CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel football team celebrated its historic 2016 season inside McAlister Field House on Saturday evening.

The highlight of the banquet, which featured nearly 500 guests, was the presentation of the team's 2016 Southern Conference championship rings celebrating back-to-back conference titles for the first time in school history. Head coach Brent Thompson addressed the crowd, thanking fans and administration for their support and the team for their efforts during the season, before displaying the ring design and allowing each cadet-athlete to open their ring box for the first time.

The program, which was emceed by The Citadel Athletic Hall of Famer Lee Glaze, featured the recognition of 58 lettermen from the 2016 season as well as the 20 seniors who played their final season for the Bulldogs. In addition, team captains Joe Crochet, Tevin Floyd, DeAndre Schoultz and Kyle Weaver were introduced. The Citadel also handed out individual awards, including player of the year for offense, defense and special teams.

The first awards presented were to linebacker Joe Crochet and offensive lineman Nick Jeffreys, The Citadel's two Academic All-Americans. Crochet and Jeffreys are the first Bulldog pair to earn Academic All-America status in the same season, and Crochet is the first Bulldog to be named an Academic All-American in consecutive seasons since 1976-78.

Senior B-Back Tyler Renew was honored as The Citadel's Offensive Player of the Year. Renew rushed for 1,096 yards, the seventh-highest single-season total in program history, and four touchdowns while adding five receptions for 120 yards and two touchdowns. He was selected as an All-American by STATS for the second straight year and earned All-Southern Conference recognition from the coaches and media. The Columbia, South Carolina, native finished his career ranked fifth on the Bulldogs' all-time rushing yards list with 2,828 and tied for eighth on the program's all-time 100-yard rushing games list with nine.

Junior defensive back Kailik Williams took home the team's Defensive Player of the Year award. Williams was selected as the Southern Conference Defensive Player of the Year by the conference's media contingent, becoming the first Bulldog to take home defensive honors from the media since 1986, and was a first-team All-Southern Conference selection by the coaches and media. Williams finished the season with 103 tackles, tied for the third-highest single-season total in program history, with 10.5 for loss and 0.5 sack, two interceptions, five pass breakups and one forced fumble. The Ormond Beach, Florida, native turned in one of the best defensive plays of the year in The Citadel's overtime win at Wofford with his 'Pitch Six' return for a touchdown that tied the game with 5:57 remaining in regulation.

The co-Special Teams Players of the Year were senior punter Will Vanvick and senior punt returner DeAndre Schoultz. Vanvick ranked second in the SoCon and 16th in FCS with his career-best average of 42.6 yards per punt, which also stands fifth on the program's single-season list, and improved his standing on the program's career punt average list to sixth with a mark of 39.6 yards per punt. The Greenville, South Carolina, native was a second-team Academic All-District selection and a semifinalist for the Campbell Trophy. Schoultz was the first-team All-Southern Conference return specialist after averaging 11.9 yards per return, the seventh-highest single-season average in school history, and scoring one touchdown. The Aiken, South Carolina, native ranked first in the SoCon and 10th in FCS in punt return average, and he moved into ninth on the program's all-time career list.

A trio of offensive lineman won awards after blocking for the best rushing offense in FCS in 2016. Jeffreys was the recipient of the Brigadier Foundation Award for team before self. The Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, native started all 12 games and was a first-team All-Southern Conference performer. Isaiah Pinson won the Citadel Football Association Blood & Guts Award. The offensive tackle from Wellford, South Carolina, was named an All-American by Walter Camp, AFCA, STATS and HERO Sports and was a first-team All-Southern Conference performer in addition to winning the Southern Conference Jacobs Blocking Award. Kyle Weaver earned the Cal McCombs Award. The Hilton Head, South Carolina, native was a second-team All-Southern Conference selection and earned All-Southern Conference academic honors for the third straight season.

Crochet took home the Ann Seignious Award for academic and football excellence. In addition to his Academic All-America honors, he also earned first-team Academic All-District and was named to the Fall Academic All-Southern Conference Team and the FCS ADA Academic All-Star Team. On the field, the Stone Mountain, Georgia, native was a first-team All-Southern Conference performer with 45 tackles, including 12.5 for loss with 4.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and two quarterback hurries. His 11.0 tackles for loss in conference play ranked second in the SoCon.

Linebacker Trey Nelson was honored with the Linwood Sikes Award for outstanding effort. The junior from Beaufort, South Carolina, appeared in all 12 games and recorded nine tackles. Defensive back Dee Delaney earned the J.B. Weber Academic Achievement Award after a consensus All-American season. The Beaufort, South Carolina, native made a SoCon-best six interceptions, tying for third on The Citadel's single-season list and for third in FCS in 2016, and had 14 total passes defended to rank fourth on the program's single-season list and second in the SoCon. Delaney is set to graduate in May with a bachelor's degree in business administration.

The Bulldogs also recognized Scout Team Players of the Year, awarding Shy McPhail the offensive award, Adam Wawrzynski the defensive honor and Cody Floyd the special teams accolade. In addition, DaSean Daniels was honored for serving as the team's Military Captain.

The end of the night featured a special announcement from senior wide receiver Rudder Brown, who joined his classmates to establish a new scholarship for The Citadel Brigadier Foundation. The scholarship is entitled The 2015 & 2016 Southern Conference Football Championship Teams Scholarship and will provide permanent income for scholarship support while increasing the endowment value. The scholarship will be awarded for the first time in the fall of 2017.

The Citadel completed a 10-2 campaign in the first season under Coach Thompson, who broke the program's 100-year-old record for wins by a first-year head coach. The Bulldogs earned their second straight Southern Conference championship and tied the record for most SoCon wins in a season by completing only the seventh 8-0 conference mark in SoCon history. The Citadel broke the program's single-season program record with six road wins, the most in FCS in 2016, and finished with the second-highest single-season wins total in school history.

The Citadel was awarded the No. 6 seed in the FCS Playoffs, earning a national seed for the first time under the current 24-team format, and hosted a playoff game for the first time since 1992. The Bulldogs made their fifth postseason appearance and advanced to the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time while Coach Thompson became the only first-year head coach to lead the Bulldogs to the postseason.

The Citadel ranked first in FCS in rushing for the first time since 1994 and the third time in program history and led the SoCon for the third straight year. The Bulldogs averaged 348.2 yards per game, the second-highest average in program history, and tied the school's single-season record with five 400-yard rushing performances. The Citadel also ranked first in FCS allowing an average of only 3.3 tackles for loss per game. In addition, the Bulldogs ranked first in the Southern Conference in time of possession, yards per completion, first downs allowed, third-down conversions, third-down defense, yards per rush, passing touchdowns allowed, total touchdowns allowed and punt returns.

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