2012 SBN Black College All-American Team Annouced

(Pittsburgh, PA) –American Urban Radio Networks is proud to announce the 2012 SBN Sports Black College All-American (BCAA) Team. They will be honored at the 39^th Annual BCAA Awards Brunch and during the Black College Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony, February 16, 2013, in Atlanta, Georgia. SBN’s 2012 Black College National Champion Winston-Salem State Rams will also be honored with the SBN Sports Jake Gaither National Championship Trophy.

The 2012 SBN All-American Team is lead by eleven players from Winston-Salem State, Tennessee State and Alabama State, respectively. The TSU Tigers and WSSU Rams each had four members of their respective squads selected to the team. Individually, Winston-Salem State University quarterback Kameron Smith is the “SBN Sports Doug Williams Offensive Player of the Year,” University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff defensive lineman Brandon Thurmond is the “SBN Sports Mel Blount Defensive Player of the Year” and Winston-Salem State University Head Coach Connell Maynor is the “SBN Sports Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year.”

Kameron Smith, (5-11, 190, Sr., Garner, NC) Winston Salem State University, “SBN Sports | Doug Williams Offensive Player of the Year”

Smith was the Offensive Player of the Year in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA). During the 2012 season he completed 59 per cent of his pass attempts for 3,312 yards passing and 43 touchdowns. He also rushed for 337 yards and four touchdowns. Smith led Winston-Salem State to a 14-1 record and a runner-up finish in the NCAA Division II National Championship Game.

Brandon Thurmond (6-2, 260, Sr., Augusta, GA) University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff, “SBN Sports | Mel Blount Defensive Player of the Year”

Thurmond was the Defensive Player of the Year in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). He recorded 70 tackles, seven quarterback hurries, three recovered fumbles and one forced fumble. Thurmond led the nation in sacks with 17.5 and was second in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) with 28 tackles for loss. In the Golden Lions SWAC Championship Game win over Jackson State, Thurmond had six solo tackles, three tackles for loss and one sack.

Connell Maynor, Winston-Salem State University, “SBN Sports | Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year”

Maynor coached the Rams to a 14-1 overall record in 2012 and a second consecutive SBN Black College National Championship. In 2012 he led Winston-Salem State to a runner-up finish in the NCAA Division II Championship Game. The previous year, his Rams advanced to the semi-finals of the NCAA Division II Playoffs. In the last two seasons, Maynor is an outstanding 27-2 and the recipient of this award for a second consecutive season.

The 2012 SBN Sports Black College All-American Team, including Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, Coach of the Year and National Championship Team will be honored at the 39th Annual BCAA Awards Brunch and during the Black College Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony on Saturday, February 16, 2013, at the Loews Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia.

The SBN Black College All-American Awards (BCAA) recognizes and celebrates the academic and athletic achievements of student athletes who play football at America’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

SBN COACH OF THE YEAR – Connell Maynor, Winston-Salem State University