November 15, 2004

Arkansas Tech and Valdosta State led the way on the 2004 All-Gulf South Conference football team by landing 11 players each on the honor squad.

The league's 12 head coaches voted six Tech players onto the first team and five to the second unit, while Valdosta State had five first-team honorees and six second-team selections.

Delta State placed 10 players on the all-league team, followed by North Alabama with 8, Central Arkansas 6, Arkansas-Monticello 4, Harding 4, Ouachita Baptist 4, West Georgia 4, West Alabama 3, Henderson State 2 and Southern Arkansas 1.

Tech also landed two of the premiere individual honors from the coaches, with Cedric Cursh being named as the conference defensive player-of-the-year and Steve Mullins being voted as the league's coach-of-the-year.

Cedric Cursh - Defensive player of the year

Cursh is the first-ever Tech player to be named as the GSC defensive
player-of-the-year and he is the first underclassman to win the award since 1998.

He currently has 89 total tackles, 44 of which are solos, and leads the conference in tackles for a loss with 21 for 89 yards. He has 9 quarterback sacks for losses amounting to 64 yards, five fumble recoveries, two forced fumbles and one pass interception.

History repeated itself with the naming of Mullins as the coach-of-the-year. It marks the second top honor for the Tech coach after leading the Wonder Boys to their second NCAA playoff bid.

Steve Mullins - Coach of the year

He was recognized with the same honor when he directed Tech to a post-season berth in 1999 after winning the GSC regular season championship. This year, his club finished second behind champion Valdosta State, and was ranked as high as No. 6 in the nation at one point during the regular season.

The offensive player-of-the-year is Arkansas-Monticello quarterback Cory Allred, while Central Arkansas running back Bernard Scott was voted as the league's freshman-of-the-year.

The Wonder Boys' first-team selections are tight end Josh Rogers, a sophomore from Russellville; offensive guard Jonathan Hayes, a senior from Sheridan; offensive tackle Kyle Jackson, a senior from Texarkana, Texas; linebacker Brett Hobbs, a senior from Springdale; defensive back Andrew Jackson, a junior from Greenville, Miss., and Cursh, a sophomore defensive end from Foreman.

Voted to the second-team were kicker Mark Ewersmann, a junior from Little Rock; punter Glenn Wilson, a junior from Conroe, Texas; defensive back LaMarcus Irvin, a sophomore from Dallas, Texas; defensive back LeRoy Hood, a senior from McGehee; and Bailey Dickson, a junior from Stuttgart, who was named to the kick blocking team.

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