17 Sun Belt football student athletes combine to earn 42 all-America honors

Published 1:36 pm Friday, January 7, 2022

The Sun Belt produced three 10-win teams—Louisiana (13-1), Coastal Carolina (11-2) and App State (10-4)—and three bowl champions in 2021. With a 3-1 record during Bowl Season this year, the Sun Belt Conference continues to pace the FBS with a .649 bowl winning percentage since the dawn of the College Football Playoff era in 2014.

Eight-of-10 Sun Belt programs produced at least one All-America honoree, with Sun Belt East Division champion App State (4) and Coastal Carolina (4) leading all programs with four different student-athletes honored.

Student-athletes from Coastal Carolina (10), App State (9) and Sun Belt champion Louisiana (9) accrued the most national recognitions, while players from South Alabama (6), Arkansas State (3), Troy (3), Georgia Southern (1) and Texas State (1) each earned at least one national nod.

Paramount among this year’s honorees was Louisiana junior offensive lineman Max Mitchell—who earned a conference-best eight All-America nods, including Second Team status from Walter Camp and The Sporting News and Third Team accolades from the AP.

App State senior defensive back Steven Jones Jr.—First Team from the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and Second Team from Walter Camp—and Coastal Carolina senior tight end Isaiah Likely—Second Team from the FWAA and Walter Camp—also earned All-America status from at least one of the five organizations (Walter Camp, FWAA, AP, The Sporting News and the American Football Coaches Association) utilized by the NCAA to determine consensus and unanimous All-Americans.

Sun Belt Football All-Americans
Baer Hunter, App State (Super Sr., OL – Clemmons, N.C.) 
Phil Steele – Honorable Mention, OL

D’Marco Jackson, App State (Sr., LB – Spartanburg, S.C.)
PFN – 2nd Team, LB
PFF – Honorable Mention, LB
Phil Steele – 4th Team, LB

Steven Jones Jr., App State (Sr., DB – Rockingham, N.C.) 
Walter Camp – 2nd Team, DB
FWAA – 1st Team, DB
PFN – 1st Team, DB
Phil Steele – 1st Team, DB

Chandler Staton, App State (Super Sr., K – Gainesville, Ga.) 
PFN – 1st Team, K (Best Kicker)

Alan Lamar, Arkansas State (Sr., KR – Olive Branch, Miss.) 
PFN – 2nd Team, KR
PFF – 3rd Team, KR
Phil Steele – 4th Team, KR

C.J. Brewer, Coastal Carolina (Super Sr., DL – Bowdon, Ga.) 
PFN – Honorable Mention, DL

Jaivon Heiligh, Coastal Carolina (Sr., WR – Venice, Fla.) 
Phil Steele – Honorable Mention, WR

Isaiah Likely, Coastal Carolina (Sr., TE – Cambridge, Mass.)
Walter Camp – 2nd Team, TE
FWAA – 2nd Team, TE
PFN – 2nd Team, TE
PFF – 3rd Team, TE
Phil Steele – Honorable Mention, TE

Josaiah Stewart, Coastal Carolina (Fr., DL – Everett, Mass.) 
PFN – 3rd Team, DL & Flex (Best Interior DL)
The Athletic – Freshman 1st Team, DE
Phil Steele – Honorable Mention, DL

NaJee Thompson, Georgia Southern (Sr., DB – Boiling Springs, S.C.) 
PFN – 1st Team, Special Teamer

Max Mitchell, Louisiana (Jr., OL – Monroe, La.) 
Walter Camp – 2nd Team, OL
AP – 3rd Team, OL
Sporting News – 2nd Team, OL
USA Today – 2nd Team, OL
CBS Sports – 2nd Team, OL
PFF – 1st Team, OL
Phil Steele – 3rd Team OL
The Athletic – 2nd Team, OL

O’Cyrus Torrence, Louisiana (So., OL – Greensburg, La.) 
PFF – 1st Team, OL

Darrell Luter Jr., South Alabama (Jr., DB – Hattiesburg, Miss.) 
PFF – 2nd Team, DB
PFN – Honorable Mention, DB
Phil Steele – Honorable Mention, DB

Jalen Tolbert, South Alabama (Jr., WR – Mobile, Ala.) 
Senior Bowl – 1st Team, WR
PFN – 1st Team, WR
Phil Steele – 4th Team, WR

Kyle Hergel, Texas State (So., OL – Toronto, Ontario, Canada)
PFF – Honorable Mention, OL

Carlton Martial, Troy (Jr., LB – Mobile, Ala.)
PFN – Honorable Mention, LB
Phil Steele – Honorable Mention, LB

Javon Solomon, Troy (RS Fr., DL – Tallahassee, Fla.) 
PFN – Honorable Mention, Edge

For exclusive Sun Belt football content on game days and throughout the year, follow @SunBeltFB on Twitter.

Follow the Sun Belt on social media via Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.