CHARLESTON, S.C. - Paced by 2017 Co-Defensive Player of the Year Anthony Ellis, Charleston Southern had 11 players recognized to the Big South All-Conference teams as announced by the conference office on Tuesday afternoon.
Left guard Frank Cirone, defensive end Ellis, defensive tackle Johnny Robinson, defensive end Solomon Brown, and punter Kyle Reighard all earned First Team honors. Wide receiver Kameron Brown, linebackers J.D. Sosebee and Zane Cruz, defensive back Shadarius Hopkins, and punt returner Taz Lindsey all received Second Team recognition. Defensive back James Allen was recognized on the Big South All-Academic team.
2017 Big South Football Annual Awards
Allen, recognized last week as a member of the CoSIDA Academic All-District 4 team, boasts a 4.0 GPA while studying Criminal Justice at CSU. Allen has lined up in nine games at cornerback, earning a start against Point in CSU's 58-7 win over the Skyhawks. He has posted nine tackles this season and three passes defensed. He also forced a fumble in CSU's win over Savannah State.
Cirone lined up in all 11 games at both guard positions for the Bucs. A Preseason STATS FCS All-American, the Naples, Fla. native helped lead a CSU rushing offense that averaged 193.0 yards per game. The Bucs recorded three 300-plus yard rushing games this season and five games with over 200 yards rushing.
Ellis led the Big South with 16.0 tackles for loss and was second in the conference with 9.0 sacks. The senior defensive end paced the conference in tackles for loss for the third consecutive season and became just the second player in Big South history to achieve 20 career sacks and 50 career tackles for loss.
Robinson came into his own this season as the junior defensive tackle dominated the middle of the line of scrimmage for CSU in 2017. The Apopka, Fla. native finished third in the Big South with 6.5 sacks and 12.0 tackles for loss. He recorded 3.5 sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss over five conference games.
Solomon Brown transitioned from linebacker to defensive end in 2017 but kept up his All-Conference ways in earning Big South recognition. He was second among Big South defensive linemen with 5.8 tackles per game and finishing seventh in the conference in sacks (3.5) and eighth in tackles for loss (8.0).
Reighard led a dominant CSU punt unit that paced the conference and is currently sixth in the FCS in net punting with 39.09. He led the Big South with 20 punts inside the opponent 20-yard line and connected on a Big South-leading 11 punts over 50 yards on the year. He led the conference with an average of 41.4 yards per attempt. Reighard also finished second overall in the conference voting for Special Teams Player of the Year.
Kameron Brown led the Big South in yards per catch for the second consecutive season after averaging 22.1 yards per reception in 2017. Brown posted four 100-plus yard receiving games including a career-high 123 yards on five receptions against Monmouth. He added an 87-yard touchdown reception in CSU's win over Mississippi Valley State.
Sosebee was a tackling machine on the CSU defense, finishing fourth in the Big South with 81 takedowns on the season. The Gainesville, Ga. native recorded three double-digit tackling efforts this season and returned a fumble 60 yards for a touchdown against Point.
Cruz averaged 5.1 tackles per game on the season and was second in the Big South with two forced fumbles on the year. A preseason All-Conference selection, the Jacksonville, Fla. native was key to the Bucs limiting the top five individual rushers in the conference to a combined 161 yards on 68 carries (2.4 ypc).
Hopkins backed up the preseason hype by finishing second in the Big South with 14 passes defensed on the season. A 5-10 cover corner, the Winnsboro, S.C. native had two interceptions and 12 breakups on the year. He closed out the regular season with an interception and a career-high five breakups against Liberty.
Lindsey was second in the Big South in punt return average with 10.0 yards per attempt. He returned a punt 45 yards for a touchdown in CSU's win over Mississippi Valley State and paced the conference in yards per return in Big South-only games.
