Curtis and Lakes Headline Mercer's Six Preseason All-SoCon Selections
7/22/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Mercer University's Chandler Curtis and Alex Lakes were named to the Preseason All-Southern Conference First Team, headlining six Bears on the coaches' preseason teams as released at the league's annual Football Media Day on Wednesday afternoon.
The SoCon also released the preseason polls for both the coaches and the media at the event in Spartanburg, S.C. with Mercer finishing sixth in both polls. Defending champion Chattanooga was picked as the favorite by both groups, while Samford (coaches) and Western Carolina (media) each garnered second-place predictions.
The Bears' defense helped add to the program's awards haul, placing three individuals on the Preseason All-Socon Second Team. Senior defensive back Alex Avant, defensive tackle Austin Barrett and linebacker Tyler Ward represented the defense, while sophomore punter Matt Shiel, a transfer from Auburn, gave Mercer its sixth honoree with second team honors as well.
Curtis added his second preseason honor of 2015, after becoming the first player in program history to receive STATS Preseason All-America recognition. The Calhoun, Ga., native led the FCS with four return touchdowns last season, while also topping the SoCon with 119.2 all-purpose yards per game.
Lakes established himself as one of the league's top running backs during his redshirt freshman campaign, rushing for a SoCon-best 1,107 yards and 17 touchdowns en route to First Team All-SoCon honors. The Jerry Rice Award finalist eclipsed the century mark in rushing six times in 2014, while compiling a SoCon-best 92.3 yards rushing per contest.
Avant heads into his final season in Macon as one of the league's top lockdown corners, after leading the SoCon and ranking second nationally with 19 passes defended a year ago. The senior corner also finished second on the team with 58 tackles, while adding three interceptions.
Barrett earned SoCon All-Freshman team recognition in 2014, after tallying 30 tackles and an interception from his defensive tackle position. The 6-foot-2, 295-pound rising sophomore recorded multiple tackles in seven games a year ago, including a season-best seven stops in a win over Ave Maria.
Ward broke his own school record with 104 tackles in 2014 en route to Second Team All-SoCon accolades. The rising junior, who set the program's single-game record with 18 stops against Furman, reached double-figure tackles in five contests, while also tallying five tackles-for-loss and one interception.
Shiel enters fall camp as the projected starting punter, after pinning a pair of punts inside the 20-yard line during his freshman season at Auburn. A native of Doncaster Australia, Shiel brings a rugby-style punter to the Bears' special teams unit.
Click here for a full list of the SoCon's preseason awards and football polls.
