ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Led by first-team selections Dylan Cole and Deion Holliman, Missouri State placed three players on the Missouri Valley Football Conference Preseason Team, the 10-member conference announced Tuesday (Aug. 2) in advance of its annual preseason teleconference. Additionally, Jared Beshore picked up honorable mention recognition from the league's coaches, media and sports information directors.
Cole, one of 30 NCAA Division I FCS players who were cited for STATS FCS All-America recognition Monday, was named a first-team linebacker, while Holliman earned the same distinction as a return specialist. Beshore was one of three defensive backs – and 11 players overall – to earn an honorable mention spot on the Valley’s distinguished list Tuesday.
Last fall, Cole led Bears in total tackles in every game and averaged 15.4 stops per outing during league play en route to picking up first-team All-MVFC recognition. He finished the year as the MVFC leader in tackles per game (13.8), which ranks third among all NCAA Division I FCS defenders. The Rogersville, Mo., product logged nine double-digit tackle totals and averaged 6.6 solo tackles per game, which was tops in the conference and fifth overall in the FCS ranks. Cole completed the season with six straight double-digit tackle performances and 152 total tackles — good for seventh on the Bears’ single-season list.
Holliman also earned first-team all-conference laurels in 2016, leading the nation in combined kick return yardage last fall with 1,233, after setting MSU and MVFC single-season records for kick returns (50) and kick return yardage (1,059). The junior recorded five 100-plus kick return yard games, including an MSU Division I record 238-yard night at Southern Illinois (Oct. 10). The Camden, Ark., native, became the third Bear to return a kick 100 yards for a touchdown Oct. 24 at South Dakota, and also ranked fourth nationally in punt returns for TDs after bringing back a punt 58 yards for a score vs. Indiana State (Oct. 3). Holliman finished the year sixth in the MVFC and 33rd nationally in all-purpose yardage (1,328).
An MVFC All-Newcomer Team selection in 2016, Beshore wasted little time in leaving his mark on the MSU defense as a rookie, averaging 6.4 tackles per game to rank among the top 20 defenders in the conference. He made 10 starts as the Bears’ free safety as a freshman, logging 70 total tackles to finish as MSU’s third-leading tackler after averaging 6.8 stops in league play. The Lamar, Mo., product broke up a pair of passes and recorded 1.5 tackles for losses, while tallying 43 solo stops — second only to Cole’s 73 solo tackles on the club. Beshore brought down a career-best 14 ball-carriers against UNI (Nov. 14), nine of which were solo tackles.
The Bears, who were picked to finish 10th in the league race in Tuesday’s preseason poll, return 39 lettermen and 15 starters under second-year head coach Dave Steckel and his staff. MSU players reported to campus Tuesday for fall camp in preparation for the team's Sept. 1 season opener vs. Southwestern College at Robert W. Plaster Stadium.
