The USA South Athletic Conference has announced its 2024 All-Conference awards for football. Individually, Maryville's Bryson Rollins was named Offensive Player of the Year while Brevard's Robert Dorsey earned Defensive Player of the Year. Offensive Rookie of the Year went to Southern Virginia's Alex Silvester and Defensive Rookie of the Year was collected by LaGrange's Ched Smith while his coach, Wes Dobson, was named Coach of the Year. Finally, N.C. Wesleyan's Braxtyn Green earned Special Teams Player of the Year to round out the individual honors. Additionally, the USA South recognized an All-Sportsmanship Team, consisting of one member from each competing school who their coach felt displayed the best sportsmanship this season.

All honors were determined by votes from the football coach at each institution.

Rollins, a junior quarterback from Elizabethton, Tennessee becomes the first Scot to earn USA South football Offensive Player of the Year honors. Rollins led the Conference in passing with 2,352 yards, an average of 261.3 per game, with a passer efficiency of 172.7 during the regular season. His 20 passing touchdowns ranked second in the Conference while he also added three scores on the ground. Against USA South opponents, Rollins again led the League with 1,799 passing yards, 257.0 per game, good for a 186.2 passer efficiency . For his efforts this campaign, Rollins earned All-Conference honors at quarterback for the third consecutive season, including First Team All-Conference honors for the second straight campaign. Finally, Rollins grabbed USA South Offensive Player of the Week honors once this fall.

Silvester, a tight end from Houston, Texas becomes the first Knight to earn USA South football Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. He is also the first SVU football student-athlete to collect any individual "of the year" accolade. During the regular season, Silvester compiled a League rookie-best 449 receiving yards, good for 13.6 yards per catch, with three touchdowns. In League games, Silvester again led all rookie pass-catchers with 426 yards on 30 receptions, good for 14.2 yards per catch, and three touchdowns. For his efforts this fall, Silvester earned Second Team All-Conference honors while also being named USA South Offensive Rookie of the Week once.

Dorsey, a Charlotte, North Carolina junior defensive lineman, becomes the second Tornado to earn USA South football Defensive Player of the Year honors (Steffon Canady, 2021). Over the regular season, Dorsey led the Conference with 11.5 sacks which resulted in a loss of 71 yards. This was a part of 14 total tackles for loss which also was the best amount in the League. Dorsey was tied for the USA South-high with three forced fumbles to go along with seven quarterback hurries. For Dorsey during League-play, he was tied for the Conference-lead in sacks with six and totaled eight total tackles for loss. For his efforts this campaign, Dorsey earned First Team All-Conference honors as a defensive lineman for the second consecutive season and grabbed USA South Defensive Player of the Week honors once.

Smith, a freshman linebacker from Macon, Georgia becomes the fourth member of the Panther program to earn USA South football Defensive Rookie of the Year honors. During the regular season, Smith totaled 59 tackles, including 47 solo efforts which ranked tied for third in the Conference. Smith's 13.5 total tackles for loss ranked second in the USA South while his five sacks placed him fourth. Against Conference foes, Smith led the League with 13.5 tackles for loss, which included five sacks, while is 43 solo tackles ranked third. He also added a fumble return for a touchdown against Methodist. Finally, Smith was named a Second Team All-Conference linebacker to go along with three USA South Defensive Rookie of the Week honors.

Green,  a Live Oak, Florida sophomore punter/place kicker, earns USA South Special Teams Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. Green made 11 of his 14 field goal attempts during the regular season which included a long effort of 43 yards. He also handled the punting duties and averaged a Conference-best 42.6 yards per punt, which included nine kicks of 50 yards or better, with ten of his 34 attempts downed inside the 20 yard line. Against USA South opposition, Green was 9-of-12 on field goals and averaged a League-best 42.7 yards per punt as a third of his attempts were downed inside the 20 yard line. For his efforts this fall, Green earned All-Conference honors as a placekicker and a punter for the second consecutive year while also being named Special Teams Player of the Week twice. 

