Spartanburg, S.C. - The Citadel football team was picked to finish eighth by the league coaches and ninth by the media members while receiving two selections to the All-SoCon Preseason team on Monday afternoon.
The Bulldogs, looking to improve upon their 4-7 record in 2009, received 14 votes to finish eighth in the coaches poll and 45 votes to finish ninth in the media poll.
For the fifth consecutive season, both the coaches and media polls tabbed Appalachian State as the preseason outright favorite to win the Southern Conference. The Mountaineers received 22 of the 30 first place votes in the media poll while collecting seven of the nine votes in the coaches poll. Elon was picked to finish second as the Phoenix received first place votes in both polls.
Cortez Allen was named to the All-SoCon preseason team for the second straight year. The senior defensive back was named to the first team in 2010 after starting all 11 games last season and finishing second on the team with 57 tackles. The Ocala, Fla. native earned SoCon Defensive Player of the Week after recording seven tackles and two interceptions for 112 yards, the second highest single-game total in SoCon history to go along with a touchdown vs. Samford on Oct. 31.
Alex Sellars was named as the second team tight end after finishing the 2009 season as a first team media selection and a second team coaches selection. The senior captain finished last season with 16 receptions for 159 yards and six touchdowns and started in nine games. Dating back to the end of the 2008 season, Sellars had an impressive streak where seven out of his eight receptions went for a touchdown.
2010 SoCon Football Preseason Coaches Poll
Place School (First-place votes) Points
1. Appalachian State (7) 63
2. Elon (2) 58
3. Furman 41
4. Samford 39
5. Chattanooga 37
6. Wofford 36
7. Georgia Southern 25
8. The Citadel 14
9. Western Carolina 11
NOTE: Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own team
2010 SoCon Football Preseason Media Poll
Place School (First-place votes) Points
1. Appalachian State (22) 259
2. Elon (6) 231
3. Furman (1) 197
4. Chattanooga 157
5. Wofford 152
6. Samford (1) 141
7. Georgia Southern 116
8. Western Carolina 52
9. The Citadel 45
2010 Southern Conference Football
Preseason All-Conference Teams
Offensive Player of the Year: Scott Riddle, Sr., QB, Elon
Defensive Player of the Year: Bryce Smith, Sr., LB, Samford
First Team Offense
QB Scott Riddle, Sr., Elon
RB Devon Moore, Sr., Appalachian State
RB Chris Evans, Sr., Samford
OL Brett Irvin, Sr., Appalachian State
OL Pat Mills, Sr., Appalachian State
OL Thomas Gray, Sr., Samford
OL Chris Harr, Sr., Chattanooga
OL Pat Illig, Sr., Wofford
TE Ben Jorden, Jr., Appalachian State
WR Adam Mims, Sr., Furman
WR Brian Quick, Jr., Appalachian State
First Team Defense
DL Jabari Fletcher, Sr., Appalachian State
DL Lanston Tanyi, Jr., Appalachian State
DL Brandon Ward, Sr., Elon
DL Brent Russell, So., Georgia Southern
LB D.J. Smith, Sr., Appalachian State
LB Bryce Smith, Sr., Samford
LB Kadarron Anderson, Jr., Furman
DB Mark LeGree, Sr., Appalachian State
DB Cortez Allen, Sr., The Citadel
DB Buster Skrine, Sr., Chattanooga
DB Mitchell Bell, Sr., Western Carolina
First Team Specialists
PK Jason Vitaris, Sr., Appalachian State
P Bob Hooper, Sr., Samford
RS Adam Mims, Sr., Furman
Second Team Offense
QB B.J. Coleman, Jr., Chattanooga
RB Tersoo Uhaa, Jr., Furman
RB Mike Rucker, Sr., Wofford
OL Daniel Kilgore, Sr., Appalachian State
OL Clark Bishop, Sr., Wofford
OL Matt Ruff, Jr., Appalachian State
OL Rodney Austin, Jr., Elon
OL Ryan Lee, Jr., Furman
TE Alex Sellars, Sr., The Citadel
WR Riley Hawkins, Jr. Samford
WR Marquell Pittman, Sr., Western Carolina
Second Team Defense
DL Jordan Gibson, Sr., Elon
DL John Michael Clay, Jr., Samford
DL Josh Williams, So., Chattanooga
DL (tie) Ameet Pall, Jr., Wofford
DL (tie) Eric Eberhardt, Jr., Wofford
LB Joshua Jones, Jr., Elon
LB Ryan Consiglio, Jr., Chattanooga
LB Mike Niam, Jr., Wofford
DB Terrell Wilson , Sr., Elon
DB Max Lerner, Sr., Furman
DB Ed Gainey, Jr., Appalachian State
DB Laron Scott, Jr., Georgia Southern
Second Team Specialists
PK Blake Bostic, Sr., Western Carolina
P Mike Hammons, Jr., Chattanooga
RS Richie Fordham, Jr., Samford
NOTE: Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players.
The Citadel kicks off the 2010 against Chowan on Sept. 4 at 1 p.m. at Johnson Hagood Stadium, For complete coverage of Bulldog Football, please visit the official home of The Citadel Athletics at CitadelSports.com.
