CHARLOTTE – Gardner-Webb football posted a near sweep of the Big South Conference's major awards Tuesday, hauling in a league-best 13 spots on the All-Conference Team.
 
On the heels of the program's first title in 19 seasons, Bailey Fisher (Clayton, Ga. / Rabun County HS) was named Offensive Player of the Year, Ty French (Moultrie, Ga. / Colquitt County HS) was named Defensive Player of the Year, Ty Anderson (Thomasville, Ga. / Thomasville HS) was named Defensive Freshman of the Year and William McRainey (Shallotte, N.C. / West Brunswick HS) was named Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
 
Tre Lamb was also named Big South Conference Coach of the Year.
 
Fisher completed 220-of-339 passes for 2,755 yards and 18 touchdowns during the regular season and ran for eight more touchdowns – leading a potent offense that averaged 40.8 points and 520.0 yards per game in league play.
 
Against Big South competition, Fisher was even more effective, tossing 13 touchdowns against only two interceptions in five games. He was named Big South Offensive Player of the Week five times and became the first quarterback in the past 30 years to post a pair of 400-yard passing games in the same season.
 
Fisher was added as a finalist for the Walter Payton Award – the FCS National Offensive Player of the Year – on Tuesday afternoon. He was also named first-team All-Big South. He enters the 2022 postseason with 10,874 career offensive yards and 9,733 career passing yards in 47 games played. That ranks third among active career leaders in NCAA Division I FCS.
 
French was a terror for a stout Gardner-Webb defense again in 2022, earning his third-straight All-Conference nod. The league's sack leader tied a Big South single-season mark with 11.0 sacks in 2022 and contributed 61 total tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss and 15 quarterback pressures. He also forced a fumble and recorded his first career interception.
 
The 6-foot-3, 230-pound junior is only one sack shy of Gardner-Webb's single-season mark, set by Chris Mintz in 1999. French has 35.0 tackles for loss and 22.5 sacks in 24 career games played.
 
Anderson proved to be one of the team's most versatile defenders, seeing action at multiple positions throughout the season. The 6-foot-1, 210-pounder finished the season with 33 total tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and an interception – which he returned 45 yards for a score at Marshall on October 1.
 
McRainey, who earned his third-straight All-Big South Conference honor at linebacker, was also honored as the league's Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the first time. The team's leading tackler with 92 hits, McRainey carries a 3.59 cumulative GPA in his major of Economics and Finance.
 
A two-time Academic All-District selection, McRainey is an Academic All-America candidate in 2022. 
 
In addition to his 92 stops, McRainey added 9.0 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, one interception and two fumble recoveries. He was named Big South Defensive Player of the Week twice in 2022.
 
Gardner-Webb had six men named first-team All-Big South Conference on offense, led by Fisher. 
 
Running back Narii Gaither (Rock Hill, S.C. / Rock Hill HS), receivers TJ Luther (Arcadia, Fla. / Port Charlotte HS) and Cutrell Haywood (Stockton, Calif. / Stagg HS) and linemen Gabriel Thompson (Spartanburg, S.C. / Dorman HS) and Clayton Frady (Sylva, N.C. / Smoky Mountain HS) also earned first-team honors.
 
Gaither finished second in the Big South in rushing yardage despite missing five games with an injury early in the season. A testament to his value, Gardner-Webb was 6-1 with the 5-foot-10, 181-pound senior in the lineup.
 
Gaither carried 114 times for 668 yards and five touchdowns, averaging nearly six yards per carry. He had five games with 100 or more yards on the ground and passed the 2,000-yard mark for his career in Boiling Springs.
 
Luther was sensational as the team's deep threat in 2022, catching 57 passes for 1,072 yards and seven touchdowns. He ranks among the NCAA leaders in yardage, yards per catch and yards per game this season and had a program record seven games with 100+ yards through the air in 2022.
 
Luther is only the third receiver in the program's Division I era to post a 1,000-yard season.
 
Haywood had a career-best year as well, catching 70 passes for 714 yards and seven touchdowns. He led the Big South in receptions and posted six of his seven touchdowns against Big South opposition. 
 
Frady and Thompson each started 11 games up front, clearing a path for the Big South's top offense. Gardner-Webb had the league's top rushing attack in Big South games (208.0 ypg) and posted a pair of 600+ yard efforts offensively for the first time in school history in the same season.
 
French and McRainey led a group of first-teamers on defense that included cornerback Raequan Ousley (Orlando, Fla. / Evans HS) and safety Jamari Brown (Miami, Fla. / Eastside (Ga.) HS).
 
Ousley finished his breakout regular season with 51 total tackles (27 solo), 16 pass break ups and two interceptions. He also recovered one fumble and forced two whie making 11 starts.
 
Brown collected 54 tackles in 2022, while also breaking up a pair of passes, picking off two passes and recovering a fumble. Brown also had a sack and a pair of tackles for loss. Brown had 13 combined tackles over the final two games of the season as Gardner-Webb secured the league's championship trophy.
 
The Gardner-Webb defense also had second-team selections in defensive tackle Janathian Turner (Atlanta, Ga. / Towers HS) and safety AJ Thomas (Acworth, Ga. / Allatoona HS).
 
Turner, one of the league's most underrated defenders, was an anchor in the middle for GWU in 2022. The 6-foot-3, 306-pound redshirt senior finished his final year with 45 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks and four quarterback pressures – despite constant double teams.
 
He has 17.0 tackles for loss and 160 total tackles for his career with the Runnin' Bulldogs.
 
