
WR Dominic Bolden, Sr., Liberty
WR Gerald Stevenson, Soph., Charleston Southern
TE Josh Miller, Soph., Gardner-Webb
OL Mike Godsil, Sr., Liberty
OL Demario Deese, Sr., Gardner-Webb
OL Britt Leggett, R-Sr., Coastal Carolina
OL Steve Council, Sr., Stony Brook
OL Britt Stone, R-Sr., Liberty
DEFENSE
DL Jake Killeen, R-Sr., Charleston Southern
DL James Harris, Sr., Stony Brook
DL Phillip Oboh, Jr., Coastal Carolina
DL Adam McKinney, Sr., Presbyterian
LB Jeffrey Williams, Soph., Gardner-Webb
LB Nick Hursky, Sr., Liberty
LB Antwan Thomas, Sr., Presbyterian
LB D.J. Rice, Sr., Coastal Carolina
DB Daniel Cooke, Sr., Gardner-Webb
DB Philip Ashley, Jr., Charleston Southern
DB Kent Hicks, R-Sr., Liberty
DB Cedric McGowan, Jr., Gardner-Webb
SPECIAL TEAMS
PK Ryan Gates, Fr., Gardner-Webb
P Ben Erdman, Soph., Coastal Carolina
LS Dan Pope, R-Sr., Liberty
KR Gerald Stevenson, Soph., Charleston Southern
PR Dominic Bolden, Sr., Liberty
SECOND-TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
OFFENSE
QB Tim Maypray, Jr., VMI
RB Conte Cuttino, Jr., Stony Brook
RB Howard Abegesah, Jr., VMI
WR Jonathan Crawford, R-Sr., Liberty
WR James Perry III, R-Fr., Gardner-Webb
WR Brandon Clark, Sr., Presbyterian
TE Corey Rasberry, R-Sr., Liberty
OL Lawrence Lovell, Jr., Stony Brook
OL Alex Bragg, R-Sr., Charleston Southern
OL George Handler, R-Jr., VMI
OL James Boatright, Soph., VMI
OL Corey O'Daniel, Soph., Gardner-Webb
DEFENSE
DL Justin Witzmann, R-Sr., Charleston Southern
DL Kevin Richard, R-Sr., Liberty
DL Jordan Woods, Fr., Gardner-Webb
DL Colin Dugan, Sr., Liberty
LB Marty Patterson, Soph., Gardner-Webb
LB Andrew McKain, R-Jr., Charleston Southern
LB Tyler Santucci, Jr., Stony Brook
LB A.J. Gross, R-Fr., VMI
DB Ryan Greiser, Sr., Liberty
DB Anthony McKnight, Sr., Presbyterian
DB Pat Calvary, Sr., Liberty
DB Chris Richards, Jr., Stony Brook
SPECIAL TEAMS
PK John Paglia, Soph., Charleston Southern
P Bryson Summers, Fr., Presbyterian
LS Travis Ludden, Sr., VMI
KR Dominic Bolden, Sr., Liberty
PR Dobson Collins, Sr., Gardner-Webb
ACADEMIC ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
Justin Witzmann, R-Sr., DL, Charleston Southern
Derrick Frasier, Soph., LB, Coastal Carolina
Daniel Cooke, Sr., DB, Gardner-Webb
Ryan Greiser, Sr., DB, Liberty
Antwan Thomas, Sr., LB, Presbyterian
Jeff Santos, Jr., OL, Stony Brook
Jacob Rochester, Sr., LB, VMI
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Rashad Jennings, Sr., RB, Liberty
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Jeffrey Williams, Soph., LB, Gardner-Webb
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Edwin Gowins, RB, Stony Brook
COACH OF THE YEAR
Danny Rocco, Liberty
SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Jacob Rochester, Sr., LB, VMI
