Honors continue to pour in for Chattanooga football players
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga senior AllAmerican Corey Levin is set to participate in the 2017 NFLPA Senior Bowl on Jan. 21 at the StubHub Center in Los Angeles, Calif. Levin, a four-year starter and two-time winner of the Southern Conference Jacob’s Blocking Award has been one of the top offensive linemen in the FCS over the last three seasons.
Levin has started at both tackle and guard positions and has been a consensus All-American each of the last three years. He repeated on the AFCA All-American squad in 2016 and was a second team selection by STATS and the Associated Press.
Founded in 2012, the annual NFLPA Collegiate Bowl gives prospective players the best opportunity to showcase their talents to potential employers and fans. Nearly 200 scouts, player personnel staff, general managers and head coaches from all 32 NFL teams are expected be in attendance to watch live practices, conduct player interviews and review tape.
Participants in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl have the unique opportunity to network with and learn from current and former NFL players. These veterans provide players with first-hand insight on what it takes to win on and off the field.
In this year’s NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, Mike Martz will look to defend his 2016 National Team title against Jim Zorn’s American Team at StubHub Center on the campus of California State University Dominguez Hills. The Jan. 21 game will be broadcast by Fox Sports on FS1 with kickoff slated for 4 p.m. (Eastern).
Leslie named to All-American squad
The Mocs football team added another AllAmerican to its ranks when senior Nakevion Leslie was named to the STATS third team. That is a total of four Mocs who have earned at least on All-American nod this post-season.
Leslie, a linebacker from Powder Springs, Ga., led the Mocs vaunted defense with a career-high 109 tackles. He closed out his time at Chattanooga with 5.5 tackles for loss and 10 passes defended.
A three-year starter at Chattanooga, Leslie is a three-time AllSouthern Conference performer. He was joined on the STATS All-American squad by senior defensive end Keionta Davis (first team) and senior offensive lineman Levin (second team).
Davis and Levin are both consensus All-Americans and were both named to the AFCA All-American Team. They are the first set of teammates at the FCS level to earn back-to-back honors after both made the squad last season. It has only happened seven times at the FBS level where teammates have made the AFCA list in consecutive years.
Jacob Revis is the Mocs other AllAmerican from 2016. He made the College Sports Madness third team.
Mocs finish in Top 10 of final poll
For the third year in a row, Chattanooga has grabbed a top 10 final national ranking in the Football Championship Subdivision. The Mocs capped off a 9-4 record by finishing 10th in the FCS Coaches Poll.
UTC has been ranked in the Top 25 for 48 consecutive weeks, dating back to Nov. 4, 2013. That is the sixthlongest active streak in the country. UTC was in the top 10 for all but one week of the 2016 campaign.
The Citadel led Southern Conference schools at No. 9 in the FCS Coaches Polls. Wofford checked in at No. 11 and Samford was 23rd.
The FCS Coaches Poll is one of two rankings officially recognized by the NCAA.
The STATS FCS Top 25 is the other and had the Mocs No. 13 in its final listings. Wofford was No. 9 in that poll, followed by The Citadel at No. 10 and Samford at No. 23.