SIX WONDER BOYS NAMED TO ALL-GSC FOOTBALL TEAMS;
MICHAEL PODOBNIK NAMED FIRST-TEAM ALL-GSC PUNTER

        RUSSELLVILLE, Arkansas – Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys Football placed six players on the All-Gulf South Conference Football Team released by the league on Thursday.

The All-GSC team is selected by the league’s head coaches and the coaches were not allowed to vote for their own players.

Tech had six players selected were junior offensive tackle Jeremy Ashcraft (Marshall, Texas), junior linebacker Cedric Cursh (Foreman, Ark.), junior punter Michael Podobnik (Frankfort, Ill.), junior quarterback Justin Ray (Benton, Ark.), junior receiver Tracey Stiger (Russellville, Ark.) and sophomore offensive guard Torrance Wright (Sulphur Springs, Texas).  

Podobnik was a First-Team selection, while Ashcraft, Cursh, Ray, Stiger and Wright were Second-Team selections. In addition, Podobnik was named as the kicker on the second team.

GSC champion Delta State led the way with 13 overall selections, including nine First-Team honorees. Henderson State had nine overall selections, including six first-team picks, while North Alabama had eight selections. Tech, Valdosta State and Ouachita Baptist each had seven selections, while Southern Arkansas had five and West Alabama had four overall selections. Arkansas-Monticello had three selections and was followed by Harding with two selections and West Georgia with one selection.

As far as the individual honors handed out by the league, Harding junior quarterback David Knighton was named the GSC’s Offensive Player of the Year, while Delta State senior linebacker Michael Eubanks repeated as the league’s Defensive Player of the Year. The final two honors went to Delta State’s Ron Roberts (GSC Coach of the Year) and Arkansas-Monticello quarterback Scott Buisson (GSC Freshman of the Year).

With his first-team selection, Podobnik became the 24th Wonder Boy to be named GSC First-Team All-Conference. Podobnik becomes just the second Tech punter to be named a First-Team All-GSC honoree following Tommy Edwards’ back-to-back first-team selections in 2002 and 2003.

Podobnik earned this year’s first team honor after leading both the GSC and NCAA Division II in punting with a 45.2 yard average per punt. In 10 games this season, Podobnik punted 43 times for 1,945 yards and had seven touchbacks and downed eight punts inside the 20-yard line. In addition, he had 13 punts over 50 yards, including a season-best 75-yard punt in the fourth quarter of Tech’s season opener against Northeastern State. The 45.2 yard average is a new single-season Tech and GSC record. The previous Tech record of 42.0 was set in 2003 by Edwards, while the old GSC mark of 43.5 was set in 1982 by Jacksonville State’s Greg Lowery. As a kicker, Podobnik earned second team honors after being 23-for-24 on extra point attempts and hitting his only field goal attempt, a 21-yard attempt against Ouachita Baptist. This past season, Podobnik was named the league’s Special Team Player of the Week three times and was named the D2Football.com National Special Teams Player of the Week following the Harding game. In that game against Harding, Podobnik averaged 52.5 yards on his four punts, which set a new Tech single-game record for punting average (51.0 was the previous record). In the game, he placed two punts inside the 20-yard line and boomed a 63-yarder in the fourth quarter. In addition, he was 5-for-6 on extra point attempts, as his only miss was blocked in the second quarter.

Ashcraft, who was named a second-team offensive tackle, started all 10 games for the Wonder Boys in 2007 and graded out at 89 percent for the season. In addition, he had the fewest pressures and sacks given up on the team and recorded 27 knockdown blocks.

Cursh, who was named a second-team selection at linebacker, finished this past season with 59 total tackles, including 38 solo stops and also had seven tackles for 42 yards in losses and a team-best five quarterback sacks. In addition, Cursh forced two fumbles and broke-up two passes on the season. With his five sacks this season, he moved into a tie for fourth-place on the school’s career sack chart with 16.

