CLEVELAND, Ohio - The preseason awards continue to roll in for the Runnin' Bulldogs, with Ty French and Raequan Ousley both earning Phil Steele Preseason FCS All-American honors, announced on Friday, July 28. 

French was named a Second Team FCS All-American, while Ousley earned a spot on the Third Team. French earned Second Team All-American honors at the end of the 2022 season from Phil Steele, the highest for a Runnin' Bulldog since Shaquille Riddick earned First Team honors in 2013. 

French was also named a First Team Preseason All-Big South-OVC member, and the Preseason Big South-OVC Defensive Player of the Year by the publication. French was a finalist for the Stats Perform FCS Buck Buchanan National Defensive Player of the Year Award, Ted Hendricks Award and the first Runnin' Bulldog to be voted Big South Defensive Player of the Year since 2008. He finished the regular-season as the Big South leader in sacks with 11.5 -- setting the league single-season record.  He tallied 72 total tackles, 15 tackles-for-loss, one interception and one forced fumble.  French is ninth nationally in sacks per game (0.88) and 44th in TFL per contest (1.2). French had 4.5 sacks in three games vs. FBS opponents this season and held a streak of three-straight games with 2.0 sacks.  During the five-game Big South season, French was tops with 5.5 sacks, ranked sixth with 6.5 TFL, and amassed 23 total tackles.  He posted a tackle-for-loss in ten of 13 appearances, as well as a sack in nine outings.

Ousley also earned First Team Preseason All-Big South-OVC honors. An All-American, Ousley finished last season with 56 tackles (29 solo), two interception, and 19 pass deflections. His 19 pass deflections ranked inside the top-15 in all of the FCS. Ousley also forced two fumbles and recovered one fumble.

In all, 21 players earned a spot on the Phil Steele Preseason All-Big South-OVC Team. Along with French and Ousley, Jamari Brown, Narii Gaither, William McRainey, and Gabriel Thompson earned First Team All-Conference honors.

Gaither returns to Gardner-Webb after earning First Team All-Conference honors last season. The Rock Hill, S.C. native played in nine games at running back last season, rushing for 1,019 yards on 154 carries and seven touchdowns. In the FCS Playoffs, Gaither rushed for 245 yards and two touchdowns at Eastern Kentucky. That mark is the second most rushing yards by a GWU player in program history, and the most ever by a Gardner-Webb player in the Division I era (Since 2000). Gaither also rushed for over 100 yards in five games during the 2022 season.

McRainey led the 'Dawgs with 104 total tackles to average 8.0 per game. He had 9.0 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks to his credit to go along with two pass breakups and an interception. Off the field, McRainey was the 2022 Big South Football Scholar Athlete of the Year, as he carries a 3.59 GPA in Economics and Finance. 

Brown started all 13 games at free safety for GWU. He finished the season with 60 tackles (35 solo), three interceptions, and two fumble recoveries. Brown recorded five tackles, a fumble recovery and an interception at Coastal Carolina (9/10) to earn Big South Player of the Week and STATS Perform National Player of the Week Honorable Mention honors (9/12)...He also came up clutch for GWU, securing a 40-yard fumble return to set up the 'Dawgs for a score in the de-facto Big South Championship game vs NC A&T (11/19).

Thompson earned First Team All-Conference honors, starting ten games at center. Thompson helped GWU rush for 2323 yards, an average of 4.5 yards per game, while the offensive line helped the offense convert 45 percent of their third downs and 38 percent of their fourth downs.

Ranked as one of the best college football analysts in the country, Phil Steele is best known for his preseason magazine, which has been dubbed "the college football bible" by many experts in the industry. The magazine gives a complete breakdown of every team in the country and predicts how they will do in the upcoming season. His superior knowledge of the game has landed him on the voting committee for every major post-season award, including the prestigious Heisman Trophy.

Gardner-Webb was picked second in the Big South-OVC Preseason Poll earlier this week. The Runnin' Bulldogs open the 2023 season on Saturday, Sept. 2 at Appalachian State before playing their home opener on Saturday, Sept. 9 at 6:00 PM inside Spangler Stadium vs Elon. Fans can purchase season tickets at gwusports.com.

Phil Steele Preseason FCS All-Americans

Second Team
Ty French, DL

Third Team
Raequan Ousley, DB

Phil Steele Preseason All-Big South-OVC Team

Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
Ty French

First Team
Narii Gaither, RB
Gabriel Thompson, OL
Ty French, DL
William McRainey, LB
Raequan Ousley, DB
Jamari Brown, DB

Second Team
Willie Harris, DL
Ty Anderson, LB
AJ Thomas, DB
Jayden Brown, AP
Jamie Wilson, LS

Third Team
Jayden Brown, RB
Brennan McGuire, WR
Brendan Jackson, LB
Austin Hendley, P

Fourth Team
Justin Franklin, WR
Brice Bass, DL
Honus Wagner, LB
Josiah Wright, DB
Ian Sauter, K
Jayden Brown, KR