(BOXTOROW) – Twenty-nine players were selected to the 10th annual BOXTOROW All-America team. BOXTOROW has administered the All-America team since 2007 and the voters are comprised of media members from around the nation that cover HBCU football.
The offense is headlined by top vote-getter, North Carolina A&T senior running back Tarik Cohen, who is a BOXTOROW All-American for the third-straight year. The defense is headlined by South Carolina State linebacker Darius Leonard.
Grambling leads all teams with five selections, while North Carolina A&T has four and Southern and Tennessee State have three a piece. Ten of the players were named to the 2015 BOXTOROW All-America team.
Cohen was named MEAC Offensive Player of the Year for the third-straight year and finished fifth in the Walter Payton voting for the best offensive player in FCS. The Bunn, N.C. native leads the MEAC in rushing yards and is third in the FCS in rushing (1,588), and is second in FCS in rushing touchdowns (18). Earlier this year he became the MEAC’s all-time leading rusher. Cohen was the 2013 BOXTOROW Rookie of the Year.
Leonard was the leading vote-getter on defense. The senior from Lake View, S.C. leads the MEAC and is sixth in FCS in tackles (124). He also is fourth in MEAC in tackles for loss (14.5) and is tied for the lead in the MEAC in forced fumbles (4). His biggest game of the year was against Clemson when he registered 19 tackles.
The BOXTOROW National Superlative and Player of the Year awards will be announced Wednesday.
2016 BOXTOROW All-America Team
OFFENSE
QB: DeVante Kincade, Grambling, Jr., Dallas, Texas
RB: Tarik Cohen, North Carolina A&T, Sr., Bunn, N.C. %
RB: Lenard Tillery, Southern, r-Sr., Baton Rouge, La.$
OL: Brandon Parker, North Carolina A&T, r-Jr., Kannapolis, N.C. $
OL: Jessamen Dunker, Tennessee State, r-Sr., Boynton Beach, Fla.
OL: Carl Jones, North Carolina Central, r-Sr., Nashville, Tenn. $
OL: Justin Miller, Grambling, Sr., Ruston, La. $
OL: Jac’Que Polite, Winston-Salem State, Sr., Ridgeland, S.C.
TE: Victor Tabbs, Elizabeth City State, Sr., Suitland, Md.
WR: Chad Williams, Grambling, Jr., Baton Rouge, La.
WR: Nyme Manns , Bowie State, r-Sr., Baltimore, Md. $
DEFENSE
DL: Whitney Richardson, Lane, Jr., Perkinston, Miss.
DL: Javancy Jones , Jackson State, Sr., Macon, Miss. $
DL: Marquis Ragland, North Carolina A&T, r-Sr., Fayetteville, N.C. $
DL: Marquis Smith, Savannah State, Sr., District Heights, Md. *
DL: Donovan McCray, Grambling, Sr., Baton Rouge, La.*
LB: Darius Leonard, South Carolina State, r-Jr., Lake View, S.C.
LB: Jeremy Taylor, North Carolina A&T, r-Jr., Kinston, N.C.
LB: Osband Thompson, Tuskegee, Jr., Miami, Fla.
DB: Danny Johnson, Southern, Jr., East Feliciana, La.
DB: Phillip Henry, South Carolina State, r-Sr., Manning, S.C.
DB: Carlo Thomas , Johnson C. Smith, Soph., East Orange, N.J. $
DB: Malcolm Cherry, Elizabeth City State, Sr., Lewiston, N.C.*
DB: Ezra Robinson, Tennessee State, r-Sr., Sarasota, Fla.*
SPECIALIST
P: John Barron, Savannah State, Sr., Marietta, Ga.
PK: Lane Clark, Tennessee State, Jr., Hays, Kan.
RS: Willie Quinn, Southern, Sr., Miami, Fla.%
PR: Mike Jones, North Carolina Central, r-Jr., Baltimore, Md.
KR: Martez Carter, Grambling, Jr., Monroe, La.
*Indicates tie
$2015 BOXTOROW All-American
%three-time BOXTOROW All-American
Honorable Mention
QB: Malcolm Bell, North Carolina Central
OL: Toree Boyd Howard; Leeward Brown Tuskegee
TE: Dillon Beard Southern, Leon Gilbert, Tuskegee
WR: Rashawn Proctor, Hampton; Willie Quinn, Southern; LaVontis Smith, North Carolina Central
DL: Jarrell Bright, Winston-Salem State; Bryant Frazier, Virginia State; Frederick Henry-Ajudua North Carolina Central; Angelo Keyes, North Carolina A&T; Ebenezer Ogundeko, Tennessee State; Miles Pace, Virginia Union; Samuel Reese, Grambling; Aaron Tiller, Southern
LB: Darien Anderson, Alcorn State; Kourtney Berry, Alabama State; Arkez Cooper, Grambling; Geo Feggins, Virginia State
DB: Jacques Bryant, Florida A&M; Jameel Jackson, Grambling; Mike Jones, North Carolina Central; Guy Stallworth, Grambling
P: Eric Medina, Texas Southern
PK: Eric Medina, Texas Southern
RS: Chris Rowland, Tennessee State
KR: Khris Gardin, North Carolina A&T
