ST. LOUIS — Six Missouri State players were honored Tuesday (Aug. 1) with the release of the Preseason All-Missouri Valley Football Conference Football Team as part of the MVFC Media Day festivities here.
Missouri State honorees include first-team selections Grant Burkett (P) and Caden Bolz (LS), second-team honorees Jacardia Wright (RB) and P.J. Hall (DB), as well as honorable mention performers Stetson Moore (TE) and Von Young (LB).
Burkett has been named as an FCS All-America pick each of the past two seasons and an All-MVFC honoree the last three years. He was named to Associated Press FCS All-America Team as a third-team selection in 2022 and was named to the All-MVFC first-team for the second time. He was ranked 12th nationally and tops in MVFC in punting average (43.2) in 2022 and finished the season with 14 punts downed inside 20 and 11 punts of 50 yards or more.
Bolz earned All-MVFC honorable mention distinction in his third season as MSU long snapper in 2022. He handled 98 total special teams snaps on punt, PAT and field goals with no kicks blocked last season. He was also a huge contributor to the success of consensus All-American punter Burkett and All-American kicker Jose Pizano while leading Bears to 16th nationally in net punting (36.7).
Wright earned MVFC All-Newcomer Team laurels in his first season in Springfield last fall, finishing sixth in The Valley in rushing yards per game (71.1), sixth in rushing TDs (9), seventh in total touchdowns (10), eighth in yards per carry (4.56), eighth in scoring (6.0), ninth in rushing yards (711) and ninth in all-purpose yards (88.10). He finished the season as MSU’s top rusher with 156 carries for 711 yards and 9 TDs, becoming the club’s first 700-yard rusher since 2014.
Hall Played in 10 games as a third-year sophomore, bringing down 30 ball carriers and breaking up a pair of passes for the season. He racked up season-high seven stops at UNI (10/22/22) with a pass break-up and 0.5 tackles for loss and also brought down six ball carriers at South Dakota (11/5/22) with season-high 4 solos.
Moore averaged 17.7 yards per reception last season, hauling in 7 catches for 124 yards. The Liberty transfer played in 7 games in his first season at MoState and stood out vs. Southern Illinois (10/8/22) with a pair of receptions for 48 yards and a long of 35 yards.
Young ranked second on Bears defense with 66 total tackles, including 33 solo stops. He had career-high 12 total tackles at North Dakota (10/1/22) with 8 solos and a 13-yard interception return that set up a Bears touchdown. Young also racked up 11 total tackles in the season finale at Indiana State (11/19/22) and recovered a key fumble at No. 10 Arkansas (9/17/22) in a breakout season.
South Dakota State, which led the league with 20 preseason all-conference selections, was also picked as the MVFC’s preseason favorite to win the league title, securing 44-of-45 first-place votes. North Dakota State, Northern Iowa, North Dakota, Southern Illinois and Youngstown State rounded out the top six selections.
Illinois State was picked just ahead of the Bears in the No. 7 spot. Missouri State was picked eighth with South Dakota, Indiana State, Murray State and Western Illinois rounding out the poll of the league’s head coaches and media personnel in positions 9-12.
The Bears and first-year head coach Ryan Beard will open preseason camp this week in advance of the team’s 2023 season opener at Kansas on Friday, Sept. 1.
