NEW ORLEANS – The Sun Belt Conference announced Friday its 2016 Preseason All-Sun Belt Football Team and individual awards, chosen by the 11 head coaches and selected media representatives.

The honorees include 36 seniors between the two teams comprised of 53 total student-athletes. There were 17 seniors, eight juniors and one sophomore on the first team while the second team had 19 seniors and eight juniors.

New Mexico State’s Larry Rose III was chosen as the Preseason Offensive Player of the Year while Appalachian State’s John Law was selected as the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.

Rose played in and started all 12 games last season for the Aggies and ended the 2015 campaign as the Sun Belt's Offensive Player of the Year. He was selected to the Associated Press All-America Third Team after leading the league with 1,651 years on 240 attempts. He also scored 14 touchdowns in 2015 which was second amongst running backs in the Sun Belt. His 1,000-plus yard effort in 2015 marked the first time since 1998 that the Aggies have had a runner rush for over 1,000-yards in back-to-back seasons.

Rose's yardage pushed him to No. 6 all-time on the single season rushing list in Sun Belt history. He finished the season with 1,934 all-purpose yards.

Law is the heart and soul of the Mountaineer defense that finished first in the Sun Belt in scoring defense with 19.1 points and 314.5 yards allowed per game last season. Appalachian State was picked as the favorite to win the league title in 2016.

Law was second on the Mountaineer defense with 72 stops and four sacks in 2015. Law currently ranks third among active Mountaineers with six career interceptions. He is the Mountaineers team leader and was a team captain in 2015.

Law was a preseason selection in 2015 and was named to the All-Sun Belt First Team in 2015.

Arkansas State led all teams with 12 total selections on the preseason All-Sun Belt First and Second Teams. The Mountaineers and Georgia Southern each placed four on the first team. UL Lafayette had a total of six between the two teams, one on the first team and five on the second team. The Mountaineers finished with six total selections between the two teams.

The Sun Belt football media day will be held in New Orleans on July 25. The event will be broadcast live from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. CT on the Sun Belt Digital Network. ESPN3 will broadcast live from media day from 1 p.m. – 3 p.m. CT. Live content will also be available on the Sun Belt website and social media platforms.

2016 Sun Belt Conference Preseason Football Teams

Preseason Offensive Player of the Year: Larry Rose III (New Mexico State, RB, Jr., Communications)
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: John Law (Appalachian State, LB, Sr., Health Promotion)

* - named to 2015 Preseason Teams
^ - named to 2015 All-Sun Belt First Team
# - named to 2015 All-Sun Belt Second Team
! - named to 2015 All-Sun Belt Honorable Mention Team

First Team Offense
Name	School	Pos	Year	Major
Taylor Lamb !	Appalachian State	QB	Jr.	Physical Education
Matt Breida *^	Georgia Southern	RB	Sr.	Accounting
Larry Rose III ^	New Mexico State	RB	Jr.	Communications
Dijon Paschal !	Arkansas State	WR	Jr.	Sport Management
Robert Davis ^	Georgia State	WR	Jr.	Interdisciplinary Studies
Penny Hart ^	Georgia State	WR	So.	Exercise Science
Gerald Everett ^	South Alabama	TE	Sr.	Interdisciplinary Studies
Parker Collins #	Appalachian State	OL	Sr.	Interdisciplinary Studies
Jemar Clark ^	Arkansas State	OL	Sr.	General Studies
Colton Jackson *^	Arkansas State	OL	Sr.	General Studies
Andy Kwon #	Georgia Southern	OL	Sr.	Sport Management
Antonio Garcia !	Troy	OL	Sr.	Post Graduate-Criminal Justice
First Team Defense
Waylon Roberson	Arkansas State	DL	Sr.	General Studies
Ja’Von Rolland-Jones *^	Arkansas State	DL	Jr.	Sport Management
Bernard Dawson #	Georgia Southern	DL	Sr.	Information Technology
Jay Ellison *#	Georgia Southern	DL	Sr.	General Studies
Rashad Dillard	Troy	DL	Sr.	Psychology
Eric Boggs #	Appalachian State	LB	Jr.	Physical Education
John Law *^	Appalachian State	LB	Sr.	Health Promotion
Xavier Woodson-Luster *#	Arkansas State	LB	Sr.	Sport Management
Cody Brown #	Arkansas State	DB	Sr.	Communication Studies
Bobby Baker	Georgia State	DB	Sr.	Speech
Savion Brown #	UL Lafayette	DB	Sr.	General Studies
Jeremy Reaves #	South Alabama	DB	Jr.	Sports and Recreation Management
First Team Special Teams
Austin Rehkow *^	Idaho	P	Sr.	Exercise Science and Health
Austin Rehkow #	Idaho	PK	Sr.	Exercise Science and Health
Blaise Taylor *	Arkansas State	RS	Jr.	Business Administration
Second Team Offense
Matt Linehan !	Idaho	QB	Jr.	Broadcast and Digital Media
Marcus Cox *#	Appalachian State	RB	Sr.	Management
Elijah McGuire *!	UL Lafayette	RB	Sr.	General Studies
Callen Hightower	Idaho	WR	Sr.	General Studies
AJalen Holley *	UL Monroe	WR	Sr.	Kinesiology
Josh Magee	South Alabama	WR	Sr.	Communication
Keith Rucker #	Georgia State	TE	Sr.	Speech
Colby Gossett	Appalachian State	OL	Jr.	Management
Devin Mondie	Arkansas State	OL	Sr.	Communication Studies
Anthony McMeans !	New Mexico State	OL	Sr.	Individualized Studies
Curtis Williams	South Alabama	OL	Sr.	Interdisciplinary Studies
Ryan Melton *!	Texas State	OL	Sr.	Agriculture
Second Team Defense
Darrius Sapp	Georgia Southern	DL	Jr.	General Studies
Shawanye Lawrence	Georgia State	DL	Sr.	Psychology
Karmichael Dunbar	UL Lafayette	DL	Sr.	Criminal Justice
Taboris Lee	UL Lafayette	DL	Jr.	General Studies
Khari Lain !	Arkansas State	LB	Jr.	Strategic Communications/Public Relations
Otha Peters !	UL Lafayette	LB	Sr.	General Studies
Roman Buchanan *	South Alabama	LB	Sr.	Exercise Science
Chris Humes	Arkansas State	DB	Sr.	Health Promotions
Blaise Taylor *	Arkansas State	DB	Jr.	Business Administration
Tracy Walker *	UL Lafayette	DB	Jr.	Sports Management
Tre’ Hunter	UL Monroe	DB	Sr.	General Studies
Kalen Jackson !	South Alabama	DB	Sr.	Communication
Second Team Special Teams
Lumi Kaba	Texas State	P	Sr.	Exploratory Professional Studies
Aleem Sunanon !	South Alabama	PK	Sr.	Masters of Public Administration
Xavier Johnson !	South Alabama	RS	Jr.	Interdisciplinary Studies