FRISCO, Texas - Nicholls' Chase Fourcade headlines the 2018 Southland Conference All-Conference Football teams, announced by the league Tuesday. The Colonels' quarterback is the Southland's Player of the Year and is joined on the two all-conference teams by 14 of his teammates. The league's yearly awards are presented by Ready Nutrition.



Fourcade paced the conference in passing efficiency (148.5), throwing the league's fewest interceptions (six) and completing 176 passes for 2,447 yards and 19 touchdowns to lead the Colonels to a conference co-championship. He added nine scores on the ground and rushed for 488 yards, which ranked second among quarterbacks in the league.



The Metairie, La., native is one of seven superlative award winners announced Tuesday, along with Coach of the Year Eric Morris (Incarnate Word), Offensive Player of the Year Jazz Ferguson (Northwestern State) and Defensive Player of the Year BJ Blunt (McNeese).



UIW quarterback Jon Copeland is the Freshman of the year, and Abilene Christian's Billy McCrary and Lamar's Jordan Hoy are co-Newcomers of the Year. Offensive Lineman of the Year is Lamar's Garrett Bowery.



A first-year head coach, Morris engineered an amazing turnaround in guiding the Cardinals to a regular-season co-championship after a 1-10 mark last season. UIW is in its second season of Division I competition and was picked to finish ninth in the conference preseason poll.



Ferguson led the Southland and ranked top-10 nationally with 1,117 receiving yards and 13 touchdown catches, and he topped 100 yards on six occasions, including a 138-yard performance against Sam Houston State. The St. Francisville, La., native scored the most points of any wideout in the conference (82).



A nightmare for opposing offenses, Blunt finished among the top-10 in the country in three categories: Sacks per game (1.1), solo tackles per game (6.0) and tackles for loss per game (2.0). He tallied 5.5 tackles for loss against Stephen F. Austin and compiled 20 total tackles against ACU, both of which are the third-most by an FCS player this season.



Copeland played a vital role in UIW's run to a share of the conference title and established himself as one of the top arms in the league, finishing as the conference leader in passing yards per game (298.4) and ranking third in total yards (2,984) and efficiency (137.3).



McCrary averaged the most yards per carry in the conference (8.2) and found pay dirt 10 times through the air and on the ground.



Hoy, a two-time Offensive Player of the Week, scored seven of his nine touchdowns and racked up 692 yards of total offense in two crucial road wins against SFA and UCA in place of Darrell Colbert Jr.



Bowery, a first-team pick in his final season, paved the way for a Lamar rushing attack that led the conference and ranked 12th nationally in yards per game (250.3).



Nicholls leads the way with 15 total all-conference selections, followed by Central Arkansas, UIW and Southeastern Louisiana each with seven. ACU, McNeese and SHSU each placed five on the all-league teams, and Lamar, NSU and SFA rounded out the list with three, two and one, respectively.



In total, 12 honorees are returning all-Southland selections, led by three-time selections Chandler Arceneaux, Sully Laiche and Allen Pittman of Nicholls and SHSU's Davion Davis and Nathan Stewart.



All-Southland Conference teams are voted on by the league's head coaches and sports information directors. Voting for one's own athletes is not permitted. To receive honorable mention, a player must appear on 25 percent of ballots.



2018 Southland Conference Football Individual Superlative Winners

Coach of the Year: Eric Morris, Incarnate Word

Player of the Year: Chase Fourcade, Nicholls

Offensive Player of the Year: Jazz Ferguson, Northwestern State

Defensive Player of the Year: BJ Blunt, McNeese

Freshman of the Year: Jon Copeland, Incarnate Word

Co-Newcomer of the Year: Jordan Hoy, Lamar

Co-Newcomer of the Year: Billy McCrary, Abilene Christian