MEAC Football Awards 2023 announced

By HBCU Gameday Newswire

Posted on November 21, 2023

NORFOLK, Va. – The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) announced its 2023 All-MEAC Football teams today, highlighting the conference football programs’ hard work and talented players. North Carolina Central headlines the First Team All-MEAC honorees with ten recipients. Howard follows with seven, while Morgan State and South Carolina State received four selectees.

All awards and honors were voted on by the MEAC’s head football coaches and sports information directors.

The conference’s Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year recipients will be announced during the National Football Hall of Fame as a part of the 65th NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Tuesday, Dec. 5, at the Aria Resort in Las Vegas, Nev.

North Carolina Central’s Torricelli Simpkins II was named the Offensive Lineman of the Year, while South Carolina State’s Jawarn Howell earned Rookie of the Year honors. North Carolina Central head coach Trei Oliver was named MEAC Coach of the Year for the second straight year.

Simpkins III is North Carolina Central’s second straight offensive lineman to earn the conference’s top spot in as many years. Simpkins III anchored the Eagles’ offensive line that amassed the conference-best total passing yards (2354), passing average (214.00 avg/g), scoring offense (36.6 avg/g), and rushing touchdowns (25), seventh-best in the football championship subdivision (FCS). The Eagles ranked second in the conference in total offense with 4138 yards. Simpkins III has received three MEAC Weekly Offensive Lineman honors this year.

Howell leads the MEAC in rushing with 808 yards (80.9 ypg) on 102 carries, and 7 TDs. He also recorded ten receptions for 149 yards, 2 TDs in nine games. He was named the FedEx Ground FCS National Offensive Player of the Week following a 283-yard rushing performance on 27 carries and three touchdowns in the Bulldogs’ win over Howard. In addition to the national honors, Howell earned MEAC Rookie of the Week honors for four straight weeks.

Coach Oliver led the Eagles to a 9-2 overall record and a 4-1 mark in conference play. The Eagles fell short of repeating as conference champions this season, however, they earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Division I FCS playoffs, the program’s first NCAA appearance. NCCU posted non-conference FCS wins over No. 25 Elon, Campbell, North Carolina A&T, and Mississippi State. Under Coach Oliver’s leadership, the Eagles are ranked 13 in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) poll and 16th in the Stat Perform FCS poll. This season, the Eagles were ranked as high as No. 7 (Nov. 6).

See below for the entire list of All-MEAC team selectees.

2023 All-MEAC Football Postseason Awards

Coach of the Year – Trei Oliver, North Carolina Central

Offensive Lineman of the Year – Torricelli Simpkins III, North Carolina Central

Rookie of the Year – Jawarn Howell, South Carolina State

First Team Offense
Pos.	Name	Cl.	School	Hometown
QB	Davius Richard	Sr.	North Carolina Central	Belle Glade, Fla.
RB	Latrell Collier	R-Sr.	North Carolina Central	Bluefield, W.Va.
RB	Jawarn Howell	Fr.	South Carolina State	Mooresville, N.C.
WR	Kasey Hawthrone	Sr.	Howard	Sebring, Fla.
WR	Devin Smith	Jr.	North Carolina Central	Durham, N.C.
TE	Keshawn Toney	Gr.	South Carolina State	Williston, S.C.
C	Torricelli Simpkins III	Jr.	North Carolina Central	Charlotte, N.C.
OL	Anim Dankwah	Gr.	Howard	Ontario, Canada
OL	Nick Taiste	R-Jr.	South Carolina State	West Columbia, S.C.
OL	Da’Quan Thomas	R-Jr.	North Carolina Central	West Palm Beach, Fla.
OL	Da’Metrius Weatherspoon	R-So.	Howard	Clairton, Penn.

First Team Defense
Pos.	Name	Cl.	School	Hometown
DL	Darrian Brokenburr	Gr.	Howard	Manassas, Va.
DL	Jaden Taylor	R-Jr.	North Carolina Central	Durham, N.C.
DL	Elijah Williams	Jr.	Morgan State	Jersey City, N.J.
DL	Patrick Godbolt	Gr.	South Carolina State	Blythewood, S.C.
LB	Erick Hunter	Jr.	Morgan State	Capitol Heights, Md.
LB	Terrance Hollon	Jr.	Howard	Cleveland, Ohio
LB	Jayden Flaker	So.	North Carolina Central	Scarborough, Maine
DB	Kenny Gallop, Jr.	Sr.	Howard	Portsmouth, Va.
DB	Jordan Toles	Sr.	Morgan State	Baltimore, Md.
DB	Jason Chambers	So.	North Carolina Central	Charlotte, N.C.
DB	Jae’Veyon Morton	Gr.	Morgan State	Detroit, Mich.
P	Aaron Bickerton	So.	Howard	Stoke-on-Trent, England
PK	Adrian Olivo	Sr.	North Carolina Central	Plant City, Fla.
RS	Brandon Codrington	Sr.	North Carolina Central	Raleigh, N.C.

Second Team Offense
Pos.	Name	Cl.	School	Hometown
QB	Quinton Williams	Sr.	Howard	Upper Marlboro, Md.
RB	Eden James	So.	Howard	Port St. Lucie, Fla.
RB	Jarett Hunter *	Sr.	Howard	Mineral, Va.
RB	Marquis Gillis *	R-So.	Delaware State	MIlford, Del.
WR	Andre Pegues	Gr.	Norfolk State	Raeford, N.C.
WR	Justin Smith-Brown	R-Jr.	South Carolina State	Coco, Fla.
TE	Edward Core	Jr.	Delaware State	Waldorf, Md.
C	Eric Brown, Jr.	Jr.	South Carolina State	Hartsville, S.C.
OL	Darius Fox	Jr.	Howard	Washington, D.C.
OL	Cam Johnson	R-Jr.	South Carolina State	Irmo, S.C.
OL	Trevon Humphrey	R-Fr.	North Carolina Central	Greensboro, N.C.
OL	Treyvon Branch	Jr.	Morgan State	White Plains, Md.
* Indicates a tie

Second Team Defense
Pos.	Name	Cl.	School	Hometown
DL	Trey Middleton	R-Jr.	North Carolina Central	Marietta, Ga.
DL	Naejuan Barber	R-So.	South Carolina State	Hopkins, S.C.
DL	Jamel Stewart	Jr.	Howard	Richmond, Va.
DL	Keshawn Lynch	R-So.	Norfolk State	Newport News, Va.
LB	Aaron Smith	R-Jr.	South Carolina State	Manning, S.C.
LB	Lawrence Richardson	Sr.	Morgan State	Philadelphia, Penn.
LB	Daylan Long *	R-So.	Norfolk State	Cincinnati, Ohio
LB	AJ Richardson *	Fr.	Norfolk State	Kings Mountain, N.C.
DB	Kole Jones	Jr.	North Carolina Central	Chesapeake, Va.
DB	Devon Allen	Jr.	Norfolk State	Virginia Beach, Va.
DB	Caron Hinton	Sr.	Howard	Detroit, Mich.
DB	R.J. Coles	R-Jr.	Norfolk State	Richmond, Va.
P	Jonathan Cardoza-Chicas	Sr.	Delaware State	Rahway, N.J.
PK	Aaron Bickerton	So.	Howard	Stoke-on-Trent, England
RS	Keith Jenkins Jr. *	So.	Morgan State	Gainesville, Va.
RS	Ian Wheeler *	Gr.	Howard	Houston, Texas
* Indicates a tie