Charleston Southern tops All-Big South team

(STATS) - Charleston Southern is the lone Big South team in the FCS playoffs, so it makes a lot of sense that the Buccaneers dominated the league's postseason

(STATS) - Charleston Southern is the lone Big South team in the FCS playoffs, so it makes a lot of sense that the Buccaneers dominated the league's postseason awards and all-conference first team.

Jamey Chadwell's team put a league-best eight players on the squad, announced Tuesday, with Charleston Southern's leader being named the Big South's top coach for a second straight season and a third time in his four years at the helm.

Junior defensive lineman Anthony Ellis was voted the conference's top defensive player but the Buccaneers didn't have the top offensive player, with running back Mike Holloway finishing second to Gardner-Webb quarterback Tyrell Maxwell. The Runnin' Bulldogs junior threw for 1,646 yards and nine touchdowns while adding 977 rushing yards and eight TDs and even caught his first collegiate pass.

Charleston Southern's Darius Hammond was the league's top special teams player after averaging an FCS-best 33.7 yards per kick return while Gardner-Webb defensive back Jaylan Webb was named the Big South's top freshman.

Chadwell edged Kennesaw State's Brian Bohannon for top coach honors, getting 23 total points on the combined voting from the coaches and media - two more than Bohannon.

The Buccaneers' eight selections on the all-conference first team were two more than Kennesaw State, Gardner-Webb and Liberty, who each placed six players on a squad that contained 29 first-teamers with specialists included.

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BIG SOUTH POSTSEASON AWARDS=

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Tyrell Maxwell, QB, Gardner-Webb

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Anthony Ellis, DL, Charleston Southern

SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Darius Hammond, RS, Charleston Southern

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR - Jaylan Foster, DB, Gardner-Webb

COACH OF THE YEAR - Jamey Chadwell, Charleston Southern

ALL-BIG SOUTH FIRST TEAM

OFFENSE

QB - Tyrell Maxwell, Gardner-Webb

RB - Mike Holloway, Charleston Southern

RB - Chaston Bennett, Kennesaw State

WR - Reggie White Jr., Monmouth

WR - Justin Sumpter, Kennesaw State

WR - Dante' Shells, Liberty

TE - Mike Estes, Gardner-Webb

OL - Erik Austell, Charleston Southern

OL - Malik Letatau, Kennesaw State

OL - Frank Cirone, Charleston Southern

OL - David Sutton, Gardner-Webb

OL - Alex Thompson, Monmouth

DEFENSE

DL - Anthony Ellis, Charleston Southern

DL - Juwan Wells, Liberty

DL - Tonarius Portress, Kennesaw State

DL - Desmond Johnson, Kennesaw State

LB - Chad Geter, Gardner-Webb

LB - Solomon Brown, Charleston Southern

LB - Aaron Cook, Gardner-Webb

LB - Nick Newman, Liberty

DB - Mike Basile, Monmouth

DB - Troy McGowens, Charleston Southern

DB - Dante Blackmon, Kennesaw State

DB - Jaylan Foster, Gardner-Webb

SPECIAL TEAMS

PK - Alex Probert, Liberty

P - Trey Turner, Liberty

LS - Hunter Winstead, Liberty

KR - Darius Hammond, Charleston Southern

PR - Darius Hammond, Charleston Southern