BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Valdosta State freshman running back Shawn Paschall and head coach Graham Craig took home specialty honors as the 2025 All-Gulf South Conference team was announced Wednesday.  Craig was named Co-Coach of the Year, while Paschall took home Offensive Freshman of the Year honors.
 
The Blazers five selections to the first team and seven on the second team, along with Paschall and Craig.  Craig, who guided the Blazers to their 12th Gulf South Conference title with a thrilling 47-44 overtime victory at then-No. 3 West Florida last Saturday in his first season as head coach of the Blazers.  
 
Craig became the sixth Blazer head coach to earn Coach of the Year honors in program history as Hal Mumme (1996); Chris Hatcher (2000-2002); Kerwin Bell (2018); Gary Goff (2019 & 2021) and Tremaine Jackson were the first five.  Bell shared the honor in 2018, as did Goff in 2019 and Jackson in 2024.  Craig was the offensive coordinator for the Blazers in 2024 helping lead the team to the national title game, before being elevated to head coach in January, 2025.  
 
Paschall also became the sixth Blazer to earn Offensive Freshman of the Year honors since the award began in 2008.  Along with Paschall, Chris Hart (2008), Gerald Ford (2009), Cedric O'Neal (2012), Cedric Hollingshed (2016) and Jamar Thompkins (2018) earned the prestigious honor.  Thompkins and Hart shared the award their respective years.  
 
Click here for the All-GSC Teams.  
 
The Blazers finished the regular season 6-4 and have won four-straight games after beginning the season 2-4, while earning the GSC's automatic qualification into the NCAA postseason with the conference title.  VSU travels just up the road at No. 13 Albany State on Saturday at 1 p.m., in the first round of the playoffs.  Tickets are on sale for the game by clicking here.  
 
Paschall, a native of Deerfield Beach, Fla., has had an outstanding second half of his freshman season as he has 35 carries for 153 yards on the ground with three rushing touchdowns for fourth on the team in rushing scores.  He has a long rush of 19 yards and had a season-high 10 carries for 62 yards and two touchdowns at Division I The Citadel (Oct. 11).  Paschall also has been outstanding in the return game with eight kick returns for 232 yards and one touchdown as he averages 29.0 yards per return and had a 95-yard kick return touchdown against North Greenville (Oct. 25).  He has earned GSC Special Teams Player of the Week once (Oct. 27) and GSC Freshman of the Week three times.
 
In addition to Craig and Paschall earning specialty honors, West Florida quarterback Marcus Stokes was named Offensive Player of the Year, while UWF's Ja'Kobe Clinton was named Defensive Player of the Year.  Craig shared Coach of the Year honors with UWF head coach Kaleb Nobles.  West Alabama's Crissean Jones was named Defensive Freshman of the Year.
 
Earning first team all-conference honors for the Blazers were junior running back Corey Reddick Jr., who leads the Blazers with 101 carries for 603 yards and seven touchdown runs.  He averages 6.0 yards per carry and 60.30 yards per game on the ground.  Reddick, Jr., is tops in the GSC in rushing yards per carry (6.0) for 28th nationally, while he is third in the league in rushing yards (603) and fourth in rushing yards per game (60.30).  His seven rushing scores are good for fifth in the GSC.  Reddick, Jr., has earned GSC Player of the Week honors once this season as he had a season-high 18 carries for 151 yards and a touchdown in the win over No. 21 Delta State on Nov. 8.  
 
Senior wide receiver Council Allen earned first team all-conference honors for the first time, as he was a second team selection in 2023.  The Hialeah, Fla., native, leads the team in receiving with 37 catches for 481 yards and one touchdown.  He has a long reception of 30 yards, while he has one passing touchdown for 36 yards in the win against West Alabama (Nov. 1) and also had seven receptions for a season-high 110 yards and a receiving touchdown in the that game.  This season, Allen is seventh in the GSC in receiving yards (430), fifth in receiving yards per game (61.4) and second in receptions per game (4.71).  For his career, he has helped lead VSU to one national title appearance and three GSC titles, while eclipsing 100 yards receiving five times.  He has played in 45 games with 128 receptions, 1,632 yards and ten touchdown receptions, while he has 1,679 all-purpose yards.  
 
Blazer senior offensive lineman Kenley-Mary Asse earned first team all-league honors for the second straight year at guard as he has played in 39 games for his career on the offensive line for the Blazers earning second team all-region honors in 2024 and honorable mention All-America from Don Hansen.  This season he has played in seven games on the offensive line has graded out at 89% while has over 40 knockdown blocks.  He has helped VSU to four GSC titles and two appearances in the NCAA Division II National Title game in 2021 and 2024.  
 
