Eagles place five on Daktronics All-Region squads

Eagles place five on Daktronics All-Region squads

NEWBERRY, S.C. – Carson-Newman football has landed five players on the Daktronics All-Region teams.  Robbie Ignagni (Gallatin, Tenn.) and Alex Taylor (Bristol, Tenn.) made the first team offense as lineman. Jaycob Coleman (Norton, Va.) was a first team defensive pick at linebacker. Brandon Baker (Miami, Fla.) and Javaris Neal (Columbia, Tenn.) made the second team offense and defense, respectively. 

Robbie Ignagni makes his first appearance on an all-region team after clearing the way for a rushing attack that ranked fourth in the nation with 343 yards per game.  With Ignagni's help, the Eagles scored 50 rushing touchdowns for a second consecutive year.  Ignagni led Carson-Newman's offensive linemen with 26 knockdowns and was third in overall grade.  He had a four knockdown game against Shorter, the highest mark of any C-N o-lineman.

Alex Taylor concludes his Carson-Newman career after making 48 consecutive starts.  The Eagles finished in the top five in rushing offense all four years of Taylor's career.  In addition, he helped clear the way for C-N's third back-to-back 1,000-yard rusher (Baker) in school history.   He was third on the team in knockdowns with 23 in his senior season and finished second in overall grade with the second most gradeouts on the team. 

Jaycob Coleman turned in arguably the greatest season for a Carson-Newman defender since the turn of the century.  The linebacker from Norton, Va. finished the year with 137 tackles, sixth most for a single season at Carson-Newman.  The 137 stops are the most for a player at C-N since 1996.  Coleman finishes his career with 270 tackles, 10th on C-N's all-time list. 

Coleman put together seven consecutive games with 10 tackles or more to close the season.  His 17 tackles against Tusculum are the second highest total since 1996 and tied for 11th all-time at C-N.   He is the first player with multiple 15-tackle performances in a single season since current Carson-Newman defensive coordinator and consensus All-American Mike Clowney was playing for C-N in his senior season back in 1996. 

Coleman is fourth in the league and 23rd in the nation in tackles per game. He's also recovered a fumble for a touchdown and picked off two passes this year.

Brandon Baker followed up an All-American junior campaign by becoming the third C-N player with back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons.  His ability to score from miles away has vastly improved in his final go-around at Mossy Creek.  A year ago, Baker had three touchdowns longer than 20 yards.  This season, Baker has that many scores from longer than 50 yards. 

He is just the third C-N tailback with more than 3,500 yards rushing for a career (3,528 to be exact) and his 36 rushing touchdowns rank seventh on C-N's all-time scoring list.  Five of Baker's last eight games as an Eagle went for more than 100 yards on the ground.

Javaris Neal followed up a 2012 SAC defensive freshman of the year campaign by earning all-conference and all-region honors.  The Columbia, Tenn.-native rumbled for a 41-yard interception return against Newberry and also picked off a pass against Mars Hill. 

Neal is fifth in the league in tackles among defensive linemen.  He's sixth in the league overall in sacks.  He had a career best nine tackles against Brevard. Neal turned in season best 2.5 tackle for loss-performances against Brevard and Wingate in the regular season and Newberry in the playoffs.  He also took down the opposing quarterback 1.5 times in the Brevard and Newberry games.

 
 
 
 
 

FIRST TEAM OFFENSE

Pos

Name

School

Yr.

Ht.

Wt.

Hometown

Previous School

QB

Bo Cordell #

Tusculum

Gr.

6-1

205

Cincinnati, Ohio

Indian Hill HS

TE

Wesley P­owell

Tusculum

Jr.

6-10

265

Titus, Ala.

Elmore County HS

WR

Freddie Martino

North Greenville

Sr.

6-0

195

North, S.C.

North HS

WR

Corey Washington

Newberry

Sr.

6-4

200

North Charleston, S.C.

Georgia Mil. Acad./N. Charleston HS

RB

Shaikel Davis ^

Mars Hill

Jr.

5-10

170

East Flat Rock, N.C.

East Henderson HS

RB

Javae Swindle

West Alabama

So.

5-4

162

Thorsby, Ala.

Jemison HS

OL

Robbie Ignagni

Carson-Newman

Sr.

6-3

320

Gallatin, Tenn.

Station Camp HS

OL

Wes Carter

UNC Pembroke

Sr.

6-5

280

Albemarle, N.C.

North Stanly HS

OL

Joe Ray

Lenoir-Rhyne

So.

6-0

245

Atlanta, Ga.

Druid Hills HS

OL

Jamal Ellis

Newberry

Sr.

6-4

315

Pelzer, S.C.

Wren HS

OL

Tyler Sizemore

North Alabama

Sr.

6-2

305

Apalachicola, Fla.

Troy/Port St. Joe HS

OL

Alex Taylor

Carson-Newman

Sr.

6-3

285

Bristol, Tenn.

Tennessee HS

RS

Jason Livingston

Newberry

Sr.

5-10

175

Conway, S.C.

Conway HS

K

Zach Neumann

Lenoir-Rhyne

Sr.

