Two Moc Footballers are All-Americans

Two members of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team earned NCAA Football Championship Subdivision All-American honors from the Associated Press today.  Senior kicker Craig Camay was named to the second team while senior defensive lineman Josh Beard made the third team. 

Camay was a First Team All-SoCon kicker for the Mocs, tying for the league lead and No. 10 in the FCS with 16 field goals.  He also tied for the second most in a season at UTC.  His 84.2% (16-19) accuracy was the highest among the league leaders, second in the conference overall and fourth in the FCS.  It was also the fourth highest percentage in SoCon history and the second best in UTC history for a season. 

Camay made his last 12 consecutive field goal attempts, which was one shy of the SoCon and school record.  He tied a career-high and the school-record with four field goals against Western Carolina and hit a career-long 52-yarder at Presbyterian.  Camay also had a deadly deceptive on-side kick, converting five of six attempts this season.

Beard, a 6-1, 250-pound senior defensive end, led the SoCon and tied for the national lead with 12 sacks on the season.  His 12 sacks equaled the ninth-highest single-season total in league history and the UTC school record. He was the SoCon Defensive Player of the Year according to the league’s media and coaches.  Beard was the first Moc to earn player of the year honors from the SoCon media.  He was just the third Moc in school history to earn any SoCon Player of the Year honors.

The Lincolnton, Ga., native recorded at least one sack in eight games in 2009, including a stretch in mid-October where he tallied two sacks in three consecutive games.  In addition to his sacks, Beard 62 tackles and four quarterback hurries.

Camay and Beard are the 24^th and 25^th Mocs to earn All-American honors.  They led the Mocs to the biggest turnaround in school history, going from 1-11 in 2008 to 6-5 in 2009.  The Mocs tied for fourth in SoCon standings, posting a 4-4 mark in league play. 

OFFENSE — FIRST TEAM
• Quarterback: Armanti Edwards, senior, 6-foot, 185 pounds, Appalachian State.
• Running Backs: Deji Karim, senior, 5-11, 205, Southern Illinois; Pat Paschall, senior, 6-0, 198, North Dakota State.
• Linemen: Derek Hardman, senior, 6-6, 300, Eastern Kentucky; Matt McCraken, senior, 6-3, 300, Richmond; Vladimir Ducasse, senior, 6-5, 330, Massachusetts; Jeff Hansen, senior, 6-4, 292, Montana State; Kyle Mutcher, senior, 6-3, 300, Weber State.
• Tight End: Clay Harbor, senior, 6-4, 243, Missouri State.
• Wide Receivers: Terrell Hudgins, senior, 6-2, 235, Elon; Marc Mariani, senior, 6-0, 185, Montana.
• All-Purpose: Matt Szczur, junior, 5-11, 195, Villanova.
• Kicker: Matt Bevins, sophomore, 6-2, 185, Liberty.
DEFENSE — FIRST TEAM
• Linemen: James Ruffin, senior, 6-4, 265, Northern Iowa; Arthur Moats, senior, 6-2, 250, James Madison; Austen Lane, senior, 6-6, 250, Murray State; Dane Fletcher, senior, 6-2, 242, Montana State.
• Linebackers: Brandin Jordan, senior, 5-11, 230, Southern Illinois; J.C. Sherritt, junior, 5-10, 220, Eastern Washington; Mike Morales, senior, 6-0, 230, UC Davis.
• Backs: Terrell Whitehead, senior, 6-2, 200, Norfolk State; Mark Legree, junior, 6-0, 200, Appalachian State; Jeromy Miles, senior, 6-2, 215, Massachusetts; Josh Morris, senior, 6-0, 180, Weber State.
• Punter: Jonathan Plisco, freshman, 6-0, 200, Old Dominion.

OFFENSE — SECOND TEAM
• Quarterback: Dominic Randolph, senior, Holy Cross.
• Running Backs: Chase Reynolds, junior, Montana; Toddrick Pendland, senior, McNeese State.
• Linemen: Benjamin Ijalana, junior, Villanova; Mario Acitelli, senior, Appalachian State; Johnny Culbreath, junior, South Carolina State; James Williams, senior, Harvard; Austin Steichen, senior, Northern Iowa.
• Tight End: Scott Sicko, senior, New Hampshire.
• Wide Receivers: Tysson Poots, junior, Southern Utah; Buddy Farnham, senior, Brown.
• All-Purpose: LeRoy Vann, senior, Florida A&M.
• Kicker: Craig Camay, senior, Chattanooga.
DEFENSE — SECOND TEAM
• Linemen: Danny Batton, senior, South Dakota State; Tim Knicky, senior, Stephen F. Austin; Adrian Tracy, senior, William & Mary; Larry Hart, senior, Central Arkansas.
• Linebackers: Matt Cohen, senior, Lehigh; Tyler Santucci, senior, Stony Brook; George Howard, senior, Morgan State.
• Backs: Charles Graves, senior, Delaware; Jason House, junior, Southern; Patrick Stoudamire, senior, Western Illinois; T.J. Heath, junior, Jacksonville State.
• Punter:- Jon Vanderwielen, senior, Idaho State.

OFFENSE — THIRD TEAM
• Quarterback: Matt Nichols, senior, Eastern Washington.
• Running Backs: James Mallory, senior, Central Connecticut; Kyle Minett, junior, South Dakota State.
• Linemen: Dorian Brooks, senior, James Madison; Will Rackley, senior, Lehigh; Levi Horn, senior, Montana; Joe Gibbs, senior, Tennessee-Martin; Austin Howard, senior, Northern Iowa.
• Tight End: John Sheffield, senior, Yale.
• Wide Receivers: Jason Caldwell, senior, Fordham; Juamorris Stewart, senior, Southern.
• All-Purpose: Taiwan Jones, sophomore, Eastern Washington.
• Kicker: Zach Kutch, senior, Illinois State.
DEFENSE — THIRD TEAM
• Linemen: Christian Anthony, senior, Grambling State; Tim Kukucka, senior, Villanova; Josh Beard, senior, Chattanooga; Mychal Savage, senior, Youngstown State.
• Linebackers: Wes McDermott, sophomore, Morehead State; Jake Lewko, senior, Penn; Jacque Roman, senior, Appalachian State.
• Backs: Anthony Beck, senior, Prairie View A&M; Justin Rogers, junior, Richmond; Korey Lindsey, junior, Southern Illinois; Josh Norman, sophomore, Coastal Carolina.
• Punter: Jahmal Blanchard, senior, Hampton.