Football: McGuire, Ringo get top honors on All-Louisiana football team

Cajuns running back Elijah McGuire captured the top offensive honor on the 2014 All-Louisiana college football team announced by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association.(Photo: Leslie Westbrook, The Advertiser)

BATON ROUGE – University of Louisiana at Lafayette running back Elijah McGuire and defensive lineman Christian Ringo captured the two top honors on the 2014 All-Louisiana college football team announced by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association.

LSU running back Leonard Fournette and Louisiana Tech quarterback Cody Sokol captured awards for first-year players and Grambling State coach Broderick Fobbs was honored for his turnaround of the Tiger program.

The team, traditionally released on Christmas Day, is built off nominations from the media relations directors at the football playing schools in the state. From there, a panel of LSWA members makes their selections with those nominating unable to vote for athletes from their own schools. This year, a total of 33 ballots from all part of the state were turned in for the final vote.

All statistics are based on the final regular season totals of the teams and do not include any post-season or bowl contests.

McGuire earned Offensive Player of the Year honors to go with being named the Sun Belt POY after rushing for 1,165 yards and scoring 14 touchdowns. He posted the fourth most rushing yards in a single season at UL-Lafayette and the sophomore from Houma was also the team’s leading receiver with 40 catches for another 414 yards and two touchdowns. He led the SBC and was No. 19 in the country in all-purpose yards at 1,695. He rushed for over 100 yards five times with a best of 265 versus Arkansas State.

The Defensive Player of the Year, Ringo had 35 solo tackles with a strong 19.5 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks that earned him first-team All-SBC honors. He was ranked seventh in the nation in tackles for loss and ranked 12th in D1 in sacks. He recovered two fumbles for the Cajuns including a 41-yard recovery for a touchdown at Texas State.

The highly regarded Fournette of LSU earned Freshman of the Year honors after rushing for 891 yards and eight scores. He rushed for 100 or more yards four times including a career-best 146 yards and a touchdown in the win over Texas A&M in the regular-season finale. Fournette and the Tigers will play Notre Dame in the Music City Bowl on Tuesday.

Sokol, a senior playing his first year at a Louisiana four-year school (Louisiana Tech), earned state Newcomer of the Year honors adding to his Conference USA Newcomer honors. Sokol, who will lead the Bulldogs in the Heart of Dallas bowl on Saturday, was ranked 11th in the nation in passing touchdowns with 29. Sokol completed 246-of-420 passes for 3,189 yards as Tech scored 40 or more points in six games with the fifth most-improved offense in the nation.

Fobbs was an easy choice of the voters for the state’s top coach after taking Grambling from a last-place finish and one win a year ago to competing for a division title. Grambling won seven games against SWAC opponents. Fobbs was the Southwestern Athletic COY and also a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award.

Both McGuire and Ringo were named to the first team while Fournette and Sokol were on the second team offense.

On the 25-member first team, LSU had 8 representatives, UL-Lafayette 5, Southeastern 4, Northwestern State 3, Louisiana Tech and ULM 2 each and Tulane 1. Southern, McNeese and Louisiana College had representatives on the second team, while Nicholls had a player listed as honorable mention.

LSWA All-LOUISIANA COLLEGE FOOTBALL TEAM

FIRST TEAM OFFENSE

Pos/Name, School/Class/Hometown/Notes

OL/Vadal Alexander, LSU/Jr./Buford, Ga./Second Team All-SEC, 73 knockdowns, 2nd on team

OL/Mitchell Bell, Louisiana Tech/Sr./Houston, Texas/First Team All-C-USA, 12 games started

OL/Jonathan Braddock, Southeastern/Sr./Ripley, Miss./First Team All-SLC, Starter at RT

OL/La’el Collins, LSU/Sr./Baton Rouge, La./First Team All-SEC, Jacobs Award (top OL in SEC)

OL/Daniel Quave, UL-Lafayette/Sr./Gautier, Miss./First Team All-SBC, 51 consecutive starts

RB/Kenneth Dixon, Louisiana Tech/Jr./Strong, Ark./Second Team All-C-USA, Fifth in nation in scoring

RB/Elijah McGuire, UL-Lafayette/So./Houma, La./SBC POY, 1,165 yds, 14 TDs, 1,695 All-Purpose

WR/Ed Eagan, Northwestern State/Jr./New Orleans, La./First Team All-SLC, 908 yards, 6 TDs

WR/Travin Dural, LSU/So./Breaux Bridge, La./758 yards, 7 TDs, 2nd SEC in YPC 20.5

TE/Larry Pettis, UL-Lafayette/Sr./Oxford, Miss./All-SBC HM, 16 catches, 117 yds, 1 TD

QB/Bryan Bennett, Southeastern/Sr./Granada Hills, Calif./SLC POY, Peyton Finalist, 2,357 yds, 18 TDs

FIRST TEAM DEFENSE

Pos/Name, School/Class/Hometown/Notes

DL/Justin Hamilton, UL-Lafayette/Sr./Natchez, Miss./First Team All-SBC, 26 TT, 9.0 TFL, 5 sacks

DL/Danielle Hunter, LSU/Jr./Katy, Texas/Led LSU with 12 TFL, 64 TT, 6 PBUs

DL/Gerrand Johnson, ULM/Jr./Rayville, La./First Team All-SBC, 93 TT, 6.0 sacks, 12.5 TFL

DL/Christian Ringo, UL-Lafayette/Sr./Jackson, Miss./First Team All-SBC, 7th nation in TFL 19.5