Ray, who was named a second-team selection at quarterback after playing only five games under center following the season-ending injury to junior signal caller Cole Barthel (Decatur, Ala.), finished the season averaging 145.9 yards of total offense per game and was responsible for 19 total touchdowns, including passing for 10 as a quarterback. In addition, he was 85-for-166 passing for 983 yards with 10 touchdowns and six interceptions and completed 51.2 percent of his passes and also gained 476 yards rushing on 97 carries and scored seven times and caught eight passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns. Over the last three games of the season, Ray averaged 386.7 yards of total offense as he was 62-for-121 passing for 798 yards and had 10 touchdowns and five interceptions, while also rushing 48 times for 362 yards and scoring six times.

Stiger, who was named a second-team selection as a receiver, finished the season with a team-best 61 catches for 656 yards and averaged 10.8 yards per reception and had 10 touchdowns, including scoring three times against Ouachita Baptist. In addition to pass catching prowess, Stiger, who was named Second-Team All-GSC selection last season as a return specialist, had 25 kickoff returns for 615 yards and averaged 24.6 yards per return this past season and also returned 13 punts for 155 yards (11.9 yards/return) and returned a punt 55 yards for a touchdown against Harding. Stiger, who averaged 144.1 all-purpose yards this past season, enters next season tied for the school lead in career kickoff returns (79) and holds the school’s career kickoff return yardage mark (1,714 yards) and has now gained over 3,500 all-purpose yards in his career.   

Wright, who was named a second-team selection as an offensive guard, started all 10 games this season for the Wonder Boys on the offensive line, including making one start at center and nine at left guard. On the season, Wright had the highest grade among Tech’s offensive linemen at 91 percent and recorded 21 knockdown blocks.

Joining Podobnik on the All-GSC first team was Knighton, Henderson State running back Bernard Palmer, Ouachita Baptist running back Willie Hopson, Delta State receiver Jeremy Ricks, Valdosta State receiver Cedric Jones, Southern Arkansas tight end Johnny Fields, Arkansas-Monticello center Justin Waltz, Delta State offensive guard Chris Goff, Harding offensive guard Ross Conn, Henderson State offensive tackle Kurt Kutscher, North Alabama offensive tackle J.D. Whited and Valdosta State tackle Gerald Davis.

Meanwhile, Eubanks was joined on the first-team defensive unit by Delta State defensive linemen Michael Lewis and Chris Eccles, along with Henderson State defensive lineman Sam Carter, North Alabama defensive lineman Tim Hunt, Delta State linebacker Lardester Hicks, Delta State linebacker Anthony King, Henderson State linebacker Anthony King, Henderson State linebacker Josh Black, North Alabama linebacker Mike Johnson, Valdosta State linebacker William Montford, Delta State defensive back Jamarcus Wiggins, Delta State defensive back Monterio James, Henderson State defensive back Devon Hughes, North Alabama defensive back Craig Fox and Valdsota State defensive back Sherard Reynolds.

Podobnik is joined on the first-team special teams unit by West Georgia kicker Jared Guberman, Henderson State return specialist Greg Godfrey and Valdosta State’s Maurice Leggett was a blocking team selection.

Ashcraft, Ray, Stiger and Wright were joined on the second-team offense by North Alabama quarterback A.J. Milwee, UAM running backs John L. Williams and Andrew Martin, Valdosta State running back Michael Terry, West Alabama running back Cole Mason, Ouachita Baptist receiver Julius Pruitt, North Alabama tight end Covington Wright, Delta State center John Simmons, Henderson State center Kevin Davis, North Alabama center Sam Hathorn, Southern Arkansas center Clayton Norman, Henderson State offensive guard Louis West and Delta State offensive tackle Mark Ellis.

Cursh was joined on the second-team defensive unit by North Alabama defensive lineman Antron Dillon, Southern Arkansas defensive lineman Ryan Terry, Valdosta State defensive lineman Travis Harrison, West Alabama defensive lineman Jacobi Avery, OBU linebackers Cliff Gardner and Channing Hill, West Alabama linebacker Tariq Ali, Henderson State defensive back Tim Kranawetter, OBU defensive back Antwon Thompson, SAU defensive backs Roland Perkins and C.J. Ellis.

Podobnik is joined on the second-team special teams unit by OBU kicker Zach Wright, OBU punter Craig McFarlin, DSU return specialist Jeremy Ricks, West Alabama return specialist Terry Allen and DSU’s Jamarcus Wiggins was a blocking team selection.

         2007 All-GSC Football Teams

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