JONESBORO (12/5/07) ? Arkansas State senior safety Tyrell Johnson (Rison, Ark.) has been named the Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year and was among nine Indians named to the league's postseason all-conference team, announced Wednesday by the conference office.

Junior offensive lineman Matt Mandich (Hattiesburg, Miss.) joined ASU's safety combination of Khayyam Burns (Fort Smith, Ark.) and Johnson as first-team selections, while sophomore running back Reggie Arnold (Little Rock, Ark.), senior wide receiver Levi Dejohnette (Bastrop, La.), senior linebacker Koby McKinnon (Junction City, Ark.) and junior punter Brett Shrable (Walnut Ridge, Ark.) represented ASU on the second team.

Sophomore Alex Carrington (Tupelo, Miss.) and sophomore quarterback Corey Leonard (Covington, La.) were both honorable mention selections.

ASU has now picked up 48 All-Sun Belt Conference selections in six years under head coach Steve Roberts, including 39 over the last three seasons.  The Indians' 48 selections over Roberts' first six years are the most over a six-year span for ASU as a FBS (formerly Division I-A) member.

Troy had a league-best 13 players named to the all-conference team, followed by Florida Atlantic with 12, Louisiana-Monroe with 10, Arkansas State and Louisiana-Lafayette with nine each, Middle Tennessee with seven, North Texas with five and Florida International with three.

Johnson became the first ASU player to be named the Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year, but the Indians' sixth player to receive the award all-time in any conference.  It is the first time that an ASU player has received the award since Wesley Williams was named the Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 1978.

ARKANSAS STATE ALL-SUN BELT CONFERENCE BIOS:

Reggie Arnold (Little Rock, Ark., So., RB)

Arnold rushed for 1,060 yards and a career-high nine touchdowns while averaging 6.5 yards per carry in 2007.  His 6.5 rushing average is the best in the Sun Belt Conference among the top 10 rushing leaders and his nine rushing touchdowns are the second most among the same group.  In fact, Arnold is ranked 46^th in the nation in rushing and his 6.5 average per rush is the second highest in the nation among all running backs ranked in the top 50 for rushing yards.  Arnold eclipsed 1,000 yards rushing for the second straight season, making him the only player in ASU history to accomplish the feat in his first two seasons.  He posted over 100 yards rushing in four games, including a career-high 225 yard performance against Louisiana-Lafayette.  Arnold also added 52 yards receiving and posted a touchdown reception to give him 10 total scores on the year.

Khayyam Burns (Fort Smith, Ark., Sr., S)

A three-time All-Sun Belt selection, Burns posted a career-high 97 tackles, six tackles for loss, four pass break-ups and a fumble recovery in 2007.  He is the Sun Belt's second all-time leading tackler with 331 stops.  He finished second on the team in tackles and is ranked fourth in the Sun Belt in tackles with 8.1 per game.  He recorded a career-high 13 tackles against North Texas this season and had three straight games with double-figure tackles.  He posted at least five tackles in every game and had at least eight in eight games.  Alongside Tyrell Johnson, he was part of a safety combination that posted a combined 191 tackles.  He was part of a defensive backfield that ranked No. 2 in the Sun Belt Conference and 19^th in the nation in pass defense.

Alex Carrington (Tupelo, Miss., So., DE)

Carrington had the best season of his young career in 2007, recording 38 tackles, including five for loss of 25 yards, and one sack.  He posted a career-high nine tackles in ASU's victory over Memphis and had a career-high 1.5 tackles for loss against Louisiana-Lafayette.  He also had eight tackles against Louisiana-Monroe and posted three or more tackles in seven games.  He helped lead the ASU defense that ranks No. 1 in the Sun Belt Conference in total defense, No. 2 in rushing defense, No. 2 in scoring defense and No. 2 in pass defense.  He was named to Phil Steele's Mid-Season All-Sun Belt Conference First Team.

