Last Updated on July 22, 2024 1:06 pm
NEW ORLEANS — The Sun Belt Conference announced its 2024 Preseason All-Sun Belt Teams, individual awards and Preseason Poll on Monday.
App State senior quarterback Joey Aguilar was named the Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, while Old Dominion senior linebacker Jason Henderson was dubbed the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.
Aguilar—the 2023 Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year and an All-Sun Belt Second Team honoree—set the App State single-season program records for passing yards (3,757), passing touchdowns (33), total offense (4,002), passing attempts (460) and completions (293) in 2023. Henderson—a two-time All-Sun Belt First Team pick—led the nation with 15.5 tackles per game and 186 total tackles as a sophomore in 2022 and led the nation with 14.2 tackles per game and ranked second in the country with 170 tackles in 2023. Henderson was also named the Sun Belt Preseason Defensive Player of the Year in 2023.
App State, Arkansas State and Georgia Southern paced all conference programs with nine Preseason All-Sun Belt picks apiece. The Mountaineers, Red Wolves and Eagles were closely followed by Texas State (8), James Madison (5) and Louisiana (5). 12-of-14 Sun Belt programs were represented by at least one student-athlete across the two Preseason All-Sun Belt teams.
App State led all teams with seven First Team picks, while Texas State (6), Georgia Southern (5), Arkansas State (3), James Madison (2) and Louisiana (2) also produced multiple First Team honorees. Arkansas State tallied a conference-high six Second Team selections, followed by four from Georgia Southern and three from James Madison and Louisiana.
App State was picked to finish atop the Sun Belt East Division in the Sun Belt Conference Football Preseason Coaches Poll. The Mountaineers claimed 12-of-14 first-place votes, with James Madison receiving the remaining two first-place nods.
Texas State was picked to claim the Sun Belt West Division crown and qualify for its first-ever Hercules Tires Sun Belt Football Championship Game. The Bobcats earned 9-of-14 first-place votes, with two-time defending Sun Belt champion Troy receiving two first-place votes and four-time Hercules Tires Sun Belt Football Championship Game qualifier Louisiana earning one first-place nod.
Troy defeated App State, 49-23, in the 2023 Hercules Tires Sun Belt Football Championship Game—claiming back-to-back conference titles and keeping the home team undefeated in the six-year history of the postseason contest.
The Sun Belt is coming off a 2023 campaign in which it defeated a conference-record four autonomy five programs, hosted ESPN’s College GameDay for the third time in four seasons and produced a conference-record and FBS-leading 12 Bowl Season participants.
The 2024 Sun Belt football season will officially kick off with Sun Belt Football Media Days on Tuesday, July 23, and Wednesday, July 24. The East Division head coaches and student-athletes will appear on Tuesday, with the West Division to follow on Wednesday.
The entire event will be broadcast nationwide on ESPN+. This year's expanded multicast will include two separate feeds—the traditional Sun Belt Football Media Days Show, which will incorporate portions of the Main Stage and Sun Belt Studio appearances from each team alongside analysis from hosts Matt Stewart and Rocky Boiman, and the new Sun Belt Football Media Days Podium Feed, which will showcase the Main Stage appearances from each team in their entirety.
For exclusive Sun Belt football content on game days and throughout the 2024 season, follow @SunBeltFB on X.
2024 SUN BELT CONFERENCE FOOTBALL PRESEASON AWARDS
Preseason Offensive Player of the Year
Joey Aguilar, App State (Sr., QB – Antioch, Calif.)
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
Jason Henderson, Old Dominion (Sr., LB – Dingmans Ferry, Pa.)
Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team Offense^
QB – Joey Aguilar, App State (Sr., QB – Antioch, Calif.)
QB – Jordan McCloud, Texas State (RS Sr., QB – Tampa, Fla.)
RB – Jalen White, Georgia Southern (5th Yr., RB – Daleville, Ala.)
RB – Ismail Mahdi, Texas State (Jr., RB – Murphy, Texas)
OL – Jacob Bayer, Arkansas State (Sr., OL – Grandview, Texas)
OL – Makilan Thomas, Arkansas State (RS Jr., OL – Little Rock, Ark.)
OL – Cole Potts, James Madison (Sr., OL – Johnstown, Ohio)
OL – AJ Gillie, Louisiana (RS Sr., OL – Natchitoches, La.)
OL – Daniel King, Troy (Sr., OL – Cairo, Ga.)
TE – Eli Wilson, App State (Sr., TE – Piedmont, S.C.)
WR – Kaedin Robinson, App State (RS Sr., WR – Asheville, N.C.)
WR – Derwin Burgess Jr., Georgia Southern (Sr., WR – Riverdale, Ga.)
WR – Joey Hobert, Texas State (Sr., WR – San Clemente, Calif.)
Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team Defense
DL – Santana Hopper, App State (RS So., DL – Shelby, N.C.)
