Nov. 26, 2008

Cullowhee, N.C. - Western Carolina senior defensive lineman Jeff Bradley and sophomore safety Mitchell Bell were both named All-Southern Conference by the league's head coaches today as announced by the conference office. The duo were named to the league's second team defense. In addition, four rookies were named to the league's inaugural 25-member All-Freshman team also chosen by the coaches.

Bradley, a native of Lewisville, N.C., led the WCU defensive linemen with 31 tackles including 15 solo stops and nine tackles for loss. He also recorded a pair of sacks on the season despite receiving both double and triple teams from opposing offensive lines this season. Bradley, who was also a preseason all-conference selection, recovered a team-high four fumbles on the season.

Bradley was named a second team All-SoCon defensive lineman by the SoCon Sports Media Association a season ago.

Bell led the Catamount defense with five interceptions, including one in each of the final four games of the season. The Warner Robbins, Ga., native ranked fourth on the team with 59 total tackles including 36 solo stops and two for losses. He posted a career-high nine tackles in the home loss to Georgia Southern in late October. Also on the season, Bell blocked a kick and recovered a pair of fumbles.

Red-shirt freshmen QB Zack Jaynes and RB Quan Warley were named to the All-Freshman Offense, with redshirt freshman John Julien garnering defensive honors. True freshman punter Blake Cain was tabbed among the specialists.

Jaynes threw for 1,163 yards and 10 touchdowns after taking over as the starting quarterback midway through the season at Furman. He added a pair of rushing touchdowns, including one in the season finale against Appalachian State. A native of Canton, N.C., Jaynes was named SoCon Freshman of the Week following his first career start when he completed 33 passes for a career-high 302 yards and accounted for all three WCU touchdowns against No. 20 Furman.

Warley was a two-time weekly freshman honoree, rushing for 672 yards and two TDs in 11 games this season. He eclipsed the 100-yard rushing mark twice this season including a career-best 202 yards in WCU's win at Presbyterian. The Thomasville, N.C., native also hauled in 30 passes for 130 yards out of the backfield.

Julien, a red-shirt freshman defensive lineman from Marietta, Ga., finished with 31 tackles including 18 solo stops, posting a career-best five against nationally-ranked Liberty. He finished his rookie season with 2.5 tackles for loss including 1.5 sacks and one pass break-up.

Cain, a freshman punter, averaged 38.9 yards per punt this season with five traveling over 50 yards. The Kennesaw, Ga, native downed 17 kicks inside the opponent's 20-yard line including a career-best five in the home win over Chattanooga helping him garner SoCon Special Teams Player of the Week accolades. He also kicked a school-record 13 times in the season finale against Appalachian State.

In head coach Dennis Wagner's first season in Cullowhee, the Catamounts snapped two winless droughts. WCU ended its road losing skid at 14 games with its victory over Presbyterian on Sept. 20 in Clinton, S.C. The victory over Chattanooga ended the Catamounts' SoCon losing skid at 20 games.

© 2009 CBS Interactive. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | About Us | Advertise | Feedback | XML RSS Feeds