BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The Gulf South Conference announced its postseason awards and all-conference selections for the 2022 football season, as voted by the league’s head coaches.
 
Conference co-champion, Delta State, took home two of the five major honors as quarterback Patrick Shegog was named Offensive Player of the Year with DSU head coach Todd Cooley was voted Coach of the Year. West Alabama’s Michael Anderson was tabbed as Defensive Player of the Year. Mississippi College’s John Henry White picked up Offensive Freshman of the Year, while North Greenville’s Kendrick Clark was named Defensive Freshman of the Year.
 
In all-conference voting, co-champion West Florida had a league-best 15 honorees including nine first team selections. Delta State followed with 12 total nods and eight first team selections. All eight football playing institutions were represented with at least two honorees.
 
Shegog became the first Statesmen since Gerald Ford in 2012 to earn the league’s top offensive honors. The graduate signal caller led conference’s second-highest scoring offense average 41.5 points per game, while being the GSC’s most accurate passer completing 186-of-284 throws (.655) to go along with 2,480 passing yards and 21 touchdowns. He was also a threat on the ground racking up 13 rushing touchdowns, averaging 59.6 yards per game on 122 total carries.
 
Anderson became the first Tiger since Ridge Wilson to be recognized as the conference’s top defensive player. The graduate linebacker finished the season as the GSC-leader in total tackles (96) and solo tackles (69). He was also fifth among conference leaders in tackles for loss (10.0) and third-overall in solo tackles for loss (9), and among the top 15 with three sacks.
 
White became the second-consecutive Choctaw to be named the league’s top offensive freshman. The redshirt-freshman burst onto the scene after making his debut in Week 5. The MC signal caller etched his name into GSC history with a 270-yard rushing performance that was the fourth-best single-game effort. White finished his first season of competition listed among GSC leaders in several categories including total rushing yards (6th/795), rushing yards per carry (7th/6.1) and rushing yards per game (3rd/99.4). He also finished second among team leaders with seven touchdowns. 
 
Clark earned top defensive freshman accolades after a stout rookie season, becoming the second Crusader to receive the honor in as many years. The true-freshman defensive back was nuance for opponents as he finished with a conference-high four interceptions, taking two back for touchdowns. He also recorded 29 total tackles with 21 solo stops and a tackle for loss on the year to fill out the ledger.
 
Cooley was voted the league’s top head coach, after leading the Statesmen to their first conference crown since 2014, as went 6-1 in league play and logged a 10-1 record overall. The DSU regular season was highlighted by a nine-game win streak and included five road wins in its first six games of the season. After winning the award in 2013 and 2014, Cooley became the sixth coach in GSC history to be win three or more times.

The full list of Gulf South all-conference selections can be found here.