5-7

180

Mechanicsville, Md.

La Plata HS

               

FIRST TEAM DEFENSE

Pos

Name

School

Yr.

Ht.

Wt.

Hometown

Previous School

DL

Blake Baker

Lenoir-Rhyne

Jr.

6-1

215

Bethlehem, N.C.

Alexander Central HS

DL

Matt Turner

UNC Pembroke

Jr.

6-0

225

Winston-Salem, N.C.

Mount Tabor HS

DL

Troy Harris ^

Mars Hill

Sr.

6-4

260

Orlando, Fla.

Winter Park HS

LB

Chris Pope ^

Valdosta State

Sr.

6-1

233

Jackson, Ga.

Jackson HS

LB

Jaycob Coleman

Carson-Newman

Sr.

6-1

205

Norton, Va.

John I. Burton HS

LB

Edmond Robinson

Newberry

Jr.

6-4

230

Wadmalaw Island, S.C.

St. John's HS

LB

Tavarius Wilson !

North Alabama

Sr.

5-11

235

Jackson, Miss.

Hinds CC/Forest Hills HS

S

Michael Green $

Lenoir-Rhyne

Sr.

6-0

195

Kingsland, Ga.

Camden Co. HS

S

Caleb Massey

North Alabama

Sr.

6-0

226

Sulligent, Ala.

Troy/Sulligent HS

CB

L.J. Stroman

UNC Pembroke

Jr.

5-10

185

Hamlet, N.C.

Richmond Senior HS

CB

Thomas Wolfe III

Fort Valley State

Sr.

6-0

190

Marietta, Ga.

Wheeler HS

P

James Dugan

West Georgia

So.

6-5

180

Carrollton, Ga.

Carrollton HS

 

 

SECOND TEAM OFFENSE

Pos

Name

School

Yr.

Ht.

Wt.

Hometown

Previous School

QB

Luke Charles

UNC Pembroke

Sr.

6-1

215

Murphy, N.C.

Murphy HS

TE

Mabry Cook

North Alabama

Sr.

6-2

240

Brewton, Ala.

T.R. Miller HS

WR

Dimitri Holmes

Mars Hill

Jr.

5-10

165

Athens, Ga.

Clarke Central HS

WR

Justin Houston

Tusculum

So.

5-8

180

Cleveland, Tenn.

Bradley Central HS

RB

Brandon Baker !

Carson-Newman

Sr.

5-11

210

Miami, Fla.

American Senior HS

RB

Jacquise Lockett

Kentucky State

Jr.

6-2

230

Fulton, Ky.

Fulton City HS

OL

Brandon White

West Georgia

Sr.

6-5

305

Cincinnati, Ohio

Colerain HS

OL

Zack Bunn

Lenoir-Rhyne

Sr.

6-2

260

Lucama, N.C.

James B. Hunt HS

OL

David Lundberg

North Alabama

Sr.

6-1

310

Winfield, Ala.

Winfield HS

OL

Taylor Burnett

West Alabama

Sr.

6-3

271

Spanish Fort, Ala.

Spanish Fort HS

RS

Philbert Martial

North Alabama

Fr.

5-10

175

Mobile, Ala.

McGill-Toolen HS

K

Mark Grant

West Alabama

R-Fr.

5-7

160

Panama City, Fla.

Moseley HS

               

SECOND TEAM DEFENSE

Pos

Name

School

Yr.

Ht.

Wt.

Hometown

Previous School

DL

Mario Gainer

West Alabama

Sr.

6-0

245

Gautier, Miss.

Mississippi Gulf Coast CC/Gautier HS

DL

Javaris Neal

Carson-Newman

So.

6-2

245

Columbia, Tenn.

Zion Chr. Acad.

DL

Letavious Williams

Newberry

Sr.

6-3

265

Ware Shoals, S.C.

Ware Shoals HS

DL

Taylor Carney

North Alabama

Jr.

6-2

275

Killen, Ala.

Lambuth/Brooks HS

LB

Brian Alexander

Tusculum

Sr.

6-2

245

Union Point, Ga.

Greene County HS

LB

Sammy Siasia

Mars Hill

Sr.

5-10

190

Marietta, Ga.

Dean CC

LB

Gabe Poe

North Alabama

Sr.

5-10

210

Pheba, Miss.

E. Mississippi CC/UWA/West Okitibbeha HS

LB

Tanner Botts

Lenoir-Rhyne

Jr.

6-2

230

Lawrenceville, Ga.

Peachtree Ridge HS

S

David Davis

Newberry

Sr.

6-0

185

Columbia, S.C.

Ridge View HS

S

L.J. McCray

Catawba

Sr.

6-1

215

Charlotte, N.C.

Harding HS

CB

Malcolm Butler

West Alabama

Sr.

5-11

180

Vicksburg, Miss.

Hinds CC/Vicksburg HS

CB

Jack Howard

Lane

Sr.

5-11

170

Miami, Fla.

Sebring HS

P

Kyle Clark

Newberry

So.

6-4

170

Beaufort, S.C.

Beaufort HS

 
 

-CN-