NEW ORLEANS – Seniors Gerald Everett and Randy Allen along with junior Jeremy Reaves were named first-team all-Sun Belt Conference and were part of a group of 10 University of South Alabama football student-athletes who were honored as part of the league's annual postseason awards announced by the league office on Wednesday.

With his selection, Everett becomes the first two-time first-team all-Sun Belt selection at South in program history.  The all-league honor is the first of Allen's career, while it marks the second-straight season that Reaves has received postseason accolades from the conference as he was a second-team selection a year ago.

Wide receiver Josh Magee and punter Brandon McKee both earned second-team all-SBC honors as well on Wednesday, while linebacker Roman Buchanan, safety Kalen Jackson, running back Xavier Johnson and wide receiver Kevin Kutchera received honorable mention honors.  Junior linebacker Darrell Songy was the Jaguars' representative on the All-Newcomer Team.

Everett led the Jags for the second-straight season with 49 receptions and 717 yards to go along with his four touchdowns.  The senior tight end ranked in the top five of the league in both receiving yards (fourth) and receptions per game (fifth).  The Lithonia, Ga., native ended the regular season ranked second nationally in receiving yards per game and third in receiving yards and receptions per game nationally among tight ends.  Entering South's bowl game later this month, Everett is in the top five in three single-season categories – 100-yard games (T-second), receiving yards (third) and receptions (fourth), as well as the top five on four other career lists at USA – 100-yard games and touchdown receptions  (third), yards receiving (fourth) and receptions (fifth).  Everett was one of eight semifinalists for the John Mackey Award, presented to the nation's top tight end, and has already accepted an invitation to compete in the 2017 Reese's Senior Bowl.

Allen, a native of Sacramento, Calif., emerged as one of the top defensive linemen in the nation this fall as he concluded the regular season with 64 total tackles including 11 sacks and 18 tackles for loss.  Allen is second in the Sun Belt in tackles for loss and third in sacks.  He is tied for 15th in the NCAA in tackles behind the line of scrimmage, while his sack tally is tied for 11th-most in the NCAA, setting new single-season marks for the program in both categories.  Allen also forced three fumbles and recovered two more during the 2016 season.  

After earning preseason first-team accolades, Reaves lived up to those expectations as the junior defensive back posted 77 total tackles, including 5 ½  for loss, which was third-most on the club.  The Pensacola, Fla., native also had seven pass break ups and three interceptions on the year, and his 10 passes defended were tied for sixth in the league.  Reaves ranks third and fourth, respectively, on South's single-season charts in pass break ups and interceptions.

Magee, who also earned second-team honors during the preseason, was the Jaguars' second-leading receiver closing out the regular season with 668 yards on 44 receptions for an average of 15.2 yards per catch.  Magee also tied Everett for second on the Jag roster with four touchdown receptions.  His 60.73 yards per game were third-most in the Sun Belt this season.

McKee has had a career year in his final collegiate season as he currently leads the Sun Belt and ranks 13th in the NCAA with a 44.52 yards-per-kick average.  Of his 44 punts, 24 were downed inside the 20-yard line (54.6%), while 14 went for 50 or more yards.  McKee recorded a season-best punt of 74 yards against Troy and was twice selected as the league's special teams player of the week during the year earning the honor after South's wins over Presbyterian (11/21) and Georgia State (10/31).  The senior currently holds the program's single-season mark in average and his 24 punts inside the 20 are second-most in a season, just four shy of the current mark.

After switching to a new position for his final collegiate season, Buchanan picked up the second all-conference honor of his career with the honorable mention selection after earning second-team accolades at the end of the 2015 campaign.  The 6-foot-2 senior linebacker ranked in the top 20 in the league in both tackles for loss (18th – 9.0) and total tackles (T-20th – 80).  Of his 80 tackles, 50 were of the solo variety, while Buchanan also recorded three pass break ups, one interception and one forced fumble to go along with being credited with a quarterback hurry.  He was selected as the SBC Defensive Player of the Week after USA's season-opening win at Mississippi State.  Buchanan will end his career ranked second on the program's tackles chart as he currently has 256 during his four-year career.

Despite having his senior year cut short after suffering an injury against Troy, Jackson was still rewarded for his play earning honorable mention honors for the second-straight season.  In seven games, Jackson posted 48 total tackles – 30 solo and 18 assisted – while also registering eight tackles for loss, two sacks, a pass break up, two quarterback hurries, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.  Jackson recorded a season-high 12 tackles during week three of the season at Louisiana-Lafayette.

In his third year with the program, Johnson continued to cement himself as one of the top all-purpose players in the Sun Belt.  After appearing in 11 regular-season games, the Tampa, Fla., resident picked up honorable mention all-league honors for the second consecutive year after leading the Sun Belt in all-purpose yards (122.7) and ending the regular season just outside the top 50 nationally in that category.  The 5-foot-11 running back is sixth in the SBC in rushing with 71.5 yards per game.  Johnson averaged 5.4 yards per carry, which was tied for second-highest tally among the top 10 running backs of the league.  Entering the postseason, Johnson has rushed for 787 yards on 147 attempts, while leading South with 11 total touchdowns, and has posted 10 rushing scores, which are tied for second-most in a single season at USA.  In the Jaguars' 35-28 win against New Mexico State, Johnson became the first player in program history to rush for three touchdowns in a game against an NCAA FBS opponent, the last of which proved to be the final margin of victory.  Johnson was also one of the top return men in the Sun Belt as he averaged 23.9 yards per return and recorded the second kick return for a score of his career on a 95-yard run back against Nicholls State.

After recording just nine catches for 97 yards in his first season in a Jaguar uniform a year ago, Kutchera emerged as one of South's go-to receivers during the 2016 campaign.  The 6-foot-3 wide receiver ranked third on the club with 29 receptions, 523 yards and a 47.5 yards-per-game average, while his lone touchdown reception came in South's 42-24 win over then 19th-ranked San Diego State – a 37-yard diving reception to put USA up 14-7 in the first quarter.  Kutchera currently ranks 10th in the Sun Belt in yards receiving per game.

In his first season with the program after transferring from Garden City (Kan.) CC, Songy concluded the regular season with a team-high 84 total tackles, which ranks 16th in the Sun Belt with 7.0 tackles per outing.  He finished the regular season with three double-digit tackle efforts, including a season-high 14 at Arkansas State.  Of his 84 stops, 45 were solo which tied for second-most on the team with Buchanan.  Songy also added 5 ½ tackles for loss, which included a sack.  His four quarterback hurries were third-most on the team, while he also added a pass break up, a fumble recovery and a forced fumble.  

Appalachian State was the lone team in the league to have multiple players pick up individual awards for the season as Jalin Moore was selected as the Offensive Player of the Year and Clifton Duck was named the top freshman.  Arkansas State's Ja'Von Rolland-Jones was named the league's player of the year.  Rashad Dillard of Troy (Defensive) and Idaho's Aikeem Coleman (Newcomer) also earned one of the five individual postseason honors.  Vandal head coach Paul Petrino was selected as the Sun Belt's Coach of the Year after helping lead his team to eight regular-season wins.

South Alabama (6-6) will continue preparations for the NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl set to kick off at 4:30 p.m. (CST) on Friday, Dec. 30 at Arizona Stadium.  The game versus Air Force (9-3) will be televised live nationally by the American Sports Network and also streamed on www.CampusInsiders.com.  

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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