The top defensive players from the Mid-Eastern Athletic and Southwestern Athletic conferences are among the six HBCU players earning spots on College Sports Madness’ 2015 Football Championship Subdivision All-America Team.
South Carolina State defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, Alabama State linebacker Kourtney Berry and Norfolk State linebacker Deon King were named to the first-team defense. Southern kick returner Willie Quinn landed on the first-team offense.
North Carolina A&T landed two players on the team. Punt returner Khris Gardin was named to the second-team defense and kick returner Tony McCrae landed on the third-team offense.
Hargrave, the two-time MEAC defensive player of the year, finished the season with 59 total tackles (43 solo), 13 sacks and 20 tackles. Hargrave led the conference is sacks while finishing second in tackles for loss. Those numbers placed him fifth in FCS.
Berry, the two-time SWAC defensive player of the year, led the SWAC in tackles with 130 stops — fifth in FCS. He racked up double-digit tackles in seven games, including a season-high 19 against Grambling State.
King led the MEAC and nation with 163 total tackles. He also led the MEAC in solo tackles (77), which was third best in FCS.
Quinn, a wide receiver, is the lone SWAC or MEAC offensive player on the first team. Quinn finished the season sixth in FCS in kickoff return average (28.8 yards per return) and a FCS-best four kickoff returns for scores.
Gardin, a wide receiver, led the MEAC and the nation in punt return average (22.2 yards/return) and tied with two other players nationally for the most punt returns for touchdowns (2).
McRae, a defensive back, ranked 10th in FCS in kickoff return average (28.1 yards/return) and tied for second in kickoff returns for touchdowns (2). Those numbers were tops in the MEAC in their respective categories.
[…] Five of the six players honored by the AP — Hebert, Hargrave, King, Quinn and Berry — also received All-America honors from either STATS and College Sports Madness. […]