SoCon Coaches Pick The Citadel Football Eighth in Preseason Poll

Charleston, S.C. – The Southern Conference coaches picked The Citadel Football to finish in eighth place with only one all-conference selection according to 2011 preseason polls released by the conference office on Monday afternoon.

Appalachian State (60) was tabbed the coaches' favorite for the sixth consecutive season but only by one point as Georgia Southern (59) finished a close second. After posting a 10-5 mark and advancing to the NCAA playoff semifinals in 2010, the Eagles return all 11 starters on offense and nine starters from the 2010 defense.

The Bulldogs, with 13 points, finished only ahead of Western Carolina (10) for the second consecutive season. The 2011 Citadel squad, with 10 returning starters on offense and eight on defense, will consist of 27 seniors, including six fifth-year seniors.

The coaches also voted senior linebacker Tolu Akindele to the defense all-conference second team as the only Bulldog represented on any preseason team. Akindele played and started in all 11 games in 2010, finishing as the leading Bulldog defender with 80 total tackles, 41 solo and 39 assisted. He recorded career performances with 14 total tackles against Georgia Southern, followed by nine solo tackles and two forced fumbles at Wofford, 13 total tackles against Elon and nine at Samford for an average of 11.25 tackles in the last four games of the season. Akindele finished the season with an average of 7.27 tackles a game to conclude the 2010 season ranked ninth in the SoCon in total tackles. He also finished the season with three forced fumbles, three quarterback hurries, one fumble recovery and one pass breakup.

Wofford collected both SoCon Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year honors in fullback Eric Breitenstein and defensive lineman Ameet Pall who shares the honor with Georgia Southern's defensive lineman Brent Russell. GSU led all schools with 14 selections, including eight on the first team.

The 2011 Southern Conference football season kicks off on Thursday, Sept. 1 when Western Carolina visits Georgia Tech. The Citadel, along with the seven other SoCon teams, will open their season on Saturday, Sept. 3 in their home-opener against Jacksonville at Johnson Hagood Stadium at 6 p.m.

For more information on Bulldog Football, visit the official website of The Citadel Athletics at www.CitadelSports.com.

2011 SoCon Football Preseason Coaches Poll

Place  School (First-place votes)           Points
1.       Appalachian State (5)                 60
2.       Georgia Southern (3)                 59
3.       Wofford                                      49
4.       Chattanooga (1)                        45
5.       Elon                                           33
6.       Furman                                      30
7.       Samford                                     25
8.       The Citadel                                13
9.       Western Carolina                      10

NOTE: Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own team

2011 Southern Conference Football
Preseason All-Conference Teams

Offensive Player of the Year: Eric Breitenstein, Jr., FB, Wofford
Co-Defensive Players of the Year: Ameet Pall, Sr., DL, Wofford & Brent Russell, Jr., DL, Georgia Southern

First Team Offense
QB         DeAndre Presley, Sr., Appalachian State
RB         Robert Brown, So, Georgia Southern
RB         Eric Breitenstein, Jr., Wofford
OL         Orry Frye, Sr., Appalachian State
OL         Rodney Austin, Sr., Elon
OL         Ryan Lee, Sr., Furman
OL         Brett Moore, Sr., Georgia Southern
OL         Nate Page, Sr., Wofford
TE          Ben Jorden, Sr., Appalachian State
WR        Aaron Mellette, Jr., Elon
WR        Joel Bradford, Sr., Chattanooga

First Team Defense
DL         John Rizor, Jr., Appalachian State
DL         Brent Russell, Jr., Georgia Southern
DL         Alex Davis, Sr., Samford
DL         Ameet Pall, Sr., Wofford
LB         Kadarron Anderson, Sr., Furman
LB         Josh Rowe, Jr., Georgia Southern
LB         Ryan Consiglio, Sr., Chattanooga
DB        Ed Gainey, Sr., Appalachian State
DB        Ryan Steed, Sr., Furman
DB        Derek Heyden, Sr., Georgia Southern
DB        Laron Scott, Sr., Georgia Southern

First Team Specialists
PK         Ray Early, So., Furman
P           Charlie Edwards, Sr., Georgia Southern
RS         Laron Scott, Sr., Georgia Southern

Second Team Offense
QB         B.J. Coleman, Sr., Chattanooga
RB         Travaris Cadet, Sr., Appalachian State
RB         J.J. Wilcox, Jr., Georgia Southern
OL         Matt Ruff, Sr., Appalachian State
OL         Dakota Dozier, So., Furman
OL         Dorian Byrd, So., Georgia Southern
OL         Willie Maxwell, Sr., Georgia Southern
OL         Adam Miller, Jr., Chattanooga
TE          (tie) Colin Anderson, Jr., Furman
TE          (tie) Tyler Sumner, Jr., Georgia Southern
WR        Brian Quick, Sr., Appalachian State
WR        Brenton Bersin, Sr., Wofford

Second Team Defense
DL         Josh Lynn, Jr., Furman
DL         Roderick Tinsley, Sr., Georgia Southern
DL         Nick Davison, Sr., Chattanooga
DL         Eric Eberhardt, Sr., Wofford
LB          Brandon Grier, Jr., Appalachian State
LB          Tolu Akindele, Sr., The Citadel
LB          Joshua Jones, Sr., Elon
DB         Corey White, Sr., Samford
DB         Chris Lewis-Harris, Sr., Chattanooga
DB         Kadeem Wise, So., Chattanooga
DB         Blake Wylie, Jr., Wofford

Second Team Specialists
PK         Adrian Mora, Sr., Georgia Southern
P           Sam Martin, Jr., Appalachian State
RS         Travaris Cadet, Sr., Appalachian State

NOTE: Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own student-athletes.