CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Six VMI football players were named to the 2008 Big South All-Conference second team as announced Tuesday in conjunction with the league's postseason awards.

Named on offense were junior quarterback Tim Maypray, junior fullback Howard Abegesah, junior offensive lineman George Handler, and sophomore offensive lineman James Boatright.

Named to the second team defensive squad was redshirt freshman linebacker A.J. Gross.

Senior tight end and long snapper Travis Ludden was named to the second team as a long snap specialist.

Both Maypray and Abegesah are repeat second team honorees as positional players. Maypray was also a 2007 first team pick at kick returner. 

Senior linebacker Jacob Rochester was also voted Scholar-Athlete of the Year by the league sports information directors. 

Season recaps of each player honored follows:

QUARTERBACK

#28 TIM MAYPRAY, VMI, Junior-Madisonville, Ky. ? Randolph-Macon Academy

Ranked 3rd in the BSC in rushing...became the first QB in BSC to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season...rushed for a career-high 235 yards vs. PC and also caught a 75-yard TD pass while accounting for 232 all-purpose yards which is second most in BSC history...first BSC player with 1,000 career rushing and receiving yards...2nd in career all-purpose yards in BSC history (4,279)...had six rushing 100-yard plus rushing games in '08 including 134 yards vs. W&M and 130 yards vs. Ohio...named BSC of the Week for Sept. 8, Oct. 13, and Nov. 22...had seven straight games with at least 40+-yard run and four games with at least a run of 60+ yards...Caught 7 passes on year  including  a 75-yard TD vs. PC...had 12 rushing TD's, tied for third most in school history and set Big South QB season record in that category... 2nd in BSC in rushing TD's (12) and holds top two all-purpose games in BSC history...named National Player of the Week by the Sports Network for his game against Presbyterian Nov. 22 

RUNNING BACK

#31 HOWARD ABEGESAH, VMI, Junior-Beltsville, Md.-High Point

Ranked fifth in the BSC in rushing and finished the season with back-to-back strong efforst against Stony Brook (109 yards) and Presbyterian (151 yards)..had 124 yards and three touchdowns including a career-long 63-yard TD run against Chowan...rushed for 102 yards and a touchdown against Charleston Southern...ranked fifth in BSC in yards per carry (6.6) and sixth in the BSC in rushing TD's (6)...was 10^th in the league in total offense (86.1)...sidelined two games (week 5 and 6) with knee injury...accounted for five runs of at least 27 yards or more on the season.

OFFENSIVE LINEMAN

#60  JAMES BOATRIGHT, VMI, Sophomore-Grayson, Ga.-Grayson

Has made 22 consecutive starts on the offensive line- all at center...has led the VMI offensive line in knockdowns over the last two years and has amassed 172 over that time... helped VMI to its third consecutive Big South Conference rushing crown and a school and Big South record 3,932 yards and 357.5 yards per game which topped the FCS charts...helped VMI pile up 300+ yards rushing in eight games in 2008... also helped Keydets convert 26 of 32 (81.2%) red-zone scoring opportunities.

#55  GEORGE HANDLER, VMI, Junior-Quinton, Va. ?New Kent

Has made 30 consecutive starts on the offensive line and is the only VMI offensive lineman to have played all five offensive line positions during his career... lined up at left guard in 2008...has consistently graded as the highest offensive lineman and helped VMI to its third consecutive Big South Conference rushing crown and a school and Big South record 3,932 yards and 357.5 yards per game which topped the FCS charts...helped VMI amass 300+ yards rushing in eight games in 2008... also helped Keydets convert 26 of 32 (81.2%) red-zone scoring opportunities.

LINEBACKER

#7  A.J. GROSS, VMI, R-Freshman-Waldorf, Md.-Westlake

Led the team in tackles with 67 stops and also paced the defense with 14.5 tackles-for-loss which ranked second overall in the Big South...led the Big South in tackles-for-loss in conference games with 8.0 for 33 yards...his four sacks for 20 yards including three 3.0 in BSC games which placed him second...was named Big South Defensive Player against Coastal Carolina Oct. 11 when he logged a season and career-high 13 tackles including six solos, seven assists, five tackles-for-loss for 27 yards and three sacks for 20 yards..forced a fumble against Presbyterian...also had nine tackles against Liberty with a tackle-for-loss...ranked 9th in the league in tackles per game (7.4) in conference games. 

