AFCA Honors Four Gamecocks on Its FCS All-America Squad
12/20/2017 10:00:00 AM | Football
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JACKSONVILLE – Four Gamecocks were named All-Americans by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) on Wednesday, the fourth FCS All-America Team on which at least four JSU players were honored.
The AFCA honored a pair of Gamecock defenders on its first team, while two offensive players received second-team mentions. Defensive end Darius Jackson and cornerback Siran Neal were First Team All-Americans by the AFCA, who honored offensive lineman Justin Lea and running back Roc Thomas on its second team.
Jacksonville State became the first school to land four players on the AFCA FCS Coaches' All-America Team in one year. Eleven schools have placed three student-athletes on the AFCA FCS Coaches' All-America Team in one year, with five of those coming in 2017 (James Madison, Sam Houston State, Samford, South Dakota State and Weber State).
The honors come after the Gamecocks (10-2, 8-0 Ohio Valley Conference) won their fourth-straight OVC title in record-breaking fashion. They posted an unprecedented fourth-straight unbeaten conference record to extend the nation's longest active conference win streak to 32 games. The longest streak in OVC history and the second-longest in FCS history dates back to the 2013 season.
With Neal's first-career All-America honor, the Gamecocks have now placed six players on at least one All-America Team.
Jackson grabbed first-team All-America honors for the second-straight year after posting a record-breaking senior campaign for the Gamecocks. He was named the OVC's Defensive Player of the Year for the second-straight year, the league's first repeat winner since 1980-81. He was also recently named to eth final three for the Buck Buchanan Award, which goes to the national defensive player of the year in FCS and will be awarded at the annual STATS FCS Awards Banquet in Frisco, Texas on Jan. 5.
The Bessemer, Ala., native recorded a school-record 20.5 tackles for a loss in 2017, breaking his own school record of 19.0 that was set in 2015. The First Team All-OVC pick averaged 1.7 tackles for loss per game, tops in the OVC and fifth nationally, to lead a JSU defense that ranks second nationally in total defense, third in rushing defense, sixth in scoring defense, 10th in third-down conversion defense, fifth in passing efficiency defense and fifth in team tackles for a loss. Jackson finished the year with 55 tackles, 20.5 for a loss of 116 yards, seven sacks for a total loss of 70 yards and 23 quarterback hurries and was single-handedly responsible for an average loss of 15.5 yards per game for JSU opponents.
Neal received his first career All-America honor after another dominant performance on the JSU defense. The senior from Eufaula, Ala., grabbed his second-straight First Team All-Ohio Valley Conference mention in 2017 despite changing positions before his senior campaign. An All-OVC linebacker at the nickel position in 2016, his move to corner in 2017 saw the same success.
He notched a team-best 11 pass break-ups to go along with 33 tackles and interception, despite seeing a limited number of passes thrown to his side of the field in 2017. Neal has gained the attention of many professional scouts and parlayed that into an invitation to the prestigious Reese's Senior Bowl. He will become just the fourth JSU player to ever play in the nation's top college all-star showcase on Jan. 27 in Mobile's Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
Lea earns All-America honors for the second-straight year and for the third time in his career after being named a Freshman All-American in 2013. He was named a First Team All-OVC lineman for the third-straight year and became the first offensive lineman in OVC history to grab all-conference honors in all four seasons with his 2017 mention. He never missed a start in his career, breaking the JSU and OVC records for consecutive games started with 51.
The native of Henagar, Ala., played more snaps than any other JSU lineman in 2017, leading a group that placed all five starters on the All-OVC squad. He was in on 96 percent of his team's offensive snaps in 2017, guiding an offense that ranked second in the OVC in total offense and 16th nationally in rushing offense. Lea graded out at 90 percent on the season and was also an academic star. He was one of 13 finalists across all divisions of college football for the William V. Campbell Trophy and was one of 13 finalists for the Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete Award.
Thomas grabbed his second All-America mention in a Gamecock uniform after carrying the load for JSU ion 2017. He was the OVC's Offensive Player of the Year, a First Team All-OVC selection and a finalist for the Walter Payton Award after leading the Gamecocks and the OVC with 1,065 yards on 178 carries. He led the OVC and ranked 11th nationally with 5.98 yards per carry.
The Oxford, Ala., native's 109.08 all-purpose yards per game was second in the OVC and meant he was responsible for 30 percent of the Gamecocks' 368.7 yards of total offense per game in his senior season. Thomas was named the OVC Offensive Player of the Week five times this season and was the FCS National Player of the Week on Sept. 3.
