Indianapolis, Ind. – The Great Lakes Valley Conference announced the fall 2021 major postseason awards and All-GLVC selections Monday afternoon. For the second time in less than six months, Cooper Callis won his second GLVC Offensive Player of the Year award. Alongside his major award, Callis was named 1st Team All-GLVC, 4 Bearcats were named 2nd Team All-GLVC, and 5 Bearcats were named Honorable Mentions. In addition, Jarvis Funk was the team’s nominee for the GLVC James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award, and he is now eligible to become one of SBU’s two Spalding Sportsmanship Award winners, which will be announced at the end of the academic year.
In just his first full season leading the Bearcats, Cooper Callis dominated all of the passing categories in the GLVC. He led the conference in every passing category and was top three in the nation in passing yards (3,712 – third), yards per game (340.8 – second), and passing yards per game (337.5 – third). In his 11 games played, Callis completed 303-438 passes, 35 of those being touchdowns. He had 1,144 more passing yards, 99 more completions, and 9 more touchdowns than any other quarterback in the GLVC. On the year, Callis broke 4 SBU single season records (passing yards, passing touchdowns, completion percentage, passing yards per game) and 2 SBU single game records (passing yards – 512, passing touchdowns – 6). Throughout the year, Callis was named GLVC Offensive Player of the Week as well as D2Football.com National Offensive Player of the Week. Callis is also one of 36 players nominated for the prestigious Harlon Hill trophy, the NCAA DII College Football Player of the Year.
Receiving 2nd Team All-GLVC honors was Preston Carson, Chance Deitz, Dami Oyesanya, and Coleton Smith. Perhaps one of the most impressive defensive seasons SBU has seen, Coleton Smith recorded a single season record of 161 total tackles. His 161 total tackles were 30 more than any other player in the nation. Along with his total tackles, Smith had 15.5 tackles for loss, 5.0 sacks, 11 quarterback hurries, and 2 forced fumbles. Swapping from the offensive side of the ball to defense this year, Chance Deitz recorded 38 total tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss, 0.5 a sack, and a forced fumble. Preston Carson was one of the biggest targets at receiver, making 61 catches for 867 yards and 7 touchdowns. Dami Oyesanya was an anchor on the line, helping the offense to 31.4 points per game and 402.5 yards per contest.
Cassian Foreman, Aaron Harris, Jordan Kent, Eric Knight, and Bryton Lewi were all honorable mentions. Both Foreman and Kent were threats at receiver, putting up great numbers in just 9 games played this year. Foreman caught 40 passes for 616 yards and 7 touchdowns, while Kent had 45 receptions for 734 yards and 8 scores. On the ground, Eric Knight recorded 68 rushes for 202 yards and 3 touchdowns. Defensively, Aaron Harris had the second most tackles on the team with 73, recorded 6.0 tackles for loss, 1.0 sack, and 2 fumble recoveries. Bryton Lewi made 52 total tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 a sack, 1 interception, and 6 pass breakups.
