ROCK HILL, S.C. --- The Tusculum Pioneers are picked fifth in the 2022 South Atlantic Conference Coaches Football Poll.

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 - 45^th 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 42^nd in the country.

Parham enters this season ranked 19^th in program history with 1,161 receiving yards at Tusculum on 69 receptions. His 12 TD catches at TU are tied for 10^th 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 (2^nd in SAC / 32^nd in NCAA II). TU also tallied 143.5 rushing yards per game as its 1,578 total rushing yards were the 10^th-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 - 8^th in SAC), rushing average (50.6 ypg - 9^th in SAC) and rushing touchdowns (7 - 5^th 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

2022 SAC Football Coaches Poll

2022 Preseason All-SAC Football Team
First Team Offense
QB – Dre Harris, Newberry
RB – Dwayne McGee, Lenoir-Rhyne
RB – Mario Anderson, Newberry
RB – Jordan Terrell, Barton
WR – Deondre Lester, Lenoir-Rhyne
WR – Bryson Woodruff, Newberry
WR – Justice Parham, Tusculum
OL – Blake Jefferson, Lenoir-Rhyne
OL – Cameron Thomason, Limestone
OL – Thomas Mahoney, Tusculum
OL – Leondre Andreas, Mars Hill
OL – Bryce Heidinger, Lenoir-Rhyne
TE – Ty Snelson, Mars Hill
PK – Jackson Brooks, Barton
LS – Blake Arnoult, Newberry
RS – Ryan Carter, Lenoir-Rhyne

First Team Defense
DL – Andre Jefferson, Lenoir-Rhyne
DL – Joel Burgess, UVA Wise
DL – Sirod Cook, Wingate
DL – Jay Swegheimer, Emory & Henry
LB – Dexter Fitzpatrick, Mars Hill
LB – Landon Honeycutt, Mars Hill
LB – Jon Ross Maye, Lenoir-Rhyne
LB – Jaquan Edwards, Wingate
DB – Jordan Taylor, Tusculum
DB – Tristan Rankin, Mars Hill
DB – Marcus Morgan, Newberry
DB – Markel Dailey, UVA Wise
P – Ethan Evans, Wingate

Second Team Offense
QB – Lendon Redwine, UVA Wise
QB – Jimmy Urzua, Mars Hill
RB – Cortney Jackson, Tusculum
RB – Kalen Clark, Wingate
RB – Jaevon Gillespie, UVA Wise
WR – Kameron Johnson, Barton
WR – Kamal Desor, Wingate
WR – Kelin Parsons, Lenoir-Rhyne
OL – Justin Bullock, Mars Hill
OL – Hunter Jolly, Wingate
OL – Ben Shellenback, Tusculum
OL – Daric Cotman, UVA Wise
OL – Alex Buschow, Barton
TE – Ryder Martin, Wingate
LS – Andrew Bradshaw, Carson-Newman
RS – Kyron Thomas, Wingate

Second Team Defense
DL – Dajavon White, Tusculum
DL – Donovan Pinnix, Emory & Henry
DL – J.I. Ledbetter, Barton
DL – DJ Horne, Wingate
LB – Alonzo Houston, Carson-Newman
LB – Shane Perry, Barton
LB – AJ Valentine, Newberry
LB – Caleb Goins, Carson-Newman
DB – Izaiah Taylor, Catawba
DB – Nick Jackson, Mars Hill
DB – Robert Carter, UVA Wise
DB – Daquan Mosley, Wingate
P - Clayton Crile, Catawba