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Taliaferro Named SoCon Freshman Of The Year; Four Bulldogs On Coaches' All-Conference Team
Nov. 25, 2008
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Samford quarterback Dustin Taliaferro was named the Southern Conference's Freshman of the Year when the league released its coaches' postseason awards on Tuesday. The SoCon also released its coaches' All-Conference and All-Freshman teams, and Samford placed four players on the All-Conference teams and two on the All-Freshman team. Appalachian State's Armanti Edwards was named the SoCon's Offensive Player of the Year, while teammate Jacque Roman was named the league's Defensive Player of the Year. ASU head coach Jerry Moore was named Coach of the Year, while Furman's Joel Bell received the Jacobs Blocking Award. Taliaferro had a stellar year as Samford's first-year quarterback. He completed 151-of-225 passes for 1,745 yards and 13 touchdowns. He had an efficiency rating of 146.88 for the season. He threw for a career-high 336 yards and three touchdowns against 18th-ranked Furman. Samford sophomore running back Chris Evans was named first team All-Conference. Evans led the SoCon in rushing and set a Samford single-season record with 1,284 yards on 260 carries. Evans averaged 116.7 yards per game and became the first running back in Samford history to rush for over 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons. Evans rushed for at least 100 yards in six of the team's eight Southern Conference games this season. Junior center Jon Weber, sophomore linebacker Bryce Smith and sophomore safety Andy Davis were named to the coaches' second team All-Conference team. Weber started all 11 games at center for the Bulldogs. He was one of the leaders of the offensive line that was one of the strengths of the Samford team this season, producing Samford's first back-to-back 1,000-yard rusher.
Smith led the Bulldogs in tackles this season with 92, including 63 solo stops. He also led the team with five interceptions on the season. Smith had a career-high 13 tackles and an interception in Samford's first Southern Conference game at eighth-ranked Elon. Despite missing two games with a shoulder injury, Davis finished fourth on the team in tackles with 45. Davis was tied for third on the team in interceptions with two. Davis had his strongest game in Samford's win at Georgia Southern. He had two key interceptions in the game, including one on GSU's final possession of the game to seal the win. Taliaferro was joined on the All-Freshman team by wide receiver Riley Hawkins. Hawkins led the team in receiving yards with 466 yards with four touchdowns. He also was the team's leading kick returner, with 26 returns for an average of 21.4 yards per return. Samford finished the 2008 season with a 6-5 record, the first winning season for the Bulldogs since 2003. The team finished 4-4 in Southern Conference play, good for a tie for fourth place after being picked to finish ninth out of nine teams in the league's preseason polls. 2008 Coaches All-Southern Conference Football Team
Offensive Player of the Year - Armanti Edwards, Appalachian State
First Team Offense
First Team Defense
First Team Specialists
Second Team Offense
Second Team Defense
Second Team Specialists 2008 Southern Conference All-Freshman Football Team
All-Freshman Offense
All-Freshman Defense
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Samford University Athletics Football
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