Dodson, in his second season at LaGrange, becomes the first Panther leader to earn a USA South Coach of the Year honor. Picked to finish last in the USA South Preseason Coaches poll, LaGrange posted a 6-2 Conference record to earn the League's second-best record. The six wins against USA South opponents are the most in program history while LaGrange's 6-4 overall record is the best since the 2008 season (9-2). Finally, after an 0-7 League campaign last season, the six-win improvement sets a new Conference record for best one-year turnaround.
 

Offensive Player of the Year		Defensive Player of the Year		Special Teams Player of the Year
Bryson Rollins, Maryville		Robert Dorsey, Brevard		Braxtyn Green, N.C. Wesleyan
Offensive Rookie of the Year		Defensive Rookie of the Year		Coach of the Year
Alex Silvester, Southern Virginia		Ched Smith, LaGrange		Wes Dodson, LaGrange

The 2024 USA South Football All-Conference Team:  
 

	First Team	Second Team
Running Back	Anthony Byrd, N.C. Wesleyan Chancellor Lee-Parker, Brevard	Goldman Butler VI, LaGrange Tyreeck Hall, Southern Virginia
Quarterback	Bryson Rollins, Maryville	Ethan Beamish, Brevard
Wide Receiver	Steph Carter Jr., Maryville Christian Drumgoole, N.C. Wesleyan Zackary Orr, Brevard	Jasharie Anderson, LaGrange Ashton Bryant, LaGrange Jacobey James-Grace, Belhaven
Tight End/H-Back/Fullback	Brody Covington, Huntingdon	Alex Silvester, Southern Virginia
Offensive Line	Desmond Barnes, N.C. Wesleyan Tanner Dyer, Maryville LaRoddrick Rucker, Brevard Owen Sacks, Maryville Noah Turner, Huntingdon	Micheal Anderson, Belhaven Ben Barker, Huntingdon Jacob Brim, LaGrange Brody Lindsey, Brevard Gabe Rankins, Belhaven
Defensive Line	Jimmy Byrd, Belhaven Robert Dorsey, Brevard Jonathan Harris, Maryville Aiden Seagroves, N.C. Wesleyan	Deshawn Holman, Greensboro Alex Mase, Maryville Robert Vickers, Huntingdon Frank Walker, Greensboro
Linebacker	Wyatt Beck, Belhaven Desmond Fogle, LaGrange Max Steele, Greensboro	Tyler Bost, Maryville Ched Smith, LaGrange Devon White, Maryville
Cornerback	Grant Henderson, Maryville James Woods, Brevard	Dee Gray, Belhaven Jeremiah Young, N.C. Wesleyan
Safety	Icarius Hodgin, Belhaven Deon King Jr., LaGrange	JaJuan Givens, Greensboro Keyon Stoutemire, LaGrange
Return Specialist	Zackary Orr, Brevard	Ja'Shawn Harris, Greensboro
Place Kicker	Constantine Hontzas, Belhaven	Braxtyn Green, N.C. Wesleyan
Punter	Braxtyn Green, N.C. Wesleyan	Brandon Matson, LaGrange
Honorable Mention
Josiah Raymond, Belhaven Baylee Ramey, Brevard Wes Kidd, Greensboro Braylon Miller, Huntingdon Jaylan Harris, LaGrange Jake Brock, Maryville Omar Goodwin, Methodist Andrew Brown, N.C. Wesleyan Devin Watson, Southern Virginia

 

All-Sportsmanship

Cooper Tullo, Belhaven Ernest Smith II, Brevard Josh Sims, Greensboro Bailey Huston, Huntingdon Denver Griffis, LaGrange Trent Colburn, Maryville Preston Tyler, Methodist Terrell Morris, N.C. Wesleyan Spike Adams, Southern Virginia