ATLANTA, Ga. (November 20, 2023) - Southern Athletic Association champion Trinity swept the offensive, defensive, and special teams players of the year awards to highlight 103 student-athletes named football All-SAA, it was announced by the conference on Monday.
 
Tucker Horn became the SAA’s first three-time Offensive Player of the Year after another standout campaign as Trinity’s signal caller. Teammate Caleb Harmel was voted the Defensive Player of the Year for the second time in his career (2021) while Tigers kicker Tyler Huettel was named the Special Teams Player of the Year. Sewanee quarterback Jacorin Thomas is the SAA’s Newcomer of the Year and Tony Kunczewski was named the SAA Coach of the Year for the fifth time in his career.

SAA All-Conference teams are voted on among the league's nine head coaches. 

Complete 2023 SAA Football All-Conference Teams
 
Berry offensive lineman Tonny Garcia was named First Team All-SAA for the fourth time in his career. Teammate Brandon Cade was a first team running back for the third time, leading the nation with 24 rushing touchdowns and sitting third nationally with 1,459 yards.
 
Trinity linebacker James Ogunrin was voted First Team All-SAA for the third time in his career. Birmingham-Southern corner back Conner Thornburg and Trinity corner back Trey King are repeat first teamers while Trinity’s Ryan Merrifield was voted first team wide receiver for the second time.
 
Tucker Horn (Fifth-year | Graham, Texas) became one of the most prolific passers in SAA history, leading the fifth-ranked Tigers to three-straight conference titles. This season he threw for a conference-best 2600 yards while completing 72 percent of his passes. Horn tallied 28 touchdowns without an interception on 269 attempts. Nationally, he finished eighth in passing efficiency (188.0) and completion percentage while sitting 11^th in yards per attempt (9.71). He is the first SAA three-time Offensive Player of the Year and joins BSC’s Jamal Watkins as the only three-time SAA players of the Year (special teams 2015-17).
 
Caleb Harmel (Fifth-year | Burton, Texas) is a two-time SAA Defensive Player of the Year, having also won after the 2021 season. The fifth-year was a preseason All-American and backed the honor up with a stellar season on the field. The linebacker piloted the SAA’s top defense that allowed just 261 yards and 9.6 points per game against conference opponents. Harmel totaled 57 tackles, including 13 for loss, and two sacks on the season. He also had three interceptions for 83 yards and a pick-six against Rhodes. Harmel has landed on the All-SAA First Team each of the last three seasons.
 
Tyler Huettel (Junior | McKinney, Texas) accounted for 80 points this season, ranking 53^rd in the nation. The junior hit 8-of-12 field goals, including a 50-yarder at Birmingham-Southern and 52-yard boot at Berry. Huettel was 56-of-57 on extra points and had 34 touchbacks on 73 kickoffs this season.
 
Jacorin Thomas (First-year | Augusta, Ga.) made an instant impact for Sewanee in his first season leading the offense. The Georgia native rushed for a SAA second-best 732 yards, averaging 4.4 yards per carry. He ran for a season-high 204 yards with two scores against Millsaps. Thomas scored 10 total touchdowns, running for five and throwing for five more. He was 52-of-100 through the air on the season for 645 yards.
 
Tony Kunczewski started the Berry football program in 2012 and has built the Vikings into a perennial conference contender. He led Berry to a 9-1 overall record and 7-1 mark in SAA play, finishing the regular season ranked No. 23 in the D3football.com national poll. Berry led the SAA in scoring, putting gup 53 points a game, while ranking second in scoring defense at 16.3 points a game. Kunczewski mentored a conference-best 23 All-SAA performers this season. Kunczewski was also voted SAA Coach of the Year after the 2016, 2017, 2019, and 2020 seasons.
 
