Rebowe, Orgeron tie for Coach of the Year honors

Mindful that LSU’s season soared past expectations and carried the Tigers among the nation’s top teams while Nicholls won its first Southland Conference championship since 2005 and won a game in the FCS playoffs, voters on the All-Louisiana Collegiate Football Team amply acknowledged the state’s most accomplished programs in 2018.
LSU filled 10 of the 50 first and second-team spots while Nicholls had the second-most representatives, six, in voting by a Louisiana Sports Writers Association panel of media and sports information contacts.
Appropriately, LSU’s Ed Orgeron and Tim Rebowe of Nicholls shared state Coach of the Year honors, tying in the balloting. It was the second straight year for Rebowe to capture the accolade.
LSU linebacker Devin White was a landslide pick as the All-Louisiana Defensive Player of the Year, while Tiger quarterback Joe Burrow won Newcomer of the Year honors. White was a repeat selection.
Northwestern State receiver Jazz Ferguson, who began his career at LSU, was chosen Offensive Player of the Year. Southern’s Jordan Lewis, a defensive lineman, took the All-Louisiana Freshman of the Year award.
Orgeron led the Tigers (9-3) to a New Year’s Day (Fiesta) bowl berth with four Top 25 wins, three over teams ranked in the Top 10. It was only the third LSU team ever to beat three Top 10 foes.
Rebowe’s Colonels (9-4) were nationally-ranked all season, reaching as high as 10th in the FCS polls, after kicking off the 2018 campaign with an upset win at Kansas.
White was among 15 players who were repeat picks from the 2017 team, including three other defenders who were first-team All-Louisiana for a second straight season: Louisiana Tech defensive end Jaylon Ferguson, Grambling linebacker De’Arius Christmas and LSU cornerback Greedy Williams. LSU punter Zach Von Rosenberg and Southeastern Louisiana kickoff returner Juwan Petit-Frere were also repeat first-team selections.
The Ferguson brothers, Jazz and Jaylon from St. Francisville-West Feliciana High, joined White (Springhill-North Webster HS) as the only three players chosen for first-team honors on every ballot.
White has collected 115 tackles in his junior season, earning the Butkus Award as the best linebacker in major college football. The first-team All-American has 12 tackles for loss, including four in the seven-overtime battle at Texas A&M among his career-best 17 stops.
Jazz Ferguson, who began his college career at LSU, made a year’s wait worth it at Northwestern State. After a season on the scout team in 2017 establishing his academic eligibility, he set six school records while earning All-America and Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Year honors with 1,117 yards receiving on 66 catches, scoring 13 touchdowns and averaging 101.5 yards receiving per game for the Demons.
Burrow’s impact was also immediate. The Ohio State transfer stepped in at quarterback for LSU and threw for 2,500 yards and 12 touchdowns, while running for seven more scores and 375 yards, becoming the first Tigers’ quarterback to be such a productive passer and rush for at least 350 yards.
Southern’s Lewis shifted down from linebacker to the defensive front in his first collegiate season and collected 12 sacks, forced two fumbles, blocked a kick, and recovered a fumble for a touchdown in his rookie campaign, helping the Jaguars to a Bayou Classic victory and a West Division Southwestern Athletic Conference title.
Individual Award Winners
COACH OF THE YEAR (tie) — Ed Orgeron, LSU; Tim Rebowe, Nicholls (11 votes each)
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR — Jazz Ferguson, WR, Northwestern State (12)
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR — Devin White, LB, LSU (18½)
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR — Joe Burrow, QB, LSU (13)
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR — Jordan Lewis, DL, Southern (8)
FIRST TEAM
OFFENSE
OL — Chandler Arceneaux, Nicholls, Sr., Bourg; Kevin Dotson, UL Lafayette, Jr., Plaquemine; O’Shea Dugas, Louisiana Tech, Sr., Lafayette Ryan Hanley, Nicholls, Sr., Metairie; Robert Hunt, UL Lafayette, Jr., Burkeville, Texas
TE — Bransen Schwebel, Southeastern La., Jr., Amite
QB — Chase Fourcade, Nicholls, Jr., Metairie
WR — Jazz Ferguson, Northwestern State, Jr., St. Francisville; Adrian Hardy, Louisiana Tech, So., Houston.
