VALDOSTA, Ga. – Valdosta State junior quarterback Sammy Edwards was named D2CCA Super Region Two Offensive Player of the Year, highlighting seven Blazers who earned D2CCA All-Region honors this season.  
 
Edwards, a Saint Augustine, Fla., native, earned first team all-region honors at quarterback, while graduate student place kicker Estin Thiele also earned first team all-region honors, along with graduate student safety Jacob Harris and sophomore punter Noah Botsford.  Graduate student offensive lineman Devin Hannan earned second team honors, along with graduate wide receiver B.K. Smith and graduate defensive back Kyle Cass were second team honorees.
 
Wingate defensive end Marquise Fleming earned D2CCA Super Region Two Defensive Player of the Year honors as he was named South Atlantic Conference Defensive Player of the Year, helping the Bulldogs go 8-3 and ranking in the top ten nationally in scoring defense, sacks and tackles for loss. Fleming leads the nation in sacks and is fifth nationally in tackles for loss.  He is the only player in the country to be a finalist for the Gene Upshaw Award and was a Harlon Hill nominee.  
 
The first team selections will move onto the national ballot for All-America consideration as the D2CCA All-America Teams are scheduled to be announced Thursday, Dec. 14, just prior to the national championship game on Dec. 16 in McKinney, Texas.
 
Edwards is the first D2CCA Offensive Player of the Year for the Blazers since former Blazer Rogan Wells earned the honor in both 2018 and 2019.  Edwards is one of two finalists from Super Region Two to be named finalist for the prestigious Harlon Hill Award.  
 
This season, He is 12-1 leading the Blazers to the NCAA quarterfinal round for the third time in five years and helped the Blazers win a share of their tenth Gulf South Conference title in program history this season.  

He has thrown for 4,080 yards this season for second nationally and tops in the GSC.  The 4,080 yards are second-most in a season in school history and just 233 yards from the GSC-record of 4,313 set by Nick Graziano of Arkansas Tech in 2009.  The Blazer school record is 4,226 set by Lance Funberburk in 1996, which is just 146 yards ahead of Edwards.  Edwards' 4080 yards is third-most in school history in a season so far as former Blazer great Dusty Bonner is second at 4,126 in 2000.  

This season, Edwards earned All-Gulf South Conference Second Team honors as he is 313 of 459 passing for a 68.2 clip, while he has 33 touchdown passes and nine interceptions for a 313.8 average per game and a 162.66 passing efficiency.  Edwards threw for 347 yards on 35 of 49 passing and two touchdowns, while he had 13 carries for 50 yards and a score, besting Shegog in the thrilling 38-31 victory at Delta State in the second round of the playoffs last Saturday.  Shegog was named GSC Offensive Player of the Year and first team all-conference.  

Edwards' 313 completions are good for seventh in school history currently, while his 33 passing touchdowns are good for eighth in program history so far, while he is second in school history behind former Blazer Ivory Durham (2021) in total offense with 4,379 yards through 13 games this season and his 551 total offensive plays are good for fifth in program history.  

Nationally speaking, Edwards currently is seventh in completion percentage at a 68.4 clip, while he is fifth in completions per game (24.0), seventh in passing touchdowns (33), fifth in passing yards per game (313.8) and fifth in total offense at a 336.8 clip as all lead the GSC.  He is second in the league in passing efficiency (162.66) for 11^thnationally and sixth nationally in points responsible for with 236 for second in the league.  

Edwards set the school-record for touchdown passes in a game with six twice this season with the first coming on Sept. 30 at Chowan and then a half dozen again in the first round of the playoffs versus Limestone on Nov. 18. Edwards threw for a career-high 479 yards against Keiser University on Sept. 16 for the third-most passing yards in a game in school history, while he threw for over 400 yards twice this season and over 300 yards seven times.  He also has 92 rushes for 299 yards and six rushing scores this season.  Prior to this 2023, Edwards had played in 24 games, going 7 of 11 passing for 121 yards and a long pass of 64 yards.  

He becomes the fifth Blazer to be named a finalist for the Harlon Hill Award, joining Chris Hatcher who won the award in 1994, while Funderburk was a runner-up in 1996 and Rogan Wells was the runner-up in 2019 and a finalist in 2019.  Dusty Bonner won the award twice in 2000 and 2001.  
 