LB/Kwon Alexander, LSU/Jr./Oxford, Ala./First Team All-SEC, 79 TT, 7.5 TFL

LB/Kendell Beckwith, LSU/So./Clinton, La./68 tackles, 6.5 TFL, 2 sacks, moved to starter mid-season

LB/Isiah Corbett, Southeastern/Sr./Belle Glade, Fla./First Team All-SLC, Finalist Buchanan Award

DB/Imoan Claiborne, Northwestern State/Sr./Alexandria, La./First Team All-SLC, 4 int., 3 FR, 7 PBU

DB/Mitch Lane, ULM/Jr./Pine Bluff, Ark./First Team All-SBC, 91 TT, 3 int, 1 TD, 4 PBU

DB/Sam Scofield, Tulane/Sr./Lafayette, La./Second team All-AAC, 94 TT, 5 TFL, 4 PBU, 3 INT

DB/Tre’Davious White, LSU/So./Shreveport, La./32 TT, 5 PBUs, 2 INTs, 1 sack

FIRST TEAM SPECIALISTS

FIRST TEAM OFFENSE

Pos/Name, School/Class/Hometown/Notes

K/Ryan Adams, Southeastern/Sr./Dayton, Ohio/First Team All-SLC, 16-18 FG, 60-62 PAT, 7th FCS FG% (89)

P/Jamie Keehn, LSU/Jr./Miners Rest, Australia/Second Team All-SEC, 2nd in SEC 45.0 avg., 25 inside 20

RS/Ed Eagan, Northwestern State/Jr./New Orleans, La./Double honoree, 1,254 KR yards (1st FCS)

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR — Elijah McGuire, UL- Lafayette

Voting – McGuire 13, Dixon 8, Bennett 4, Collins 3, Eagan 2, Willie Quinn (Southern) 1, Sokol 1, Johnathon Williams (Grambling) 1

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Christian Ringo, UL-Lafayette

Voting – Ringo 15, Beckwith 6, Corbett 6, Xavier Woods (Louisiana Tech) 3, Gerrand Johnson (ULM) 2, Beau Brewer (Louisiana College) 1

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR – Leonard Fournette, LSU

Voting – Fournette 16, Carlos Henderson (Louisiana Tech) 5, Austin Howard (Southern) 5, Korliss Johnson (Northwestern State) 3, Parry Nickerson (Tulane) 2, Ryan Ross (McNeese) 2

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR – Cody Sokol, Louisiana Tech

Voting – Sokol 23, Marion Chapman (Northwestern State) 10

COACH OF THE YEAR – Broderick Fobbs, Grambling State

Voting – Fobbs 24, Skip Holtz (Louisiana Tech) 4, Mark Hudspeth (UL-Louisiana) 3, Dawson Odums (Southern) 1, Ron Roberts (Southeastern) 1.

SECOND TEAM OFFENSE

OL – Zach Brown, Southern (Sr., Missouri City, Texas); Antoine Everett, McNeese (Sr., Richmond, Texas); Pace Murphy, Northwestern State (Jr., Houston, Texas); Brandon Porche, Louisiana College (Sr., Opelousas, La.); Mykhael Quave, UL-Lafayette (Gautier, Miss.).

RB – Leonard Fournette, LSU (Fr., New Orleans, La.); Lenard Tillery, Southern (So., Baton Rouge).

WR – Rashon Ceaser, ULM (Jr., Clinton, La.); Willie Quinn, Southern (Jr., Miami, Fla.)

TE – Alec Osborne, ULM (Jr., Geismar, La.)

QB – Cody Sokol, Louisiana Tech (Sr., Phoenix, Ariz.)

SECOND TEAM DEFENSE

DL – Leroy Armstrong, Northwestern State (Jr., Natchitoches, La.); Houston Bates, Louisiana Tech (Sr., Covington, La.); Kevin Dorn, McNeese (Sr., Pineville, La.); Royce LaFrance, Tulane (Jr., Harvey, La.); Arthur Miley, Southern (Sr., Mangham, La.).

LB — Beau Brewer, Louisiana College (Sr., Diana, Texas); Marion Chapman, Northwestern State (Sr., Waynesboro, Miss.); Hunter Kissinger, ULM (Jr., Springdale, Ark.).

DB – Lorenzo Doss, Tulane (Jr., New Orleans, La.); Ronald Martin, LSU (Sr., White Castle, La.); Aaron Sam, McNeese (Sr., Lake Charles, La.); Xavier Woods, Louisiana Tech (So., West Monroe, La.).

SECOND TEAM SPECIALISTS

K – Justin Manton, ULM (Sr., Prairieville, La.).

P – Daniel Cadona, UL-Lafayette (Sr., Toowoomba, Australia)

RS – Ira Jewitt, Louisiana College (Sr., Shreveport, La.)

HONORABLE MENTION

OFFENSE: OL — DeWayne Houston, Southern (Sr, Lafayette, La.). RB – Michael Henry, Nicholls (Jr., Baton Rouge, La.). WR – Devante Scott, Southeastern (Sr., Ferriday, La.); Trent Taylor, Louisiana Tech (So., Shreveport, La.). QB – Terrance Broadway, UL-Lafayette (Sr., Baton Rouge, La.). DEFENSE: DB – Harlan Miller, Southeastern (Jr., Kentwood, La.). Specialists: P – Justin Manton, ULM (Sr., Prairieville, La.). RS – Xavier Roberson, Southeastern (Jr., Atlanta, Ga.).