CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Liberty running back Rashad Jennings (Forest, Va.) and Gardner-Webb linebacker Mario Brown (Greenville, S.C.) have been voted the League’s 2008 Preseason Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, respectively, by the Conference’s coaches and media panel, it was announced today as part of the 2008 Big South Conference Football Kickoff Media Luncheon at the Renaissance Suites Hotel in Charlotte, N.C.

Jennings, who received nine first-place votes and 23 total points, was a honorable mention All-American last season by The Sports Network after rushing for 1,113 yards and a League-record 15 rushing touchdowns in nine games.  Jennings set a Big South single-season record in 2007 with 17 total touchdowns and 104 points, helping the Flames to their first Big South football championship.  Last year’s Offensive Player of the Year, Jennings was a First-Team All-Conference pick after averaging a League-record 123.7 rushing yards per game and becoming the second player in Big South history to rush for 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons.  He ranked 13th in the nation last season in per game rushing and was second in the League with 1,389 all-purpose yards and 154.3 all-purpose yards per game. 

Jennings surpassed the 100-yard rushing mark in seven out of nine games last season – tying the Big South season record.  He also became the Conference’s career leader with four games with three rushing touchdowns, and enters the 2008 season needing 1,277 rushing yards to become the Big South’s all-time leader.  He is 867 yards shy of becoming the third player with 3,000 career rushing yards.  Jennings, who has been tabbed by Sporting News College Football ’08 as the Big South’s top offensive player, is the first running back to be selected as the Preseason Offensive Player of the Year since Coastal Carolina’s Patrick Hall in 2005.

Brown received 10 first-place votes and 22 points to claim the defensive honor.  The two-time First-Team All-Big South selection was an honorable mention All-America selection by The Sports Network in 2007 after recording 104 total tackles, 10.0 tackles-for-loss and a pair of sacks, in addition to five double-figure tackling games.  He recorded his second 100-tackle performance in as many seasons as a starting linebacker last year (210 tackles combined from 2006-07), and enters the 2008 campaign as a preseason All-American by Lindy’s College Football Preview.  Brown also had one interception, five pass break-ups and recovered two fumbles last year.

Brown is the third Gardner-Webb player to earn the preseason defensive honor, as former Bulldogs Mario Williams (2003, 2004) and Brian Johnston (2007) were picked entering a new season.  Brown enters his senior season 15th all-time in Big South history with 221 total tackles, and his 20.0 career tackles-for-loss rank 21st in Conference annals.

VMI slotback Tim Maypray finished second in the offensive voting with six points (one first-place vote), while Charleston Southern wide receiver Dee Brown was third with five points.  On defense, Liberty linebacker Nick Hursky was second to Brown with 8.5 points (one first-place vote), followed by Coastal Carolina linebacker D.J. Rice with 4.5 points and one first-place vote.

Jennings and Brown were also voted to the preseason All-Conference team.  The preseason team is comprised of 29 total players (12 offense, 12 defense, five special teams), and Big South favorite Liberty placed a League-high eight on the preseason squad.  Gardner-Webb was second with seven preseason picks, followed by Coastal Carolina (5), Charleston Southern (4), Stony Brook (4) and VMI (1).  The 2008 preseason All-Conference team appears below:

2008 Big South Football Preseason All-Conference Team

OFFENSE  
QB - Brock Smith, Liberty, Sr. (Hershey, Pa.)
RB - Rashad Jennings, Liberty, R-Sr. (Forest, Va.)
RB - Conte Cuttino, Stony Brook, Jr. (Uniondale, N.Y.)
WR - Dee Brown, Charleston Southern, Sr. (Whiteville, N.C.)
WR - Lynell Suggs, Stony Brook, Sr. (Bronx, N.Y.)
WR - Dobson Collins, Gardner-Webb, Sr. (Stone Mountain, Ga.)
TE - Scott Fambrough, Coastal Carolina, Jr. (Dunwoody, Ga.)
OL - Demario Deese, Gardner-Webb, Sr. (Charlotte, N.C.)
OL - Britt Leggett, Coastal Carolina, R-Sr. (Evergreen, N.C.)
OL - Mike Godsil, Liberty, Sr. (Mansfield, Ohio)
OL - Britt Stone, Liberty, R-Sr. (Ozark, Ala.)
OL - Alex Bragg, Charleston Southern, R-Sr. (Augusta, Ga.)

DEFENSE
DL - Colin Dugan, Liberty, Sr. (Springdale, Pa.)
DL - Phillip Oboh, Coastal Carolina, Jr. (Greensboro, N.C.)
DL - Adam Soivilien, Stony Brook, Sr. (Dorchester, Mass.)
DL - Jake Killeen, Charleston Southern, Sr. (Reno, Nev.)
LB - Mario Brown, Gardner-Webb, Sr. (Greenville, S.C.)
LB - Nick Hursky, Liberty, Sr. (Carnegie, Pa.)
LB - D.J. Rice, Coastal Carolina, Sr. (Cooleemee, N.C.)
LB - Josh Mitchell, Charleston Southern, R-Sr. (Jacksonville, Fla.)
DB - Marrio Norman, Coastal Carolina, R-Sr. (Greenwood, S.C.)
DB - Cedric McGowan, Gardner-Webb, Jr. (Greer, S.C.)
DB - Daniel Cooke, Gardner-Webb, Sr. (Charlotte, N.C.)
DB - Patrick Calvary, Liberty, Sr. (Bradenton, Fla.)

SPECIAL TEAMS
PK - Luke Gaddis, Stony Brook, Sr. (East Patchogue, N.Y.)
P - Michael Hanna, Gardner-Webb, Sr. (Lawrenceville, Ga.)
LS - Dan Pope, Liberty, R-Sr. (Palm City, Fla.)
KR - Tim Maypray, VMI, Jr. (Madisonville, Ky.)
PR - Dobson Collins, Gardner-Webb, Sr. (Stone Mountain, Ga.)

PRESEASON OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Rashad Jennings, RB, R-Sr., Liberty

PRESEASON DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Mario Brown, LB, Sr., Gardner-Webb