ATLANTA – The inaugural ASUN Conference Football Preseason Honors and Awards were released on Tuesday, and several members of the Jacksonville State football team were included.
 
Eight Jacksonville State student-athletes were named to the ASUN Preseason Football All-Conference Team, led by safety Nicario Harper being voted the league's Preseason Defensive Player of the Year by the ASUN head coaches and sports information directors.
 
On the Preseason All-Conference Team, running back Josh Samuel and linemen Tylan Grable and Cam Hill were named to the offense, while defensive end DJ Coleman, outside linebacker Jaylen Swain, linebacker Marshall Clark and safety Harper made the defense. Punter Jack Dawson was a special teams selection.
 
The Gamecocks were picked to finish third in the Preseason ASUN/WAC AQ& Coaches Poll. The ASUN/WAC AQ7 combines the three members of the ASUN – JSU, Central Arkansas and Eastern Kentucky – and four members of the Western Athletic Conference – Abilene Christian, Lamar, Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin – that are partnering for an automatic qualifying bid during their transition year of 2021.
 
Defending champion Sam Houston was a unanimous pick to win the AQ7's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs, while UCA was picked second. The Gamecocks came in third ahead of Stephen F. Austin in fourth and EKU fifth. Abilene Christian is sixth and Lamar seventh.
 
Harper, a native of Atlanta, enters his second season as a Gamecock after a decorated first season in 2020-21. The safety was named the Ohio Valley Conference's Defensive Player of the Year and was a First-Team All-American by every outlet that released an All-America Team. He was named the top defensive back in the FCS by the FCS Athletic Director's Association after leading the Gamecocks with 92 tackles and with four takeaways. He intercepted three passes and returned a fumble 64 yards for a touchdown.
 
Coleman was also an All-American for the Gamecocks in the 2020-21 season, when he was a third-team selection by HERO Sports in 2019. The Atlanta native was one of the OVC's top defensive players in 2020-21, leading a defense that was atop the OVC in yards allowed and pressuring opposing quarterbacks. Coleman had 55 tackles with 12 for a loss and a team-high nine sacks. He was first in the OVC in sacks per game and second in the nation with 12.0 total sacks. He had 14 quarterback hurries, three pass breakups, forced a fumble and recovered a fumble.
 
Swain received his first All-America nod after being named a First-Team All-OVC performer and a member of the OVC's All-Newcomer Team as a true freshman in 2020-21. The Oxford, Ala., native earned the honors after leading a dominant JSU defense that limited a school-record nine opponents to less than 100 yards rushing. He was second on the Gamecocks with 11.5 tackles for a loss for a second-best 59 yards and also added three sacks and 12 quarterback hurries. Swain tied for the team lead with two forced fumbles and also blocked a punt.
 
Clark was the other player on the Preseason All-ASUN Defense and earned that spot after his breakout season at linebacker for the Gamecocks landed him on the All-OVC Second Team. The Munford, Ala., native was second on the team in tackles with 85 on the year, including 28 solo stops and 10.5 tackles for 27 yards lost. He had a career-high 12 tackles in the quarterfinals of the FCS Playoffs against Delaware.
 
Samuel was also a Second-Team All-OVC selection in 2020-21, when the Greenville, S.C., native ran for 773 yards and eight touchdowns on 139 carries for the Gamecocks. Samuel had the fourth-most rushing yards of any FCS player while sharing the load in a balanced running back corps for JSU.
 
Grable and Hill earned their spot on the Preseason All-ASUN Offensive Line after both grabbed First Team All-OVC honors a year ago. Grable was an All-American by multiple outlets after the Gordon, Ga., native graded out at a team-high 88 percent and recorded 32 knockdowns. He was joined by Hill after the Montgomery, Ala., native helped pave the way for a JSU offense that was as balanced as any in the FCS, averaging 189 yards per game on the ground and 195 yards through the air.
 
Dawson rounds out the Gamecocks on the Preseason All-ASUN list after an impressive debut season on the gridiron. A native of Sylvania Waters, Australia and a transfer from Troy, Dawson joined the Gamecocks for the spring portion of the season and made an immediate impact. HE averaged 41.8 yards per punt and had a long of 61 yards, while also pinning 13 punts inside his opponents' 20-yard line. He forced a fair catch on more than half of his total punts.
 
The Gamecocks open fall camp on Aug. 3 and begin preparations for their 11-game schedule in 2021 that will start with a nationally televised matchup with UAB on Sept. 1. The two in-state foes will play in the Montgomery Kickoff at historic Cramton Bowl on ESPN. JSU will host five games at Burgess-Snow Field, starting with a Sept. 18 game against North Alabama.
 
For tickets to the 2021 season, visit www.JSUGamecockSports.com/Tickets or call the JSU Ticket Office at 256-782-8499.