Thomas was a ball hawk in the secondary for the 'Dogs, finishing the season with 40 total tackles, three interceptions and a fumble return. A three-year starter at safety, Thomas had two picks in the win over Bryant on October 29, including on in the end zone to thwart a scoring drive.
 
Long snapper Jamie WIlson (Kings Mountain, N.C. / Kings Mountain HS) was also named second-team All-Big South Conference. The redshirt freshman was the team's primary snapper on punts all season and finished with a pair of special teams tackles in addition to finishing with no turnovers on 48 punt attempts.
 
Jayden Brown (Lithonia, Ga. / MIller Grove HS) was runner up for Big South Offensive Freshman of the Year, missing the honor by just two points in the voting. The team's top reserve at running back has emerged as a dynamic threat in the last six games and has was named Big South Freshman of the Week three times in 2022.
 
Gardner-Webb (6-5, 5-0 Big South) will make the trip to Richmond, Ky., on Saturday to face Atlantic Sun Conference champion Eastern Kentucky (7-4, 5-2 A-Sun) in the first round of the 2022 NCAA Divsion I FCS Playoffs.
 
Kickoff is set for 5:00 pm on ESPN+. The game will also air live on WGNC (1450 AM / 101.1 FM) with Dave Friedman and Reginald Walker, Jr.
 
FIRST-TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
OFFENSE       
QB    Bailey Fisher, R-Sr., Gardner-Webb
RB    Bhayshul Tuten, Soph., North Carolina A&T
RB    Narii Gaither, Jr., Gardner-Webb
WR   TJ Luther, R-Sr., Gardner-Webb
WR   Cutrell Haywood, Gr., Gardner-Webb
WR   Landon Ruggieri, Soph., Bryant
TE    Julian Hill, Sr., Campbell
OL    Gabe Thompson, R-Jr., Gardner-Webb
OL    Clayton Frady, Jr., Gardner-Webb
OL    Tairiq Stewart, Sr., North Carolina A&T
OL    Dacquari Wilson, Gr., North Carolina A&T
OL    Mike Edwards, R-Sr., Campbell
 
DEFENSE
DL    Ty French, Jr., Gardner-Webb
DL    Kenny Dyson, Sr., Bryant
DL    Devin Harrell, Gr., North Carolina A&T
DL    Jermaine McDaniel Jr., R-Sr., North Carolina A&T
LB    Joe Andreessen, Sr., Bryant
LB    Garrett Sayegh, Gr., Charleston Southern
LB    William McRainey, Jr., Gardner-Webb
LB    Tyquan King, Soph., North Carolina A&T
DB    Karon Prunty, R-Soph., North Carolina A&T
DB    Raequan Ousley, R-Soph., Gardner-Webb
DB    Jamari Brown, Sr., Gardner-Webb
DB    Kamron Smith, Soph., Charleston Southern
 
SPECIAL TEAMS
PK    Ethan Gettman, Soph., Bryant
P      David Gelb, Gr., Charleston Southern
LS     Jackson Hayes, Gr., Campbell
KR    Anthony Frederick, Sr., Bryant
PR    Josh McNeely, R-Sr., Campbell
 
SECOND-TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
OFFENSE       
QB    Zevi Eckhaus, Soph., Bryant
RB    JD Moore, R-Soph., Charleston Southern
RB    Bryant Barr, Gr., Campbell
WR   Zach Leslie, Gr., North Carolina A&T
WR   Seth Anderson, Fr., Charleston Southern
WR   Vinson Davis III, Fr., Charleston Southern
TE    Jihad Edmond, Sr., Bryant
OL    Ricky Lee III, Gr., North Carolina A&T
OL    Isaiah Burch, Gr., Campbell
OL    Jamichael Watts, Sr., Bryant
OL    Korion Sharpe, Soph., North Carolina A&T
OL    Cesar Minarro, R-Soph., North Carolina A&T
 
DEFENSE
DL    Brevin Allen, R-Sr., Campbell
DL    Anton Williams, Gr., Charleston Southern
DL    Janathian Turner, R-Sr., Gardner-Webb
DL    Josh Johnson, R-Sr., Campbell
LB    Jacob Roberts, Jr., North Carolina A&T
LB    Ryan Saddler, Sr., Bryant
LB    CJ Tillman, Soph., Campbell
LB    Joe Casale, R-Jr., Robert Morris
DB    Hombre Kennedy, Gr., Charleston Southern
DB    Jamel Johnson, Fr., Charleston Southern
DB    Sydney Audiger, Gr., Robert Morris
DB    AJ Thomas, Sr., Gardner-Webb
 
SPECIAL TEAMS
PK    Caleb Dowden, Gr., Campbell
P      Corey Petersen, Gr., Campbell
LS     Jamie Wilson, R-Fr., Gardner-Webb
KR    Taymon Cooke, R-Jr., North Carolina A&T
 
ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM
Ryan Saddler, LB, Sr., Bryant
Keshawn Thompson, LB, Gr., Campbell
Hombre Kennedy, DB, Gr., Charleston Southern
William McRainey, LB, Jr., Gardner-Webb
Nathaniel Spindle, DB, Soph., North Carolina A&T
Hayden Baron, OL, Jr., Robert Morris
 
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Bailey Fisher, QB, R-Sr., Gardner-Webb
 
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Ty French, DE, Jr., Gardner-Webb
 
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Anthony Frederick, KR, Sr., Bryant
 
OFFENSIVE FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Seth Anderson, WR, Fr., Charleston Southern
 
DEFENSIVE FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Ty Anderson, LB, Fr., Gardner-Webb
 
COACH OF THE YEAR
Tre Lamb, Gardner-Webb
 
SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
William McRainey, LB, Jr., Gardner-Webb