Levi Dejohnette (Bastrop, La., Sr., WR)

Dejohnette, one of the most prolific receivers in ASU history and a 2005 All-Sun Belt selection, posted the best numbers of his career his senior season in 2007 with personal-bests of 61 receptions and 701 receiving yards.  His 61 receptions are the second most in ASU history and his 701 receiving yards are the ninth most for a single-season.  He posted a career-high nine receptions for a career-best 108 yards in a game this season.  Dejohnette caught two touchdown passes as well and ranks fourth in the Sun Belt for receptions and fifth for receiving yards.  Dejohnette finished his career ranked third for receptions (152) and third for receiving yards (1,816).  Dejohnette was named Phil Steele's Mid-Season First Team All-Sun Belt Conference and was a preseason All-Sun Belt selection by Athlon's and Phil Steele's.

Tyrell Johnson (Rison, Ark., Sr., S)

Johnson, the Preseason Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year and SBC's all-time leader in tackles with 363 total stops, recorded 94 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, a career-high six interceptions for 142 yards and a touchdown, four pass break-ups and two forced fumbles.  He broke the Sun Belt record for career interception return yards with 309 and finished as the Sun Belt's third all-time leader in interceptions with 13.  He ranks seventh in the Sun Belt in tackles (7.8 per game), third in interceptions (0.5 per game) and sixth for passes defended (0.83 per game).  He is the only player in the Sun Belt ranked among the top 10 players for tackles, interceptions and passes defended.  He recorded a season-high 14 tackles against Texas, posted double-figure tackles three times and had at least seven stops in eight games.  He is ranked tied for 10^th in the nation in interceptions.

Corey Leonard (Covington, La., So., QB)

Leonard, one of 15 semifinalists for the Davey O'Brien Award, posted a school-record 2,782 yards of total offense and was named the Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Week three times.  Leonard set the ASU record for single-season touchdown passes with 16 and threw for the third most passing yards in school history with 2,235.  He added 547 rushing yards and five touchdowns on the ground, making him accountable for 21 total touchdowns.  He threw a school-record five touchdowns in a game and also had a season-high 359 yards of total offense that ranks as the fourth most in school history.  He is currently ranked 40^th in the nation for total offense.  During the season, Leonard broke into the top-10 career leaders at ASU for total offense, passing touchdowns, passing yards and completions as only a sophomore.  Leonard was a preseason All-Sun Belt selection by Athlon's and Phil Steele's.

Matt Mandich (Hattiesburg, Miss., Jr., OL)

Mandich is a three-time All-Sun Belt Conference selection that was named Mid-Season First Team All-Sun Belt by Phil Steele's.  Mandich started all 12 games along the offensive line in 2007 and has now started every game of his career at ASU.  He helped ASU post the second most yards of total offense in school history in 2007 and helped lead the way for ASU's rushing attack that ranks 37^th in the nation as well.  He was also a Preseason All-Sun Belt selection and named Preseason All-Sun Belt by six different football publications.

Koby McKinnon (Junction City, Ark., Sr. LB)

McKinnon recorded a career-high 101 tackles in 2007 to rank third in the Sun Belt Conference with an average of 8.4 tackles per game.  A 2006 All-Sun Belt selection, McKinnon also had a team-high seven tackles for loss of 25 yards, added a sack, posted two interceptions for 51 yards and had four pass break-ups.  He posted a career-high 12 tackles against Middle Tennessee and reached double-figure tackles in a game four times this season.  The Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference selection finished his career as the Sun Belt's No. 2 all-time leader in interception return yards with 236.

Brett Shrable (Walnut Ridge, Ark., Jr., P)

Shrable had the best season of his career as ASU's punter in 2007, averaging 41.7 yards per punt that ranks as the second best average in the Sun Belt Conference and 35^th in the nation.  He punted 47 times for 1,958 yards and had seven fair catches and five punts inside the 20.  Shrable booted a career-best 57 yard punt and had long punts of over 50 yards in six games.  He averaged at least 43 yards per punt in seven games and had nine punts of 50 yards or more.  His 41.7 yard average per punt is the fifth highest for a single season in ASU history.