RB — Nick Brosette, LSU, Sr., Baton Rouge; Trey Ragas, UL Lafayette, So., New Orleans
DEFENSE
DL — Jaylon Ferguson, Louisiana Tech, Sr., St. Francisville; Patrick Johnson, Tulane, So., Chattanooga, Tennessee; Rashad Lawrence, LSU, Jr., Monroe; Sully Laiche, Nicholls, Jr., Gramercy
LB — BJ Blunt, McNeese, Sr., New Orleans; De’Arius Christmas, Grambling, Sr., Vicksburg, Mississippi; Devin White, LSU, Jr., Springhill
DB — Hayden Bourgeois, Northwestern State, So., Church Point; Grant Delpit, LSU, So., Houston, Texas; Amik Robertson, Louisiana Tech, So., Thibodaux; Greedy Williams, LSU, So., Shreveport
SPECIALISTS
P — Zach Von Rosenberg, LSU, So., Lake Charles
K — Cole Tracy, LSU, Sr., Camarillo, California
RS — Juwan Petit-Frere, Southeastern La., Jr., Orlando, Florida
SECOND TEAM
OFFENSE
OL — Garrett Brumfield, LSU, Sr., Baton Rouge; Grant Burguillos, McNeese, Jr., Mandeville; Lloyd Cushenberry, LSU, So., Geismar; Damien Lewis, LSU, Jr., Canton, Mississippi; Bobby Reynolds, ULM, Jr., Keller, Texas
TE — Foster Moreau, LSU, Sr., New Orleans
QB — Joe Burrow, LSU, Jr., The Plains, Ohio
WR — Marcus Green, ULM, Sr., Pontotoc, Mississippi; Drake Battaglia, Louisiana College, Sr., Thibodaux
RB — Darius Bradwell, Tulane, Jr., Tallahassee, Florida; Elijah Mitchell, UL Lafayette, So., Erath
DEFENSE
DL — Jordan Bradford, Louisiana Tech, Sr., Bay St. Louis, Mississippi; Terrence Garnett Jr., Louisiana College, Freshman, Alexandria; Jordan Lewis, Southern, Fr., Ocala, Florida; Chris Livings, McNeese, Jr., Lake Charles
LB — David Griffith, ULM, Sr., Plano, Texas; Tamarcus Russell, Southeastern La., Sr., Dadeville, Alabama; Evan Veron, Nicholls, Jr., LaPlace
DB — Colby Burton, McNeese, Donnie Lewis Jr., Tulane, Sr., Baton Rouge; Joseph McWilliams, Grambling, Jr., Baton Rouge; Roderic Teamer, Tulane, Sr. New Orleans
SPECIALISTS
P — Alex Kjellsten, McNeese, Sr., Lake Charles
K — Lorran Fonseca, Nicholls, Sr., Hercules, California
RS — Myles Ward, Northwestern State, Fr., New Orleans
HONORABLE MENTION
OL — Pat Allen, Southeastern La.; Dustin Burns, Northwestern State; T.J. Fialoa, ULM; Eddie Houston, Nicholls; John Leglue, Tulane; Ethan Reed, Louisiana Tech; Kody Russey, Louisiana Tech
QB — Shelton Eppler, Northwestern State
WR — Teddy Veal, Louisiana Tech
RB — Dontrell Taylor, Nicholls
DEFENSE
DL — Anfernee Mullins, Grambling; Ronald Ollie, Nicholls; Immanuel Turner, Louisiana Tech
LB — Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund, Southeastern La.; Michael Divinity, LSU; Zachery Harris, Tulane; Orel Ledet Jr., Louisiana College; Jacob Phillips, LSU
DB — Percy Cargo, Grambling; James Jackson, Louisiana Tech; Ahmani Martin, Nicholls; Khristian Mims, Nicholls