UTC head coach Russ Huesman is the Southern Conference's coach of the year.

UTC junior quarterback Jacob Huesman is the Southern Conference's offensive player of the year.

UTC senior defensive end Davis Tull is the Southern Conference's defensive player of the year.

The on-field dominance carried over Tuesday as the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team racked up a record number of Southern Conference postseason honors.

Both the coaches and media all-conference teams were released, and 22 UTC players were named either first- or second-team All-SoCon or to the all-freshman team, and four Mocs were selected as the league's best.

UTC senior defensive end Davis Tull became the first three-time SoCon defensive player of the year since Appalachian State's Dexter Coakley (1994-96), and junior quarterback Jacob Huesman earned his second straight offensive player of the year award. Tull and Huesman were the choices for those awards by both the coaches and the media.

Sophomore guard Corey Levin became only the second UTC player to win the Jacobs Blocking Award as the league's top offensive lineman, and Russ Huesman was named the conference's coach of the year for the third time in his six years heading the program.

"It's pretty amazing that we had this many people on the all-conference team," Coach Huesman said. "I'm proud of everybody who made it. It always makes you feel good as a coach when your guys get recognized for their hard work. It goes to show the kind of year we had and the kind of players we have.

"Obviously Davis winning was well deserved. He'll be a three-time All-American. Fantastic player and we're fortunate to have him in our program. Jacob, I'm very proud of him. He had a great year. Everybody who watches can see how important he is to our football team.

"The one I really want to talk about is Corey Levin. Unbelievable. I was so happy that he got that award. He's the best offensive lineman in the league. I wasn't able to vote for him, but he had seven coaches who said he's the best offensive lineman in the league. That's pretty impressive."

The coaches and media agreed that Jacob Huesman, running back Keon Williams, Levin and tight end Faysal Shafaat all belonged on the first team and that Tull, defensive tackle Derrick Lott and sophomore kicker Henrique Ribeiro were first-teamers as well.

Also on the coaches' first team were defensive back Cedric Nettles and Dee Virgin, while the media list had linebacker Muhasibi Wakeel and safety Lucas Webb on its first team, along with punter Nick Pollard.

"It's a great feeling to know that you're one of the best players in the league," said Tull, who along with Shafaat is a three-time all-conference player. "The best part is this year we still have games to play, whereas last year it was the climax to the end of the season. Right now it's awesome, but we still have a game to get ready for in two weeks."

Making the coaches' second team were center Jacob Revis, receivers C.J. Board and Tommy Hudson, defensive lineman Keionta Davis, linebackers Wakeel and Nakevion Leslie, Webb and Pollard. The media's second team included Revis, Davis, Leslie, Nettles and Virgin.

The Mocs also had a league-high six players named to the all-freshman team: Richardre Bagley, Revis, Hunter Townson, Tavon Lawson, Webb and Trevor Wright.

"I was getting ready to go to class when I found out, so I wasn't able to see much of it, but I was excited to see all the honors all my teammates got," Jacob Huesman said. "It's a pretty exciting thing, these postseason honors. The preseason ones don't mean a whole lot, but the postseason ones are affirmation that we played pretty well this year."

UTC's previous record for all-conference players was nine, set in 2010 and matched last year. The Mocs had a total of just 16 all-conference players in the six seasons before the arrival of Coach Huesman, who is now the first UTC coach to win three league coaching honors.

Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293.