As the second round of the Southern Conference playoffs approaches on Saturday, multiple member’s of Mercer’s football program have been named finalists for a variety of SoCon awards.
Chief among them, Head Coach Mike Jacobs was named the SoCon Coach of the Year after leading the Bears to their second consecutive FCS Playoffs in his first year in Macon. Jacobs, after making the move to Mercer from Lenoir-Rhyne in January, led the team to its best season since the program was reinstated in 2013. Jacobs was also named as a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award, an accolade for the top FCS head coach each year.
Running back Dwayne McGee ‘25 was named Offensive Player of the Year for his 1,000 yard season, the first such season that a Mercer rusher has had since 2019. Defensive lineman Brayden Manley ‘27 was named Defensive Player of the Year and defensive lineman Andrew Zock ‘28 was named Freshman of the Year.
McGee, linebacker Isaac Dowling ‘25, cornerback TJ Moore ‘25 and safety Myles Redding ‘25 were placed on the SoCon offense and defensive first team, respectively. Included on the SoCon Second Team were offensive lineman Riley Adcock ‘25 and EJ Johnson ‘26, defensive lineman Arias Nash ‘26, Zock ‘28, linebacker Ken Standley ‘25, punter John McConnell ‘26 and return specialist Brayden Smith ‘27.
The SoCon also included four members of the team into the All Freshman team that include Zock ‘28, wide receiver Kendall Harris ‘28, offensive lineman Tyler Muary ‘28, and quarterback Whitt Newbauer ‘28.
The Bears will rely on these players on Saturday as the team takes on the University of Rhode Island, the No. 10 team in the country.