DL – Nate Martey, Arkansas State (Sr., DL – Ottawa, Ontario, Canada)
DL – Justin Rhodes, Georgia Southern (5th Yr., DL – Durham, N.C.)
DL – Isaac Walker, Georgia Southern (RS Jr., DL – Greensboro, N.C.)
LB – Nate Johnson, App State (So., LB – Gaffney, S.C.)
LB – Marques Watson-Trent, Georgia Southern (RS Sr., LB – Pittsburgh, Pa.)
LB – Jason Henderson, Old Dominion (Sr., LB – Dingmans Ferry, Pa.)
LB – Ben Bell, Texas State (Sr., LB – Cedar Park, Texas)
DB – Jordan Favors, App State (RS Jr., DB – Griffin, Ga.)
DB – Ethan Johnson, App State (Jr., DB – Huntersville, N.C.)
DB – Gavin Pringle, Georgia State (RS Sr., DB – Baltimore, Md.)
DB – Jaden Voisin, South Alabama (RS Sr., DB – Crestview, Fla.)
Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team Special Teams
K – Mason Shipley, Texas State (RS Jr., K – Liberty Hill, Texas)
P – Ryan Hanson, James Madison (RS Sr., P – Elgin, Texas)
RS – Zylan Perry, Louisiana (RS So., RS – Franklin, La.)
AP – Ismail Mahdi, Texas State (Jr., AP – Murphy, Texas)
Preseason All-Sun Belt Second Team Offense^
QB – Jaylen Raynor, Arkansas State (So., QB – Kernersville, N.C.)
RB – Kanye Roberts, App State (RS So., RB – Wallace, N.C.)
RB – Ja’Quez Cross, Arkansas State (RS Jr., RB – Hampton, Ark.)
OL – Chandler Strong, Georgia Southern (RS So., OL – Warner Robins, Ga.)
OL – Pichon Wimbley, Georgia Southern (Jr., OL – Newnan, Ga.)
OL – Tyshawn Wyatt, James Madison (Sr., OL – Richmond, Va.)
OL – Logan Osburn, Marshall (RS Sr., OL – Ona, W.Va.)
OL – Eli Russ, Troy (Jr., OL – Ardmore, Okla.)
TE – Kendall Karr, Coastal Carolina (RS Sr., TE – Belmont, N.C.)
WR – Courtney Jackson, Arkansas State (RS Sr., WR – Monroeville, Pa.)
WR – Corey Rucker, Arkansas State (RS Jr., WR – Bentonia, Miss.)
WR – Jamaal Pritchett, South Alabama (Sr., WR – Jackson, Ala.)
WR – Kole Wilson, Texas State (Jr., WR – Katy, Texas)
Preseason All-Sun Belt Second Team Defense
DL – Will Whitson, Coastal Carolina (Gr., DL – Cincinnati, Ohio)
DL – Eric O’Neill, James Madison (RS Jr., DL – Staten Island, N.Y.)
DL – Jordan Lawson, Louisiana (RS Jr., DL – Brandon, Miss.)
DL – Denzel Lowry, Old Dominion (RS Jr., DL – Virginia Beach, Va.)
DL – Wy’Kevious Thomas, South Alabama (RS Sr., DL – Riverdale, Ga.)
LB – Charles Willekes, Arkansas State (RS Sr., LB – Rockford, Mich.)
LB – Kevin Swint, Georgia State (Sr., LB – Carrollton, Ga.)
LB – KC Ossai, Louisiana (Sr., LB – Conroe, Texas)
DB – TJ Smith, Georgia Southern (RS Sr., DB – Atlanta, Ga.)
DB – Chauncey Logan, James Madison (Jr., DB – Salem, Va.)
DB – Tyrone Lewis Jr., Louisiana (RS Sr., DB – Hammond, La.)
DB – Kaleb Culp, Texas State (Sr., DB – Dallas, Texas)
Preseason All-Sun Belt Second Team Special Teams
K – Michael Hughes, App State (Sr., K – Charleston, W.Va.)
P – Robert Cole, Troy (Sr., P – Coral Springs, Fla.)
RS – DeAndre Buchannon, Georgia Southern (So., RS – Atlanta, Ga.)
AP – Ja’Quez Cross, Arkansas State (RS Jr., AP – Hampton, Ark.)
^ Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team & Second Team Offense Expanded Due to Ties in Voting
2024 SUN BELT CONFERENCE FOOTBALL PRESEASON COACHES POLL
East Division
1. App State – 96 Points (12)
2. James Madison – 79 Points (2)
3. Coastal Carolina – 67 Points
4. Georgia Southern – 50 Points
5. Marshall – 49 Points
6. Old Dominion – 32 Points
7. Georgia State – 19 Points
West Division
1. Texas State – 92 Points (9)
2. Troy – 68 Points (4)
3. Louisiana – 66 Points (1)
4. Arkansas State – 65 Points
5. South Alabama – 54 Points
6. Southern Miss – 31 Points
7. ULM – 16 Points
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