Six Pioneers were also named to the Preseason All-SAC Football Team. Justice Parham, Thomas Mahoney and Jordan Taylor were named to the first team while Cortney Jackson, Ben Shellenback and Dajavon White garnered second team recognition.
Tusculum received 76 total points of a vote of the league's 12 head coaches. Newberry is the league favorite with 118 points and eight first place votes. Lenoir-Rhyne is second with 112 points and the remaining four first place nods. Wingate is third with 99 points, followed by Mars Hill (94), Tusculum, Barton (68), UVA Wise (60), Catawba (53), Carson-Newman (42), Limestone (32), Emory & Henry (20) and Erskine (18).
Parham, a 6-0, 190-pound senior from Tarpon Springs, Florida, led the league in receiving yards (797 - 45th in NCAA II) and receiving yards per game (72.5 ypg) for a second straight year while earning 2021 All-SAC second team honors. Parham finished the season with eight touchdown receptions, which were second in the SAC and 42nd in the country.
Parham enters this season ranked 19th in program history with 1,161 receiving yards at Tusculum on 69 receptions. His 12 TD catches at TU are tied for 10th in school history while his 16.83 yards per reception average is seventh in the TU record book.
Mahoney, a 6-1, 305-pound senior from Glen Hills, Pennsylvania, has anchored the TU offensive line for the past two seasons where he has started in 16 consecutive games at center for the Pioneers. He graded out above 90 percent and was one of the team leaders in pancake blocks. Tusculum finished fourth in the league in total offense averaging 400.5 yards per game including 257 passing yards per contest (2nd in SAC / 32nd in NCAA II). TU also tallied 143.5 rushing yards per game as its 1,578 total rushing yards were the 10th-most in a TU single-season.
Taylor, a 5-10, 170-pound junior defensive back from Miami, Florida, garnered All-SAC second team accolades last season as he appeared in 11 games where he was credited with 44 total tackles including four for loss with two forced fumbles. He also tallied seven passes defended with six break-ups and an interception.
Jackson, a 6-1, 210-pound senior from Abbeville, South Carolina, returns to the All-SAC second team as he led the Pioneers in rushing yards (557 - 8th in SAC), rushing average (50.6 ypg - 9th in SAC) and rushing touchdowns (7 - 5th in SAC).
Shellenback, a 6-5, 300-pound junior from Melbourne, Florida, appeared in all 11 games on the offensive line with eight starts at tackle.
White, a 5-10, 290-pound sophomore from Cocoa, Florida, is coming off an outstanding rookie campaign where he was a finalist for SAC Freshman of the Year laurels. He appeared in 10 games in 2021 where he posted 21 tackles including 11 for loss (-53 yds) and five sacks (-34 yds). He also forced a fumble and recovered another.
The Pioneers will open their season Thursday, Sep. 1 when they host St. Augustine's for a 6 p.m. contest at Pioneer Field
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