Valdosta State took home three individual honors and led the conference in All-GSC selections as the 2024 Gulf South Conference football awards were announced.
Voting for the All-GSC selections and major awards were made by the conference's eight head coaches, who were not able to vote for any nominee from their own team.
Valdosta State quarterback Sammy Edwards was unanimously named GSC Offensive Player of the Year, while defensive back Larry Elder shared Defensive Player of the Year accolades with West Florida defensive lineman Traevon Mitchell. In addition, Blazers head coach Tremaine Jackson shared the Coach of the Year award with West Alabama's Brett Gilliland.
Mississippi College linebacker Brady Weatherly was tabbed as Defensive Freshman of the Year. Teammate and running back Preston Back was named Co-Offensive Freshman of the Year alongside West Florida wide receiver Corey Scott.
In all-conference voting, 66 student-athletes were recognized. Valdosta State led the way with a conference-best 17 selections, followed by West Alabama with 14. Both teams finished nine First Team honorees. North Greenville and West Florida had 10 all-conference nods apiece. Delta State was represented with eight honorees, Mississippi College had four and Chowan had three.
Edwards led the conference in passing yards (2,449), passing touchdowns (23), passes completed (169), pass attempts (249) and passing percentage (.679). The senior also recorded 167 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 43 carries. Edwards set a GSC single-season record with 195 consecutive pass attempts and finished with a league-low two picks.
Elder finished third among conference leaders with 68 tackles, including 37 solo stops. His season ledger also included 2.5 sacks, 9.5 tackles for loss, and two forced fumbles.
Mitchell led the conference in tackles for loss (17.0), tackles for loss per game (1.89) and was second overall in sacks (seven). He also racked up 44 tackles including 22 unassisted.
Weatherly was third among team leaders in total tackles (41) and tackles for loss (4.5) in his debut season. He appeared in 10 games for Choctaws averaging 2.7 unassisted tackles per game with two pass break-ups.
Godfrey amassed 834 all-purpose yards, including 649 total yards of offense in his rookie season. He finished sixth among conference leaders with 526 rushing yards, seventh in yards per games (52.6) and ran into the end zone twice. In addition, he was three-for-10 through the air with one passing touchdown and 123 yards, while totaling 185 yards on nine kickoff returns.
Scott had a productive first season, finishing among conference receiving leaders in catches (fifth/34), yards (third/629), yard per game (sixth/62.9) and touchdowns (fifth/five). The rookie caught for season-high 139 yards against Delta State and nearly broke the 100-yard a second time with a 98-yard outing versus Erskine.
Jackson received top GSC coaching honors for the first in his career after leading Valdosta State to back-to-back conference titles in his third season at the helm. The Blazers finished 6-0 in the league play, notching the first unbeaten record since the program accomplished the feat in 2018 and 2019. Under his direction, VSU was ranked among the top three nationally for nine consecutive weeks, including four weeks at No. 1. Jackson is the first Blazer coach to win since 2021.
For the second time in his career, Gilliland was named the conference's top coach and first time since 2017. West Alabama finished the second in the conference standings (5-1) after being picked fourth in the GSC Coaches Preseason Poll. The Tigers also posted a program-best nine wins as it with 9-1 overall and re-entered the national rankings after a two-season absence, spending seven weeks among the Top 15.
2024 GSC Football Awards
Offensive Player of the Year: Sammy Edwards, Sr., QB, Valdosta State!
Co-Defensive Player of the Year: Larry Elder, Gr., DB, Valdosta State
Co-Defensive Player of the Year: Traevon Mitchell, Gr., DL, West Florida
Co-Offensive Freshman of the Year: Preston Godfrey, Fr., RB, Mississippi College
Co-Offensive Freshman of the Year: Corey Scott, Fr., WR, West Florida
Defensive Freshman of the Year: Brady Weatherly, Fr., LB, Mississippi College
Co-Coach of the Year: Tremaine Jackson, Valdosta State
Co-Coach of the Year: Brett Gilliland, West Alabama
First Team All-GSC#
QB Sammy Edwards, Valdosta State!^
RB Kelvin Smith, Delta State^
RB Blake Hester, Valdosta State
AP Alfonso Franklin, Valdosta State*
TE Caeleb Bass, West Alabama
WR Dre' Williams, North Greenville^
WR Rodney Bullard, Valdosta State
WR Corey Scott, West Florida
WR Jakobe Lane, Chowan
C Will Flowers, Valdosta State
OG Jaelon Brown, Delta State*
OG Kenley-Mary Asse, Valdosta State
OT Jeremiah Mawali, Valdosta State
OT Allen Jones Jr., West Alabama
DL Traevon Mitchell, West Florida*
DL Davonta Jackson, West Alabama*
DL Collin Shaw, West Florida
DL Trevon Lambert, West Alabama
DL Cody Sigler, West Alabama
LB Trevon Stanford, West Alabama*
LB De'Iveon Donald, North Greenville^
LB Ralph Ortiz, West Florida
LB Sterling Roberts, Valdosta State
DB Larry Elder, Valdosta State
DB Virgil Lemons, West Florida
DB Lamar Gray, West Alabama
DB David Brown IV, Mississippi College
K Elijah Guyton, West Alabama
P Logan Gregory, West Florida
RS Virgil Lemons, West Florida
UTL Jerrick Foster, North Greenville^
UTL Parker Burleson, Delta State
UTL Jaden Taylor, West Alabama
Second Team All-GSC#
QB Dylan Ramirez, North Greenville
RB Jacob Walker, North Greenville
RB Marcus Williams, Mississippi College^
AP Kelvin Smith, Delta State
TE Noah Gillan, Valdosta State^
TE Gabrial Jackson, Chowan
WR Jaylen Green, Delta State
WR Kristopher Binion, West Alabama
WR Tyler Ajiero, Valdosta State
WR Graeson Malashevich, Valdosta State
C Ben Newton, West Alabama
OG James Robinson, Valdosta State
OG Nash Nelson, West Florida
OT Stanley Boatright, North Greenville
OT Fred Norman, Valdosta State
DL J'Quan Hicks, Valdosta State
DL Dakoda Willard, North Greenville
DL Brennan Blake, Mississippi College
DL Mario Martin, Delta State
LB Ishmael Naylor, West Alabama
LB William Carter, Delta State
LB Kennypride Toh, Chowan
LB Termaine Epps, North Greenville
LB Jason Betz, Mississippi College^
DB Issac Williams, West Alabama
DB Warren Coneway, North Greenville
DB Rance Conner, Valdosta State
DB Foster Jerrick, North Greenville
K Nick Herber, Delta State*
P Trey Sullivan, West Alabama
RS Jay Sharp, West Florida
UTL Reid Brass, Valdosta State
UTL Anthony Ballard, West Florida
# - roster expanded due to vote totals
! - unanimous
* - 2023 First Team All-GC
^ - 2024 Second Team All-GSC