Hibbett headlines Daktronics All-Region teams as Offensive Player of the Year
Newberry, S.C. – The postseason accolades continue to pile up for Carson-Newman football running back Andy Hibbett (Corryton, Tenn.). The Harlon Hill Trophy finalist added Daktronics Super Region II Offensive Player of the Year to his postseason resume Wednesday morning.
In addition to Hibbett's first team all-region honor, the Eagles also placed safety Jerry Miclisse (Homestead, Fla.) on the all-region first team defense and offensive guard Robby Ignagni (Gallatin, Tenn.) on the second team offense.
Carson-Newman's three all-region honorees for the second most in the South Atlantic Conference behind league champion Lenoir-Rhyne.
Hibbett is C-N's first ever region Player of the Year honoree from Daktroniks; he became the third Carson-Newman player to make it the final round of the Harlon Hill Trophy voting. Quarterback Leonard Guyton was a finalists in 2002, while Tyrone Westmoreland was the first Harlon Hill finalists for C-N in 1997. Mars Hill running back Jonas Randolph is the only South Atlantic Conference player to win the award – doing so in 2011.
Hibbett produced a season for the ages for the Eagles. Hibbett set a school record by rushing for more than 100 yards in eight consecutive games. His 1,394 yards on the season are the eighth highest tally in school history. Hibbett secured his spot in the Eagle record books. With 37 career rushing touchdowns, he moved past Brandon Baker and Antwon Oliver and into sole possession of sixth place on the all-time rushing TD list.
He also winds up with 3,208 career rushing yards. That mark is also the eighth best in school history. Hibbett scored multiple touchdowns in seven games, including a pair of four-touchdown days. He is a two-time SAC offensive Player of the Week, three-time Bojangles Male Athlete of the Week and earned Tennessee Sportswriters Association Offensive Player of the Week honors once. Following the season, he earned first team All-SAC honors.
Hibbett ranked sixth in the nation in rushing yards per game and 10th in scoring. He had 18 TDs in his senior season – 16 on the ground and two through the air.
Hibbett led C-N in rushing in six games and produced four games where he rushed for at least 180 yards. With 30 carries and 221 yards against Tusculum, Hibbett had the 14th-best single game rushing yard tally in school history and its 32nd 200-yard rushing performance.
Throughout the season, Hibbett credited his line.
Against Mars Hill, the senior only had 191 yards and three TDs on seven carries. His 27.3 yards per rush is the second highest total among running backs with more than five carries in a game.
Hibbett's three touchdowns all came in the second half and helped put the game out of reach.
His first score came on a 58-yard dive, his second on a 65-yard scamper and his third on a 55-yard pitch that started to the right and finished with Hibbett meandering his way back left across the field to the pylon for a score.
Ignagni finished his Carson-Newman career as the program's all-time leader in knockdowns with 45. Ignagni started 38 consecutive games at right guard for the Eagles and helped clear the way for Eagle offenses that ranked first, fourth and third in the nation in rushing in his three seasons as a starter.
Ignagni helped lead the way for three different 1,000-yard rushers. Carson-Newman averaged 38 points, 360 yards rushing and 479 yards of total offense with him starting.
The senior is also the strongest member of the team with the best squat and bench press numbers of anyone on the offense or defense.
Miclisse was Carson-Newman's leading tackler in three games. The safety produced a career high 15 tackles against Brevard. That tally was the third best tally by a Carson-Newman defensive back in school history and the 20th most among all players.
Miclisse led the team in breakups with seven. His 62 tackles were second on the team and he produced four tackles for loss to boot.
He had eight tackles or more in three games and had two tackles for loss against Newberry.
Pos Name School Yr. Ht. Wt. Hometown Previous School
QB Tyler Sullivan Delta State So. 6-3 235 Louisville, Miss. NW Miss. CC/Winston Acad.