Thiele, a native of Saint Augustine, Fla., had another outstanding year in 2023 as he is third in the GSC in field goal percentage at a .692 clip on 9 of 13, while he is 65 of 66 in extra-points this season and has a long field goal of 48 yards.  Thiele earned second team all-conference honors this season and was a 2022 Fred Mitchell Award Finalist in 2022.  This season, Thiele has a team-high 42 kickoffs for 2,588 yards and a 61.6 average per kick with 19 touchbacks and three kicks out of play.  Thiele earned GSC Special Teams Player of the Week honors once this season.  
 
For his career, Thiele has made 40 of 53 field goals (.755), while going 182 of 185 in extra-points.  His 302 career points is good for fifth all-time in school history and eighth all-time in GSC history.  He needs just four points to tie former Blazer great Cedric O'Neal (2012-15) for fourth all-time in program history and seventh in GSC history.  Thiele made a school-record five field goals last season against Keiser earning National Player of the Week honors that week for his efforts.  He has 38 career punts for 1,529 yards and a 40.2 average, while he has 172 kickoffs for a 62.1 average and 90 touchbacks with three kicks out of play.  
 
Harris, a native of Greer, S.C., has had an outstanding first season for the red and black in the defensive secondary.  He leads the team with 83 tackles on the year and 53 solo stops.  Harris has 3.5 tackles for loss, one interception for 25 yards, three pass breakups, while he has a team-high two fumble recoveries for three yards and one forced fumble in 13 games with eight starts.  Harris earned first team all-GSC honors this season, while he had a season-high 14 tackles and 11 solo stops in the win at West Florida (10/28) along with a fumble recovery for a touchdown.  He then had ten tackles with one tackle for loss for four yards in the regular season finale against West Georgia, while he had eight tackles and one fumble recovery at Delta State last week.  Harris earned GSC Defensive Player of the Week honors once this season.  Harris is 21^st nationally and second in the GSC in fumbles recovered this season.
 
Botsford, a native of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., has handled the punting duties for the Blazers this season after transferring from Temple University.  He has 44 punts for a 42.5 average this season with 1,869 yards.  He has 15 punts inside the 20, seven over 50 yards and 13 fair catches with just two touchbacks.  He had a long punt of 60 yards at West Alabama (11/4).  He also has had 40 kickoffs for 2,234 yards and a 55.8 average with 11 touchbacks and two kicks out of play.  Botsford had a season-high eight punts at West Alabama with four inside the 20 in the game and two inside the five.  
 
Hannan, a native of Belle Vernon, Pa., has helped anchor an offensive line that has led the Blazers to a share of the program's tenth GSC title, a 12-1 record overall and a berth in the NCAA quarterfinals for the third time in five years this weekend.  Hannan has blocked for a Harlon Hill finalist and the D2CCA Super Region Two Offensive Player of the Year.  The Blazer offense sits 11^th nationally and tops in the GSC in total offense at 455.2 yards per game, while the passing game is fifth nationally and best in the league at a 325.2 clip.  Hannan has played and started every game this season on the offensive line at right tackle and has graded out at over 92 percent with over 40 knockdowns and allowed just one sack thus far.  Hannan earned second team all-conference honors this season after transferring to VSU as a graduate transfer from Kutztown and Old Dominion. 
 
Smith, a native of Louisville, Ky., has been a standout wide receiver for the Blazers for two seasons and earned second team all-GSC honors for the second-straight season in 2023.  Smith leads the team with 66 receptions for 973 yards and six touchdowns.  He is 13^th nationally in receiving yards (973) for second in the GSC, while he is third in the GSC and 35^th nationally in receiving yards per game.  Smith has gone over 100 yards receiving three times this season with a season-high 151 yards at West Florida (10/30).  He has a season-high eight receptions at West Alabama (11/4) and caught two touchdowns twice, once against Point (9/2) and then again against Shorter (10/21).  For his career, Smith has 108 receptions for 1,699 yards and 12 touchdowns.  
 
Cass, a New Orleans, La., native, had had standout season in the secondary.  He has played in 12 games with 11 starts and has 23 tackles for the season and 17 solo stops.  He leads the team with four interceptions for 44 yards, while he has a team-high 14 pass breakups, along with one fumble recovery and one tackle for loss for two yards.  Cass earned second team all-conference honors this season.  He has a season-high four tackles twice and a season-high three solo tackles against Limestone (11/18).  Cass sits ninth nationally and second in the GSC in passes defended at 1.5 per contest.