Defensively, two Blazers earned first team honors in senior defensive lineman Mark Robinson and senior defensive back Rance Conner.  Robinson, a Memphis, Tenn., native has played in 22 games for the Blazers in the defensive line in two seasons.  This season he has played in eight games with 43 total tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss for 24 yards and a team-high 4.5 sacks for 21 yards, while he has five quarterback hurries, two fumble returns, one forced fumble and one blocked kick.  His two fumble returns places him atop the GSC and 20^th nationally, while he is second in the GSC in sacks per game at a 0.56 clip.  
 
He was named GSC Co-Defensive Player of the Week once and D2Football.com National Defensive Player of the Week following a nine tackle, four sack outing with one forced fumble and one fumble return in the Homecoming victory over North Greenville on Oct. 25.  Robinson's four sacks tied the Bazemore-Hyder Stadium record for the third time and his four sacks also tied for the most in program history in a game, while it tied for fourth-most in GSC history.  Last season he played in 13 games with 27 total tackles and 11 solo stops, while registering 5.5 tackles for loss for 13 yards and two sacks for eight yards.  He had one fumble return and one hurry.
 
Conner, a native of Miami, Fla., has played for the Blazers for two seasons and earned second team all-league honors a season ago and has played in 24 games for his career.  This season, he has played in all ten games with 40 tackles and 27 solo stops in the secondary.  He has six tackles for loss for 23 yards and two sacks for 12 yards, while leading the team with four interceptions.  Conner has four pass breakups, one fumble return, two forced fumbles and one blocked kick.  His four interceptions are good for second in the league at 0.40. clip for 15^th nationally, while the four picks are tied for the league-lead.  He is fifth in the GSC in passes defended at an 0.80 clip.   
 
A total of seven Blazers earned second team honors as senior running back Eric Watts, and senior center Victor Cameron were named to the team on offense, while senior defensive lineman Greg Hudgins III, along with sophomore linebacker Julius Pascal, graduate linebacker Jaden Dawkins and senior defensive back Dallas Robinson were named to the team on defense.  Freshman kicker Matt Rolader earned second team honors as place kicker. 
 
Watts is second on the team in rushing this season with 73 carries for 467 yards and a team-high nine rushing scores.  Watts is second in the GSC in rushing touchdowns and 44^th nationally.  Cameron has played in all ten games this season at center.  He has blocked for a team that has won four-straight games and won three-straight against ranked opponents.  He has graded out at over 80% for the season and has 12 knockdown blocks and has played in 27 games for his career at VSU, while helping the team to back-to-back league titles and a national championship appearance in 2024.
 
Hudgins has anchored the defensive line for the Blazers this season playing in all ten games thus far, while registering 30 tackles with 5.0 tackles for loss for 12 yards and one sack for six yards.  He has one pass breakup and a team-high six hurries.  Hudgins has played in 22 games for VSU.  Pascal leads the team with 85 total tackles and 47 solo stops, while recording back-to-back games of double-digit tackle, including a career-high 14 tackles against Delta State.  He has six tackle for loss for 20 yards and one sack for seven, while he has four breakups and six hurries in ten games.  Pascal leads the GSC in solo tackles per game at a 4.70 clip for 46^th nationally, while he is tops in the league in total tackles per game at an 8.5 clip for 45^th nationally.
 
Dawkins is second on the team in tackles with 69 and 30 solo stops.  He has 5.5 tackles for loss for 18 yards and one sack for nine yards, while registering one interception with two pass breakups and one hurry.  Dallas Robinson is third on the team in total tackles with 49 and has 28 solo stops.  He as four tackles for loss for 13 yards and 1.5 sacks for seven yards, while recording four pass breakups with one hurry, one fumble return for a touchdown against West Alabama and one blocked kick. 
 
Rolader has been outstanding as a freshman earning GSC Freshman of the Week three times and GSC Special Teams Player of the Week three times.  He is 12^th nationally in field goal percentage at a .800 clip on 8 of 10 for second in the league, while he is second in the GSC in field goals per game at a 0.80 clip.  Rolader is fourth in the GSC in scoring at 6.0 points per game.  He registered six extra-points and the game winning 37-yard field goal in overtime last weekend as VSU won the GSC title with the win at West Florida.  Rolader is 36 of 37 in extra-points this season and has scored a team-high 60 points.