SAC Places Five on D2Football.com Preseason All-American Team
ROCK HILL, S.C. - Five players from the South Atlantic Conference have been named to either the first or second 2002 D2Football.com preseason All-American team. Mars Hill College placed two players in running back Travis McFadden and linebacker Khalid Abdullah while Catawba's Todd McComb were all named to the first tean. Carson-Newman linebacker Steve Jouse and Presbyterian College senior defensive end Nacomma Maxell are on the second team.
Members of the 2002 D2Football.com Pre-Season All-American Team were chosen by the staff of D2Football.com. Throughout our extensive selection process, many players across the country were considered on the basis of statistics, individual accomplishments, and team accomplishments.
Maxwell, a 6-1, 218-pound defensive end from Hartwell, Ga., was named to the All-American second team. Last season, Maxwell registered 69 total tackles to go along with 11.0 sacks (-62) and 14 tackles for loss (-71). Maxwell was also named to the South Atlantic Conference preseason first team All-conference squad announced earlier this summer.
Abdullah is a 6-3, 230-pound linebacker from Jacksonville Beach, FL (Fletcher HS). Khalid is a returning All-SAC performer and former SAC Defensive Freshman of the year. He has formerly been named an All-American by a couple of Division II Internet sites and made the Daktronics All-Region team. He is a tremendous athlete who holds the school record for most sacks in a game (5) and in a single season (15). He also holds the school record for the longest interception. He has returned two interceptions for 100 yards.
McFadden is a 5-10, 210-pound running back from Hopkins, SC (Lower Richland HS). Travis is a four-year starter in the offensive backfield. He has started at both fullback and tailback and plays both positions extremely well. Travis is a very physical player with a solid concept of the Lions' offense. Travis rushed for 1,534 yards last season that placed him second all-time in single season rushing yards. He averaged 5.0 yards per carry and scored 13 touchdowns.
2002 D2Football.com Pre-Season All-American Team
First Team Offense
Position Player Height Weight Class School
QB Curt Anes 6-2 210 Sr. Grand Valley State
RB Travis McFadden 5-10 220 Sr. Mars Hill
RB Aaron Jenkins 5-7 190 Jr. Valdosta State
WR David Kircus 6-3 190 Sr. Grand Valley State
WR Dee Dee Carter 6-2 186 Jr. Central Oklahoma
TE Landon Trusty 6-7 275 Jr. Central Arkansas
OL Seth Wand 6-7 340 Sr. Northwest Missouri
OL Chris Booker 6-2 290 Sr. Delta State
OL Chad Lackowski 6-3 295 Jr. Saginaw Valley State
OL Micah Lomas 6-1 290 Sr. Northeastern State
OL Forrest Vance 6-4 285 Jr. UC-Davis
First Team Defense
Position Player Height Weight Class School
DL Leif Murphy 6-3 270 Sr. North Dakota State
DL Andrew Tippins 6-3 279 Sr. Minnesota State
DL Aaron McConnell 6-3 303 Jr. Pittsburg State
DL Mike Clay 6-3 285 Sr. Texas A&M-Kingsville
LB Todd McComb 6-1 210 Sr. Catawba
LB JP Mulligan 6-2 245 Sr. Texas A&M-Commerce
LB Khalid Abdullah 6-3 230 Sr. Mars Hill
DB Ronald Smalls 5-9 170 Sr. Morehouse
DB Dontaye McCoy 6-2 223 Sr. Emporia State
DB Pete Mendez 6-3 210 Sr. Kutztown
DB Marquis Floyd 6-0 188 Sr. West Georgia
First Team Special Teams
Position Player Height Weight Class School
K Michael Koenen 5-10 165 So. Western Washington
P Chris Lutz 6-0 202 Sr. Pittsburg State
RET Dexter Daniels 5-10 180 Sr. Southeast Oklahoma
RET Brian Sump 6-0 195 Sr. Colorado-Mines
Second Team Offense
Position Player Height Weight Class School
QB Kelby Klosterman 6-1 200 Sr. North Dakota
RB Ian Smart 5-8 195 Sr. C.W. Post
RB Corwin Elliott 5-8 195 Sr. Arkansas-Monticello
WR Mike Oliva 6-2 205 Sr. UC Davis
WR Jamaica Rector 5-11 182 So. Northwest Missouri
TE Arnell Wooten 6-3 247 Sr. Winston-Salem
OL Chuck Klabo 6-6 304 Sr. North Dakota State
OL Ben Needham 6-5 290 Sr. Tarleton State
OL Phil Bogle 6-4 310 Sr. New Haven
OL Connor Riley 6-3 310 Sr. Nebraska-Omaha
OL Dale Westrick 6-4 295 Sr. Grand Valley State
Second Team Defense
Position Player Height Weight Class School
DL Corey Gunnerson 6-3 235 Sr. Western Washington
DL Tony Roberson 6-3 260 Sr. Michigan Tech
DL Ben Dixon 6-3 240 Jr. North Dakota
DL Nacomma Maxwell 5-11 220 Sr. Presbyterian
LB Kwame Ferguson 6-1 225 Jr. East Central
LB Eric Walker 5-9 224 Sr. Missouri Western
LB Steve Josue 6-3 225 Sr. Carson Newman
DB Dustin Thornburg 6-1 200 Sr. North Dakota
DB Ced Dickerson 6-0 200 Sr. Valdosta State
DB Marvin Jackson 6-0 185 Jr. Chadron State
DB Charles Davis 6-0 195 Sr. Tarleton State
Second Team Special Teams
Position Player Height Weight Class School
K Josh Telenko 5-5 185 Jr. IUP
P Ryan Wettstein 6-2 206 Jr. Northern Michigan
RET Vincent Jackson 6-4 210 So. Northern Colorado
RET Harry Garland 5-10 175 Jr. Findlay