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Eagles named preseason All-Southern Conference
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GREENVILLE — Georgia Southern University landed four players on the pre-season All-Southern Conference football
teams. All four Eagles were named to the first team, as announced at the 2008 Southern Conference Football Rouser.
The Eagles were also picked to finish fourth in the preseason SoCon poll, as voted on by the league's head coaches. GS returns 13 starters off last year's 7-4 team (4-3 SoCon) that finished one game shy of sharing the league title and receiving the automatic berth to the NCAA Division I playoffs.
Senior defensive end Larry Beard (Fairburn/Sandy Creek), senior defensive back Chris Covington (Lawrenceville/Brookwood), senior kicker Jesse Hartley (Tallahassee, Fla./Lincoln) and junior defensive back Carson Hill (Milledgeville/Baldwin County) represented Georgia Southern on the preseason squad. Last year Beard and Covington (Sports Media Association/Second Team by coaches) earned first team honors while Hartley was a second team pick.
Georgia Southern tallied 44 points in a close race for spots 2-6 in the preseason poll. Defending national champion Appalachian State received eight first-place votes totaling 64 points. Elon received the other first-place vote and finished with 47 points. Wofford (45), the Eagles (44), Furman (41) and The Citadel (37) ranked in the top six, respectively. Chattanooga (19), Western Carolina (17) and league newcomer Samford (10) rounded out the poll.
According to the SoCon Sports Media Association the Eagles moved up a spot to third. ASU tallied 29-of-30 first-place votes for 268 points. Elon was next with 215 points, followed by the Eagles — who received the other vote for first place — totaling 191 points. Wofford (185), Furman (158), The Citadel (148), Chattanooga (83), Western Carolina (53) and Samford (49) rounded out that poll.
The 17th-ranked Eagles open the 2008 campaign on Aug. 30 at the University of Georgia. The home opener will take place on Saturday, Sept. 6, against Austin Peay. For season ticket information call the ticket office at 800-GSU-WINS.
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