2007 ALL-SUN BELT CONFERENCE

Player of Year

Rusty Smith (Florida Atlantic, So., QB)

Offensive Player of Year

Omar Haugabook (Troy, Sr., QB)

Defensive Player of the Year

Tyrell Johnson (Arkansas State, Sr., DB)

Newcomer of the Year

Chris Bradwell (Troy, Sr., DL)

Freshman of the Year

Giovanni Vizza (North Texas, Fr., QB)

Coach of the Year

Howard Schnellenberger, FAU

First Team All-Sun Belt Conference Offense

Rusty Smith (Florida Atlantic, So, QB)

Tyrell Fenroy (Louisiana-Lafayette, Jr., RB)

Calvin Dawson (Louisiana-Monroe, Sr., RB)

Cortez Gent (Florida Atlantic, So., WR)

Casey Fitzgerald (North Texas, Jr., WR)

Jason Harmon (Florida Atlantic, Jr., TE)

Matt Mandich (Arkansas State, Jr., OL)

Jesse Newman (Louisiana-Lafayette, Sr., OL)

Franklin Dunbar (Middle Tennessee, Jr., OL)

Kyle Cunningham (ULM, Sr., OL)

Dion Small (Troy, Jr., OL)

First Team All-Sun Belt Conference Defense

Rodney Hardeway (Louisiana-Lafayette, Sr., DL)

Tavares Jones (Middle Tennessee, Sr., DL)

Erik Walden (Middle Tennessee, Sr., DL)

Jeremiah Chapman (North Texas, Sr., DL)

Frantz Joseph (Florida Atlantic, Jr., LB)

Cergile Sincere (Florida Atlantic, Sr., LB)

Boris Lee (Troy, So., LB)

Khayyam Burns (Arkansas State, Sr., DB)

Tyrell Johnson (Arkansas State, Sr., DB)

Tavious Polo (Florida Atlantic, Fr., DB)

Elbert Mack (Troy, Sr., DB)

First Team All-Sun Belt Conference Special Teams

Greg Whibbs (Troy, Sr., PK)

Scott Love (ULM, So., P)

Leodis McKelvin (Troy, Sr., KR)

Desmond Gee (Middle Tennessee, So., All Purpose)

Second Team All-Sun Belt Conference Offense

Omar Haugabook (Troy, Sr., QB)

Reggie Arnold (Arkansas State, So., RB)

Kenny Cattouse (Troy, Sr., RB)

Levi Dejohnette (Arkansas State, Sr., WR)

Gary Banks (Troy, Sr., WR)

Zeek Zacharie (ULM, Jr., TE)

John Rizzo (Florida Atlantic, Jr, OL)

Jarrid Smith (Florida Atlantic, Sr., OL)

Adam Hill (ULM, Sr., OL)

Chris Fisher (Louisiana-Lafayette, So., OL)

Kelvin Drake (North Texas, So., OL)

Second Team All-Sun Belt Conference Defense

Jervonte Jackson (Florida Atlantic, Jr., DL)

David Cooper (ULM, Sr., DL)

Kenny Mainor (Troy, Jr., DL)

Shawn Todd (Troy, Sr., DL)

Koby McKinnon (Arkansas State, Sr. LB)

Antwyne Zanders (Louisiana-Lafayette, Jr., LB)

Cardia Jackson (ULM, So., LB)

Corey Small (Florida Atlantic, Jr., DB)

Greg James (ULM, So., DB)

Bradley Robinson (Middle Tennessee, Sr., DB)

Leodis McKelvin (Troy, Sr., DB)

Second Team All-Sun Belt Conference Special Teams

Drew Edmiston (Louisiana-Lafayette, Jr., PK)

Brett Shrable (Arkansas State, Jr., P)

Lionell Singleton (Florida International, Sr., KR)

Michael Desormeaux (Louisiana-Lafayette, Jr., All Purpose)