Eight Salukis earn All-MVFC honors

ST. LOUIS – Eight Southern Illinois University football players earned All-Conference honors from the Missouri Valley Football Conference, the league announced Monday. Punter Lane Reazin was a first-team selection; and Jeremy Chinn (defensive back) and Austin Olsen (offensive line) were named second team selections.

Hans Carmien (fullback), D.J. Davis (return specialist), Darrell James (wide receiver), Anthony Knighton (defensive line) and Ryan Neal (defensive back) were all named honorable mention All-MVFC.

Lane Reazin, Punter, First Team

Lane Reazin earned first-team All-MVFC honors after leading the MVFC and ranking seventh nationally in punting average (43.6). Reazin led SIU to a net punting average of 38.3 yards, which was second in the MVFC in and 16^th nationally. Reazin's punting averaged was fourth in SIU history for a single season and 14^th in MVFC history.

Jeremy Chinn, Defensive Back, Second Team

Jeremy Chinn, a sophomore, led the MVFC in forced fumbles and was sixth in interceptions. He led the MVFC in combined forced fumbles and interceptions, and he was ninth in passes defended. On SIU, Chinn was third on the team in tackles (66) and broke up six tackles. He also recovered one fumble. Chinn earned a spot on the 2016 MVFC All-Newcomer team and was a Freshman All-American by HERO Sports.

Austin Olsen, Offensive Line, Second Team

Austin Olsen earned All-MVFC honors for the second time in his career; he was an honorable mention pick in 2016. He ended his career with 33-straight starts on Southern's offensive line and was a two-time MVFC Offensive Lineman of the Week. He led an SIU offensive line that led the MVFC and ranked 12^th nationally in fewest sacks allowed (10).

Hans Carmien, Fullback, Honorable Mention

Hans Carmien earned his second career honorable mention All-Conference honor as a fullback, having also earned it as a redshirt freshman in 2014. He played in 10 games and started seven. He had seven receptions for 31 yards and a touchdown. He blocked for two individual 100-yard rushing performances and was part of a pass protection unit that led the MVFC in fewest sacks allowed.

DJ Davis, Return Specialist, Honorable Mention

D.J. Davis, a sophomore, was an honorable mention All-MVFC pick for a second-straight year. This year, Davis led the MVFC in kick return yardage (700). He ranked second in the MVFC and 19^th nationally in all-purpose yards. He averaged 21.7 yards per kick return, which ranked fourth n the MVFC. He led all MVFC running backs in receptions (35) and had a 140-yard receiving game vs. Missouri State. After just two years, Davis is already third in SIU history in career kick return yards.

Darrell James, Wide Receiver, Honorable Mention

Darrell James, a junior, earned his first career All-MVFC honor. He was fourth in the MVFC in receiving touchdowns (8), fifth in receiving yards per game (70.3), and seventh in receptions per game (4.3). He led SIU in receptions, receiving touchdowns and yards per receptions. His 773 yards ranked ninth in SIU single-season history, and his eight receiving touchdowns ranked seventh in school history. He had three 100-yard games, which was tied for third-most in the MVFC.

Anthony Knighton, Defensive Line, Honorable Mention

Anthony Knighton was the runner-up for the MVFC Freshman of the Year award and a Jerry Rice Award finalist. He led all MVFC freshmen in sacks, tackles for loss, and tackle for loss yardage. He set SIU freshmen records in sacks and tackles for loss, and he ranked third nationally among freshmen in tackles for loss (11.0) and was fourth in sacks (6.5). He started all 11 games and led SIU in sacks, tackles for loss and QB hurries, and he was second on the team in forced fumbles.

Ryan Neal, Defensive Back, Honorable Mention

Ryan Neal, a senior, earned All-MVFC honors for the first time in his illustrious career. In 2017, Neal led SIU and ranked seventh in the MVFC in tackles per game. He was the MVFC Defensive Player of the Week after eight tackles, a fumble recovery and a 52-yard interception return at SEMO. Neal led SIU in tackles six times in 2017 and started all 11 games at safety. He finished his career with 226 tackles.

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Players Mentioned

Hans Carmien

Jeremy Chinn

D.J. Davis

Darrell James

Anthony Knighton

Ryan Neal

Austin Olsen

Lane Reazin

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