Six Trojans named to All-Sun Belt teams
Published 8:08 pm Wednesday, December 7, 2011
The Sun Belt Conference announced its annual postseason All-Sun Belt teams on Wednesday. Despite a 3-9 record, Troy landed six players on the team.
Junior defensive end Jonathan Massaquoi and senior left tackle James Brown earned first team honors, while sophomore wide receiver Eric Thomas and junior safety Bryden Trawick were named to the second team. Defensive tackle Tony Davis and linebacker Kanorris Davis were included as honorable mentions.
Massaquoi, who was selected as the Sun Belt’s preseason Defensive Player of the Year, recorded six sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss on the season. Massaquoi finished with 52 total tackles, 29 of which were solo stops.
Brown, who started all 12 games for the Trojans, will represent Troy in the Senior Bowl in Mobile in January. With a team-high 110 knockdowns, Brown was the lone Troy senior to earn a spot on the All-Sun Belt teams,
Trawick finished his season with the Trojans as the Sun Belt’s leading tackler with 123 total tackles. Trawick posted 75 solo tackles including a season-high 20 against Western Kentucky.
Despite a season plagued with injuries, Kanorris Davis tallied 60 tackles in 2011. Davis recorded 10 solo tackles in the game against Navy and did not even play in the second half.
Tony Davis registered 34 tackles including 2.5 sacks. Davis recovered a fumble against Florida International and returned it 29 yards for a touchdown on ESPN2.
“Every one of these guys are very deserving,” head coach Larry Blakeney said. “They worked very, very hard and had a good year for us.”
Blakeney also said that he was excited to have all but one of his stars returning.
“We’ve got most of the coming back,” he said. “They are going to come back and have a chance to lead this team.”
Arkansas State wide receiver Josh Jarboe, a Troy transfer, earned second team honors for the Red Wolves. Jarboe’s quarterback Ryan Aplin was named Sun Belt Player of the Year while ASU defensive lineman Brandon Joiner was handed the Defensive Player of the Year award. Arkansas State was unanimous champions of the conference with a 10-2 record and 8-0 in league play.
Western Kentucky running back Bobby Rainey was crowned Offensive Player of the Year and Red Wolves head coach Hugh Freeze was named Coach of the Year.