LONG SNAPPER

#90  TRAVIS LUDDEN, VMI, R-Senior-Fredericksburg, Va. -Massaponax

Handled long snapping duties for 10 of 11 games...helped VMI convert 48 of 58 PAT attempts and a 96% PAT percentage which topped the Big South Conference...had just one punt blocked on the season in 45 attempts...also played tight end and caught two passes for 45 yards and a touchdown and rushed for a two-yard touchdown in season finale...one of just four eligibility seniors on the squad.

2008 BIG SOUTH CONFERENCE POSTSEASON AWARDS 

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Rashad Jennings, Sr., RB, Liberty

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Jeffrey Williams, Soph., LB, Gardner-Webb

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR

Edwin Gowins, RB, Stony Brook

COACH OF THE YEAR

Danny Rocco, Liberty

SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

Jacob Rochester, Sr., LB, VMI

FIRST-TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE

OFFENSE                                                                                             

QB      Brock Smith, Sr., Liberty

RB       Rashad Jennings, R-Sr., Liberty

RB       Edwin Gowins, Fr., Stony Brook

WR     Dobson Collins, Sr., Gardner-Webb

WR     Dominic Bolden, Sr., Liberty

WR     Gerald Stevenson, Soph., Charleston Southern

TE       Josh Miller, Soph., Gardner-Webb

OL       Mike Godsil, Sr., Liberty

OL       Demario Deese, Sr., Gardner-Webb

OL       Britt Leggett, R-Sr., Coastal Carolina

OL       Steve Council, Sr., Stony Brook

OL       Britt Stone, R-Sr., Liberty

DEFENSE

DL       Jake Killeen, R-Sr., Charleston Southern

DL       James Harris, Sr., Stony Brook

DL       Phillip Oboh, Jr., Coastal Carolina

DL       Adam McKinney, Sr., Presbyterian

LB       Jeffrey Williams, Soph., Gardner-Webb

LB       Nick Hursky, Sr., Liberty

LB       Antwan Thomas, Sr., Presbyterian

LB       D.J. Rice, Sr., Coastal Carolina

DB      Daniel Cooke, Sr., Gardner-Webb

DB      Philip Ashley, Jr., Charleston Southern

DB      Kent Hicks, R-Sr., Liberty

DB      Cedric McGowan, Jr., Gardner-Webb

SPECIAL TEAMS

PK       Ryan Gates, Fr., Gardner-Webb

P          Ben Erdman, Soph., Coastal Carolina

LS       Dan Pope, R-Sr., Liberty

KR      Gerald Stevenson, Soph., Charleston Southern

PR       Dominic Bolden, Sr., Liberty

SECOND-TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE

OFFENSE                                                                                             

QB      Tim Maypray, Jr., VMI

RB       Conte Cuttino, Jr., Stony Brook

RB       Howard Abegesah, Jr., VMI

WR     Jonathan Crawford, R-Sr., Liberty

WR     James Perry III, R-Fr., Gardner-Webb

WR     Brandon Clark, Sr., Presbyterian

TE       Corey Rasberry, R-Sr., Liberty

OL       Lawrence Lovell, Sr., Stony Brook

OL       Alex Bragg, R-Sr., Charleston Southern

OL       George Handler, R-Jr., VMI

OL       James Boatright, Soph., VMI

OL       Corey O'Daniel, Soph., Gardner-Webb

DEFENSE

DL       Justin Witzmann, R-Sr., Charleston Southern

DL       Kevin Richard, R-Sr., Liberty

DL       Jordan Woods, Fr., Gardner-Webb

DL       Colin Dugan, Sr., Liberty

LB       Marty Patterson, Soph., Gardner-Webb

LB       Andrew McKain, R-Jr., Charleston Southern

LB       Tyler Santucci, Jr., Stony Brook

LB       A.J. Gross, R-Fr., VMI

DB      Ryan Greiser, Sr., Liberty

DB      Anthony McKnight, Sr., Presbyterian

DB      Pat Calvary, Sr., Liberty

DB      Chris Richards, Jr., Stony Brook

SPECIAL TEAMS

PK       John Paglia, Soph., Charleston Southern

P          Bryson Summers, Sr., Presbyterian

LS       Travis Ludden, Sr., VMI

KR      Dominic Bolden, Sr., Liberty

PR       Dobson Collins, Sr., Gardner-Webb

ACADEMIC ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM

Justin Witzmann, R-Sr., DL, Charleston Southern

Derrick Frasier, Soph., LB, Coastal Carolina

Daniel Cooke, Sr., DB, Gardner-Webb

Ryan Greiser, Sr., DB, Liberty

Antwan Thomas, Sr., LB, Presbyterian

Jeff Santos, Jr., OL, Stony Brook

Jacob Rochester, Sr., LB, VMI