South Carolina State quarterback Eric Phoenix and Morgan State defensive lineman Elijah Williams have been named the 2024 Mid-Jap Athletic Convention Offensive and Defensive Gamers of the 12 months.
The announcement was made in the course of the 66th Annual Nationwide Soccer Basis Corridor of Fame.
“Congratulations to Eric and Elijah on being named the MEAC Offensive and Defensive Gamers of the 12 months,” mentioned MEAC Commissioner Sonja Stills. “These distinctive student-athletes have demonstrated excellence on the sphere and are excellent representatives of South Carolina State College, Morgan State College, and the MEAC. It’s an honor to acknowledge their achievements and rejoice their well-deserved accolades.”
Eric Phoenix (QB, Gr., 6-3, 210, Savannah, Ga.)
Phoenix delivered an excellent efficiency in the course of the 2024 season, main the MEAC with 2,460 passing yards and 20 touchdowns. Over 10 video games, he accomplished 170 of 261 go makes an attempt, reaching a formidable 65.1% completion charge. His efforts earned him three MEAC Offensive Participant of the Week honors.
Nationally, Phoenix stands among the many elite in a number of key statistical classes. He ranks seventh in passing effectivity (164.2) and passing yards per completion (14.47) and eleventh in complete offense (2,685 yards). Moreover, he’s fifteenth in passing yards per recreation (246.0), twenty sixth in complete passing yards (2,460), and twenty fifth in landing passes (20).
Phoenix’s management was pivotal in guiding the Bulldogs to the 2024 MEAC Championship and a No. 18 rating within the remaining AFCA Coaches Ballot of the common season. His outstanding achievements prolonged past the convention, as he was named the inaugural HBCU+ Nationwide Participant of the 12 months by Stats Carry out and was a finalist for the celebrated Walter Payton Award, which honors the highest offensive participant on the Division I FCS degree.
Elijah Williams (DL, Sr., 6-3, 270, Jersey Metropolis, N.J.)
Williams was named the 2024 MEAC Defensive Participant of the 12 months after main Morgan State to its finest season in a decade. The Bears completed 3-2 in MEAC play and 6-6 total. Williams grew to become Morgan State’s all-time chief in profession sacks with 31.0 and ranked eighth nationally this season with 11.0 sacks. He additionally recorded 15.0 tackles for loss, putting him second within the MEAC and twentieth nationally.
This season, Williams delivered a formidable stat line with 11.0 sacks, 32 complete tackles (22 solo), 15.0 tackles for loss, three interceptions, one go breakup, one pressured fumble, and one fumble restoration. He recorded a season-high eight tackles in opposition to Towson and tallied seven tackles in video games in opposition to Stony Brook and Norfolk State. Williams additionally registered two sacks in three completely different video games (Towson, Virginia-Lynchburg, and North Carolina Central).
A First Workforce All-MEAC honoree, Williams was additionally named a finalist for the 2024 Buck Buchanan Award, offered yearly by Stats Carry out to the highest defensive participant in Division I FCS soccer. Over his profession at Morgan State, Williams has amassed 218 complete tackles, together with 128 solo stops. His career-high efficiency got here in 2023 when he recorded 12 tackles in a double-overtime recreation in opposition to the College of Albany.
Courtesy: MEAC
