GSC Announces 2018 Football All-Conference Awards
2018 FOOTBALL ALL-GSC TEAMS
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Gulf South Conference has announced the 2018 football all-conference awards, as voted on by the league’s coaches. Valdosta State quarterback
Rogan Wells has been named the GSC Offensive Player of the Year, while Florida Tech linebacker
J.T. Hassell earned Defensive Player of the Year honors. Three newcomers earned major awards, with
Patrick Shegog from Delta State and
Jamar Thompkins from Valdosta State sharing Offensive Freshman of the Year accolades, and another Blazer in
Jameon Gaskin earning the GSC Defensive Freshman of the Year award. Valdosta State's
Kerwin Bell and West Georgia's
David Dean were voted as the Co-Coaches of the Year.
Wells earns All-GSC honors and the league's top offensive award as just a sophomore after throwing for 2,219 yards with a league-best 28 passing touchdowns and leading the Blazers to a perfect 10-0 regular season mark. A dual-threat quarterback, Wells rushed for 546 yards with a team-leading nine rushing touchdowns on the season. He is the first Blazer to be named GSC Offensive Player of the Year since Gerald Ford in 2012.
Hassell is now a two-time All-GSC selection after leading the Florida Tech defense to the Panthers' second NCAA Division II postseason berth in program history. Hassell is the top tackler the conference with 105 stops, including 69 solo tackles and 15 tackles for a loss of yards. He also forced three fumbles on the year, putting him in a four-way tie for the league lead in that category. He is the second Panther in program history to win this award (J.J. Sanders, 2015).
Shegog picked up three GSC weekly awards during the 2018 campaign, including Offensive Player of the Week back on October 29. The Statesmen standout threw for 1,724 yards and 10 touchdowns to lead all freshman GSC quarterbacks on the year. Former DSU signal caller Tyler Sullivan won this award back in 2013.
Thompkins was one of two running backs to be named First Team All-GSC, joining UWG's
Devontae Jackson, the 2017 GSC Offensive Player of the Year. Thompkins was the leading rusher on the nation's top scoring offense, averaging 95.0 yards per game with six touchdowns.
Gaskin ranked third on the conference champions in tackles with 55, 25 of which were solo efforts. He also contributed 2.5 sacks on the season in 10 appearances. He is the second VSU defensive player to earn the league's top freshman award (Malcolm McClenton, 2015).
In his third season at the helm of the Blazer football program, Bell led VSU to an undefeated season, a conference title, and the top seed in the Super Regoin 2. Valdosta State has the top scoring offense in the country (52.2 points pe game) and ranks fourth in total offense in the country (536.3 yards per game).
Dean takes home his second career GSC Coach of the Year honor in his second year as head coach at West Georgia. UWG boasted the top defense in the league this season, as well as the second ranked offense. Dean has led the Wolves to the NCAA Division II Football Championship in each of his first two seasons.
The entire list of all-conference honorees can be found in the link at the top of the story.