Four SAC Players Named To Football Gazette All-America Team

PITTSBURG, Kan. - Newberry College's Heath Benedict has been named first team All-American and Offensive Lineman of the Year by Don Hansen's Football Gazette, it was announced today.

Benedict was one of four South Atlantic Conference football players named to the All-America team.

Wingate University's Chris Conklin and Kenwin Cummings were both named to the second team, while Catawba College's Ron Ellington was named to the third team. Carson-Newman College linebacker Eric Rice was named an honorable mention, as were Catawba offensive lineman Terence Crosby and running back Kory Fisher and Mars Hill College defensive back Rashawn Champion.

This marks the 20th year Don Hansen's Football Gazette, a recognized authority on small college football, has selected an NCAA Division II All-America team. The national publication selected All-Region teams with the first-team and second-team All-Region players from each of the four geographic regions (Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, Southwest) comprising the national ballot, which was voted upon by a select national panel.

Heath Benedict

A total of 146 players earned some form of Football Gazette All-America honors. Players from 72 of the 150 football-playing schools in Division II earned Football Gazette All-America accolades. National runner-up NW Missouri State led the way by placing four players on the first-team All-America squad.

To view the entire Don Hansen's Football Gazette All-American team listing, click here.

Heath Benedict

Benedict, who recently started in the 2008 Under Armour Senior Bowl and will be participating in the NFL Combine at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, earned his fourth All-American award of the season.

The senior from Greer, S.C., was named a finalist for the Gene Upshaw Award for the second straight year and won the South Atlantic Conference's Jacobs Blocking Trophy for the second consecutive season.

Chris Conklin, Kenwin Cummings

Chris Conklin

Kenwin Cummings

Conklin played for the East team in the 2008 edition of the Valero Cactus Bowl. Earlier, he was named to the 2007 Don Hansen's Football Gazette and the Daktronics All-Southeast Region football first teams. He was the top vote-getter among Southeast Region tight ends on the Daktronics team. Conklin is a repeat performer, as he earned Don Hansen's Football Gazette first team All-Southeast Region honors in 2006.

In 2007, Chris Conklin earned first team All-SAC honors for the second year in a row. Conklin led SAC tight ends with 30 catches for 446 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2007. His 10 touchdowns were the most of any SAC receiver (WR, TE, RB) this year.

On the 2007 Wingate scoring charts, Conklin was third in scoring behind redshirt senior place-kicker Jonathan Beford (68) and redshirt freshman tailback Nelson Woods (66). In 2006, Conklin led SAC tight ends with 25 catches for 438 yards and four touchdowns. A 6-4, 255-pound tight end, Conklin is a graduate of Southern Alamance High School.

A 6-2, 270-pound graduate of Purnell Swett High School, Cummings earns Don Hansen's Football Gazette NCAA Division II All-America honors for the second time in his illustrious career. He was named to Don Hansen's Football Gazette NCAA Division II All-America first team in 2005. Cummings was a Don Hansen's Football Gazette second team All-Southeast Region choice in 2007 after earning first team honors in 2005 and 2006.

A first team All-South Atlantic Conference performer for three seasons, Cummings led the league in quarterback sacks (7.5) and tackles for loss (18) in 2007. He recorded 71 tackles during his senior season (fifth on the Wingate charts).

As a junior, Cummings led the SAC in tackles for loss (17.5), quarterback hurries (15) and quarterback sacks (nine). He compiled 66 tackles and three forced fumbles in 2006. In 2005, he had 71 tackles, eight sacks, 10 tackles for a loss, three forced fumbles and eight QB hurries.

Ron Ellington

Ellington led the defense this season with 7.5 sacks and 15 stops for losses. He totaled 70 tackles, forced four fumbles and recovered two, one of which he returned for a touchdown in Catawba's playoff win over Albany State.

Ron Ellington

For his career, Ellington finished third all-time at Catawba with 26 sacks, including a school-best seven in a win over Mars Hill as a sophomore. He posted 206 career tackles with 52 of those being for losses.