RUSSELLVILLE, Ark.—The Great American Conference announced their yearly football awards on Wednesday afternoon as Southern Nazarene walked out with six total awards to four players. The four names on the All-GAC list is the most SNU Football has ever had.
Gage Porter racked up the awards, coming away with GAC Offensive Player of the Year, as well as being named a unanimous All-GAC First Team Utility player. He even garnered enough votes from the coaches to also be named the All-GAC Second-Team Quarterback. Porter ranked first in the GAC in rushing yards, first in rushing touchdowns, first in rushing yards per game, first in scoring, second in total offense, and sixth in passing touchdowns.
Joining Porter on the All-GAC Second Team was Eli Calhoun and Ryan Reid. Calhoun had a fantastic year patrolling the back end of the secondary. He ranked fourth in the GAC in total tackles with 97, which ties him for ninth in a single-season at Southern Nazarene. He also collected two interceptions and broke up five passes for the season, ranking him 11th in the GAC in total passes defended.
Ryan Reid put together another fantastic season. After being named to the All-GAC First Team a season ago, Reid notched a Second-Team nod this season. Despite punting 15 times less than last season, Reid still took advantage of his opportunities by averaging 43.5 yards per punt, good for second in the GAC. Of his 32 punts, he downed 12 inside the 20 yard line and booted six punts over 50 yards. He had a long punt of 70 yards that was downed at the one yard line at Southern Arkansas.
Josh Johnson was named to the GAC Honorable Mention list. Johnson was a ball-hawk all season, totaling a GAC leading six interceptions, as well as six passes broken up. He led the conference in total passes defended with 12.
The Crimson Storm finished the season 5-6, their best season since joining NCAA DII in 2014. SNU will hope to build on the successes of this 2022 season and continue building the program through the offseason and into 2023.
