National attention for Ross
Cowboys TE named preseason second-team all-America
<p class="p1">McNeese State junior tight end Lawayne Ross continued to rack up the preseason accolades Tuesday when he was named to the STATS All-America offensive second team.
<p class="p3">Ross turned heads after switching from running back to tight end last season, grabbing 42 passes for 570 yards and showing surprising agility despite his wide 6-foot, 264-pound frame.
<p class="p3">That tally was enough to earn the No. 2 spot in school history for most receptions by a tight end.
<p class="p3">“He’s got a lot of intangibles,” McNeese head coach Lance Guidry said of Ross. “He’s a big kid and he’s very mobile and agile. His background is at running back, so we know he can run with the ball in his hands.”
<p class="p3">Guidry added that Ross’ size and agility is especially helpful in the secondary as he gets to maximize his momentum as he goes head to head with smaller defenders.
<p class="p3">“I think he’ll have an even better year this year,” Guidry said. “Now he’s familiar with the position. … I’m very happy for him, and hopefully he can live up to the hype.”
<p class="p3">Ross accounted for one of the Southland Conference’s 10 athletes on the list of three teams. The league had six first-team All-Americans, four of which made it as a special teams member.
<p class="p3">Nicholls State senior placekicker Lorran Fonseca, Stephen F. Austin graduate student long snapper Chris Wilkerson, Southeastern Louisiana junior kick returner Juwan Petit-Frere and Sam Houston State senior all-purpose athlete Davion Davis all earned spots in the first-team special teams squad.
<p class="p3">They were joined on the first team by SHSU junior wide receiver Nathan Stewart and Central Arkansas junior defensive lineman Chris Terrell.
<p class="p3">Along with Ross on the second-team offense was SHSU senior offensive lineman Mitchell Watanabe.
<p class="p3">The Southland also had a pair of representatives on the third team in Nicholls offensive lineman Chandler Arceneaux and SHSU senior defensive lineman Chris Stewart.
<p class="p4"><strong>Southland extends agreement with Burnett</strong>
<p class="p3">The SLC announced in a news release Tuesday that the league’s presidential board of directors has extended its agreement with Commissioner Tom Burnett through June 30, 2022.
<p class="p3">Burnett is the longest-tenured commissioner in the league’s 55-year history as he took the position in 2002.
<p class="p3">Since then he has facilitated a number of initiatives, most notably the expansion of the conference to include Central Arkansas, Abilene Christian, Houston Baptist, Incarnate Word, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and New Orleans.
<p class="p3">He also played a major roll in moving the Football Championship Subdivision national championship game to Frisco, Texas, where the SLC has served as the host conference at Toyota Stadium since 2011.