ROCK HILL, S.C. – Carson-Newman linebacker Mekhi Brown has been named the South Atlantic Conference's Defensive Freshman of the Year, the league office announced Thursday morning.
Brown was recognized as a member of the All-Mountain Division team at linebacker while three other Eagles also earned All-Conference or All-Division honors.
Major Williams (Fort Myers, Fla.) grabbed a spot on the All-SAC team at defensive back, while offensive tackle Christian Jones (Valdosta, Ga.) and defensive lineman Jacorey Long (Atlanta, Ga.) earned spots on the All-Mountain team.
Brown turned in a stellar freshman campaign that saw him earn conference player of the week honors on two occasions. He is the seventh Eagle to win the defensive honor and the 13th to be presented with either the defensive or offensive freshman of the year accolade.
Brown led Carson-Newman with 71 tackles. He also tallied 13 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks, picked off two passes (one of which he returned for a score), recovered two fumbles and blocked a kick.
He was the first freshman recognized with a weekly honor from the SAC in five years, while also becoming the first player in more than 15 years to go back-to-back as a player of the week for the league for C-N.
His first player of the week honor came following Carson-Newman's win at Newberry, its first at Setzler Field since 2010. He finished the day with four tackles, a tackle for loss, the pick six and a blocked field goal.
Brown broke through the line to tip and reject a Bryce Early field goal with 1:52 left in the second quarter to keep the Eagles within a touchdown.
His more pivotal play came in the third quarter. Brown leapt in front of a Brayden Phillips pass at the 13 yard-line. He scrambled into the right side of the end zone with 9:50 to go in the third to bring the Eagles within a two-point conversion and spark what would go on to be a 28-point second half for C-N.
He followed that up a week later against Tusculum. He accounted for a career-high nine tackles, to go along with a sack, a tackle for loss, a fumble recovery and an interception.
In the last two weeks, he has forced three turnovers, blocked a field goal and registered 3.5 tackles for loss and two sacks.
Brown generated his first turnover against Tusculum on the Pioneers second possession. With TU at the C-N 22, Brown leapt in front of a Matthew Palazzo pass at the five and returned it out to the nine to thwart the Pioneers in C-N territory.
With TU driving in C-N territory again, Brown pounced on a loose football in the end zone coughed up by Kemani Brown to keep TU scoreless.
Brown becomes the first C-N player to earn two defensive player of the week honors in the same season since Rondrow Peebles during his All-America campaign in 2019.
Brown would turn in a trio of double-digit tackle performance, including a career-best 11 against Erskine (Oct. 14). He finished the year with a tackle for loss in the final seven games of the year. Included in that is a 4.0-tackle-for-loss, 3.0-sack game against Mars Hill (Oct. 21).
Brown's 13 tackles for loss are tied for the 20th-most in a single season in school history, while his 8.5 sacks rank 13th.
Carson-Newman's third-leading tackler in 2023, Major Williams did things no other defensive back has done in the history of the football program.
Williams made 53 tackles on the year, including 10 behind the line of scrimmage. He is the first defensive back in the history of the Carson-Newman football program with double-digit tackles for loss in a single season. He also had two sacks, both against Erskine (Oct. 14) to become the first defensive back with two sacks in a game as well.
The Fort Myers, Fla.-product also had a pick, two fumble recoveries, a forced fumble, five pass break ups and five quarterback hurries on the year.
Williams topped out with eight tackles in three consecutive weeks against Newberry (Sept. 30), Tusculum (Oct. 7) and Erskine (Oct. 14). He had multiple stops behind the line of scrimmage against the Fleet, Pioneers and at UVA Wise (Nov. 5).
His contest at Wise featured his first career fumble recovery returned for a touchdown, bring back a loose pigskin 40 yards to the house. He tallied his lone interception of the year in the Eagles' opener against Virginia Lynchburg (Aug. 31).
Long turned in an impressive season up front for Carson-Newman's defensive line. Long is the first Carson-Newman defensive lineman with a 50-tackle campaign since Montel Presley's All-SAC season in 2019. Long, Presley and Javaris Neal have the only 50-tackle years by defensive lineman for the football program in the last decade.
Long finished the season with 52 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and 8.0 sacks. He also forced four fumbles, sixth most nationally and the third-most for a single-season in school history. His 8.0 sacks are tied for the 14th-most in a single season in school history.
The junior had a career-best 13-tackle day against Tusculum (Oct. 7), the first double-digit tackle performance by a C-N defensive lineman since 2016. He found himself in the backfield frequently, making 3.0 tackles for loss against the Pioneers and 3.5 against Mars Hill (Oct. 21).
Long forced fumbles against Virginia Lynchburg (Aug. 31), Tusculum, Mars Hill and UVA Wise (Nov. 4).
Jones returned from an early season injury to rejoin the Carson-Newman offensive line against Erskine (Oct. 14). Carson-Newman's offensive line only gave up 17 sacks on the season, the second-fewest allowed in the South Atlantic Conference.
Teams only registered two sacks against Carson-Newman in the final three weeks of the year.
Jones has earned All-league laurels for two straight seasons.