TE Gabe Hughes Florida Tech Jr. 6-4 235 Lighthouse Point, Fla. Western Michigan
WR Xavier Milton Florida Tech Sr. 6-0 190 Alameda, Calif. Laney College/Encinal HS
WR Dimitri Holmes 2 Mars Hill Sr. 5-10 165 Athens, Ga. Clarke Central HS
RB Andy Hibbett Carson-Newman Sr. 6-0 200 Corryton, Tenn. Gibbs HS
RB Jarvis Small Albany State Jr. 5-7 205 Brunswick, Ga. Brunswick HS
OL Garrison Ushery West Georgia Sr. 6-1 335 Austell, Ga. South Cobb HS
OL Joe Ray 1 Lenoir-Rhyne Jr. 6-1 270 Atlanta, Ga. Druid Hills HS
OL Keith Jones North Alabama Sr. 6-5 305 Birmingham, Ala. Samford/Hueytown HS
OL Michael Gibbs Delta State Sr. 6-2 300 Brandon, Miss. Hinds CC
OL Jim Bayer Lenoir-Rhyne Sr. 6-1 275 Lawrenceville, Ga. Collins Hill HS
RS Denarius Appling West Georgia Sr. 5-7 155 Griffin, Ga. Griffin HS
K Justin Powell Lenoir-Rhyne Sr. 5-9 170 Connelly Springs, N.C. East Burke HS
FIRST TEAM DEFENSE
Pos Name School Yr. Ht. Wt. Hometown Previous School
DL Blake Baker 1 Lenoir-Rhyne Sr. 6-1 250 Bethlehem, N.C. Alexander Central HS
DL Randall Boyd Delta State Jr. 6-0 245 Forest, Miss. Itawamba CC/Forest HS
DL Nick Napolitano Wingate Sr. 6-3 255 Shallotte, N.C. West Brunswick HS
LB Tanner Botts 2 Lenoir-Rhyne Sr. 6-2 215 Lawrenceville, Ga. Peachtree Ridge HS
LB LeRon Furr Fort Valley State Sr. 6-3 240 Columbus, Ga. Carver HS
LB Kenny Murphy Valdosta State Jr. 5-11 165 St. Petersburg, Fla. Georgia Southern
LB Rory Island Delta State Sr. 6-0 225 Waveland, Miss. Bay HS
S Fred Barnes West Alabama Sr. 6-0 180 College Park, Ga. Martin Luther King, Jr. HS
S Jerry Miclisse Carson-Newman So. 6-2 195 Homestead, Fla. Bayside Palm Bay HS
CB Travis Lee Miles Sr. 6-1 185 Atlanta, Ga. Tuskegee
CB Philbert Martial 2(RS) North Alabama So. 5-10 175 Mobile, Ala. McGill-Toolen HS
P Jake Medlock Valdosta State Sr. 6-3 225 Jacksonville, Fla. Florida International
SECOND TEAM OFFENSE
Pos Name School Yr. Ht. Wt. Hometown Previous School
QB Kyle Caldwell West Alabama Sr. 5-7 165 Dadeville, Ala. Dadeville HS
TE Brandon Ellington Wingate Sr. 6-5 250 Wilmington, N.C. E.A. Laney HS
WR Casey Osborne Delta State Jr. 6-3 205 Flowery Branch, Ga. Flowery Branch HS
WR Delvon Carpenter North Alabama Jr. 6-1 175 Houston, Texas N.M. Military/Westbury HS
RB Chris Robinson Lenoir-Rhyne Sr. 5-8 205 Newnan, Ga. Newnan HS
RB Jarrod Spears Lenoir-Rhyne Sr. 5-9 190 Bunnlevel, N.C. Harnett Central HS
OL Robby Ignagni 1 Carson-Newman Sr. 6-3 320 Gallatin, Tenn. Station Camp HS
OL Terrence Owens Miles Jr. 6-1 295 Greenville, Ala. Greenville HS
OL Denzell Goode Mars Hill Jr. 6-7 320 Gaffney, S.C. N.C. State/Gaffney HS
OL Quincy Awa-Dubose West Georgia Sr. 6-2 320 Oxnard, Calif. Rio Mesa HS
OL Taylor Fender Catawba Sr. 6-3 315 Burnsville, N.C. Mountain Heritage HS
RS L.J. Stroman 1, CB UNC Pembroke Sr. 5-10 185 Hamlet, N.C. Richmond Senior HS
K Taylor Pontius North Alabama Sr. 5-11 180 Biloxi, Miss. Miss. Gulf Coast HS/Biloxi HS
SECOND TEAM DEFENSE
Pos Name School Yr. Ht. Wt. Hometown Previous School
DL Darrius Caldwell West Georgia Jr. 6-6 245 Atlanta, Ga. Mays HS
DL Caushaud Lyons Tusculum Sr. 6-5 295 Ellenwood, Ga. Woodland HS
DL Taylor Carney 2 North Alabama Sr. 6-2 275 Killen, Ala. Lambuth/Brooks HS
LB Tavarius Washington Albany State Jr. 6-2 230 Keysville, Ga. Burke Co. HS
LB Braysean Jones Miles Jr. 6-1 205 Montgomery, Ala. Robert E. Lee HS
LB Steven Rich North Alabama Sr. 6-3 210 Savannah, Tenn. Austin Peay/Hardin Co. HS
LB Bre'nard Williams Clark Atlanta Sr. 5-11 230 Omega, Ga. Tift Co. HS
S Richard Nash Delta State Jr. 5-9 180 Macon, Ga. Georgia Military College
S Brandon Hathaway Wingate Jr. 5-10 190 Smyrna, Tenn. Smyrna HS
CB O'neil Blake Lenoir-Rhyne Sr. 5-9 190 Kissimmee, Fla. Glenville State
CB Romelo Wilson Delta State So. 5-11 170 Ewa Beach, Hawai'i James Campbell HS
P Kyle Clark 2 Newberry Jr. 6-4 170 Beaufort, S.C. Beaufort HS