2023 SAA Football All-Conference Awards
Offensive Player of the Year – Tucker Horn (Trinity)
Defensive Player of the Year – Caleb Harmel (Trinity)
Special Teams Player of the Year – Tyler Huettel (Trinity)
Newcomer of the Year – Jacorin Thomas (Sewanee)
Coach of the Year – Tony Kunczewski (Berry)
 

First Team All-SAA Offense QB - Tucker Horn  (Trinity) RB – Brandon Cade (Berry) RB – Legend Grisby (Trinity) WR – Bryce Herring (Berry) WR – Ryan Merrifield (Trinity) WR – Cole Monago (Trinity) TE/H-Back – Hunter Coleman (Berry) OL – Caleb Bayer (Trinity) OL – David Billiard (Berry) OL – Hayden Cagle (Berry) OL – Tonny Garcia (Berry) OL – John Hughes (Trinity) K – Tyler Huettel (Trinity)

First Team All-SAA Defense DL – Dallas Douglas (Centre) DL – Mac Douglas (Trinity) DL – Jacob Munoz (Trinity) DL – Ricky Spence Jr. (Birmingham-Southern) LB – Keegan Glaze (Sewanee) LB – Caleb Harmel (Trinity) LB – James Ogunrin (Trinity) LB – Brock Skinner (Berry) CB – Trey King (Trinity) CB – Conner Thornburg (Birmingham-Southern) S – Casey Hampton (Trinity) S – Jake Whitten (Berry) P – Ethan Klapatch (Millsaps)

Second Team All-SAA Offense QB – Jacob Buniff (Hendrix) RB – Robert Daniel (Rhodes) RB – Colby Sikes (Berry) WR – Caleb Crawford (Trinity) WR - Christian Gadison (Hendrix) WR – Temias Mason (Millsaps) TE/H-Back – Parker Turley (Hendrix) OL – Santiago Bohlmann (Trinity) OL – Aiden Jackson (Centre) OL – Conner Kele (Trinity) OL – Max McMahon (Berry) OL – Reed Richards (Berry) OL – Colin Seymour (Rhode) K – Jack Satterfield (Sewanee) *Note – Extra OL due to tie for last position

Second Team All-SAA Defense DL – Luke Carlton (Berry) DL – Thomas Conroy (Rhodes) DL – Quinn Johnson (Sewanee) DL – Jaden Melville (Berry) LB – Ty Armstrong (Birmingham-Southern) LB – Grady Bryant (Berry) LB – Jake Duncan (Rhodes) LB – Alek Gomez (Southwestern) CB – Kristopher Thomas (Berry) CB – Nick Willis (Berry) S – Evan Byrd (Rhodes) S – Tavian Moore (Birmingham-Southern) P – Jack Satterfield (Sewanee)

 

Honorable Mention:
Berry: Charlie Bell (K), Blake Hembree (QB), Walker Kuannas (DL), Christopher Lewis (LB), John Mancuso (S), Josh Rogers (RB), Khamari Smith (WR)
 
Birmingham-Southern: Javien Beene (S), Michael Gray (OL), Jaden Hood (DL), Kobe Hughes (RB), Nick Paradise (OL), Owen Phillips (TE), Cole Porch (P)
 
Centre: Duerell Bard (LB), Scotty Brown (WR), Blake Busson (WR), Evan Elder (LB), Zach Reiners (OL), Brooks Sapone (CB), Cam Tegge (K), Colton Wessel (DL)
 
Hendrix: Cameron Deal (OL), Nathan Hahn (LB), Ryan Maxwell (CB), James Medin (OL), Kanyn Utley (WR)
 
Millsaps: Jeremiah Hall (S), Braylon Wills (DL)
 
Rhodes: Nick Floyd (CB), Umikoa Kealoha (WR), TezJioh Knox (TE), Hart Penfield (LB), Austin Smith (WR)
 
Sewanee: Dyer Barnes (WR), Harris Cravens (S), Kason Holder (CB), Tucker Kirk (DL), Jacorin Thomas (QB)
 
Southwestern: Blane Corekin (LB), Matt Gomez (OL), Samuel Johnson (TE), Jason Lund (DL), Maliq McDonald (DL)
 
Trinity: Ryan Arnold (CB), Carson Byrd (DL), Eli Gehman (P), Harris Good (DL), Winston Hutchison (RB), Quinn McDermott (S)