BATON ROUGE, La. - Nicholls State University running back Collin Guggenheim was named co-Freshman of the Year by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association, and was one of seven Colonels to land on the All-Louisiana teams as the LSWA announced Saturday its state honors for Division I Football. 

Guggenheim was one of four Nicholls players to be named All-Louisiana First Team on offense, joining wide receiver Dai'Jean Dixon, and offensive linemen P.J. Burkhalter and Jair Joseph. For defense, lineman Perry Ganci and defensive backs Kevin Johnson and Jarius Monroe were named second team. 

A native of Kenner, Guggenheim split the rookie honor with Louisiana's running back Montrell Johnson, who was named to the second team. Guggenheim ended the 2021 season with five consecutive 100-yard games, ending the impressive streak with a school Southland record 266 yards rushing with three touchdowns in the River Bell Classic win over Southeastern. He finished the season with a single-season record 103.3 yards per game, totaling 930 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns. 

Burkhalter and Joseph helped clear the way for one of the top FCS rushing offenses in the nation at 246.7 yards yards per game. The duo also was part of the line that ranked first in the FCS in fewest tackles for loss allowed. The honor marked the third career first-team All-Louisiana selection for Burkhalter while Joseph repeated as a first-team honoree.

Dixon rounded out the offensive award winners after finishing with his second career 1,000-yard season. He totaled 71 receptions for 1,002 yards and eight touchdowns and recorded four 100-yard games. His top performance was a school-record 14-catch games for 198 yards and two touchdowns against nationally-ranked Louisiana.

After posting the top passing defense, Johnson and Monroe represented the Colonel secondary as second-team selections. Monroe tied for second in the Southland with 10 breakups and was fourth on the team in tackles with 36. Johnson finished with 24 tackles, three tackles for loss and one sack. He had two interceptions in the home matchup against UIW and returned a fumble recovery 53 yards for a touchdown in the win over North Alabama.

Ganci ranked fifth in the Southland with 9.5 tackles for loss and was tied for fourth with 6.0 sacks. He stepped up in the finale with 2.5 tackles for loss with 1.5 sacks in the victory at Southeastern.

LSWA All-LOUISIANA 2021 COLLEGE FOOTBALL TEAM/AWARD
Coach of the Year – Billy Napier, UL 
Offensive Player of the Year – Cole Kelley, Southeastern  
Defensive Player of the Year – Damon Clark, LSU 
Freshman of the Year – (TIE) – Montrell Johnson, UL; Collin Guggenheim, Nicholls 
Newcomer of the Year – Nolan Givan, Southeastern 

FIRST TEAM OFFENSE
Pos/Name, School/Class/Hometown/Notes
OL / P.J. Burkhalter, Nicholls/Sr./Franklinton, La./3-time SLC Off. Lineman of Year
OL/Max Mitchell, UL/Jr./Monroe, La./Walter Camp 2nd team A-A
OL/Rendon Miles-Character, Southeastern/Sr./New Orleans, La./First Team All-SLC
OL/Ed Ingram, LSU/Sr./DeSoto, Texas/Second Team All-SEC
OL/ Jair Joseph, Nicholls/Sr./Belle Rose, La./2-time First Team All-SLC
TE/Nolan Givan, Southeastern/Sr./Berkeley, Mich./First Team All-SLC, 5 TDs
WR/Austin Mitchell, Southeastern/Sr./Plaquemine, La./First Team All-SLC, 9 TDs, 4th FCS Yards (1,035)
WR/ Dai'Jean Dixon, Nicholls/Sr./New Orleans, La./FCS Walter Payton Finalist, 8 TDs, 1,002 Yards
RB/Ty Davis-Price, LSU/Jr./Baton Rouge, La./1,003 yds, 4 100-yard games
RB/ Collin Guggenheim, Nicholls/Fr./Kenner, La./FCS Jerry Rice Finalist, 10 TD, 930 yds
QB/Cole Kelley, Southeastern/Sr./Lafayette, La./SLC POY, FCS Walter Payton Finalist, 4,382 yds, 38 TD
 
FIRST TEAM DEFENSE
Pos/Name, School/Class/Hometown/Notes
DL/Isaiah Chambers, McNeese/Gr/Houston, Texas/2-time SLC Def. POY, 10.5 sacks, 59 tackles
DL/Neil Farrell, LSU/Sr./Mobile, Ala./45 tackles, 9.5 TFL, 2.0 sacks
DL/Zi'Yon Hill, UL/Sr./New Iberia, La./2nd team All-SBC, 56 tackles, 9.5 TFL, 6.5 sacks
DL/Mason Kinsey, McNeese/Jr./Mansfield, Texas/First Team All-SLC, 41 tackles, 6.5 sacks
LB/Damon Clark, LSU/Sr./Baton Rouge, La./2nd Team A-A, 2nd nation 135 tackles, 15.5 TFL, 5.5 sacks
LB/Chauncy Manac, UL/Sr./Homerville, Ga./2nd team All-SBC, 55 tackles, 14.5 TFL, 10.5 sacks
LB/Tyler Grubbs, LA Tech/Fr./New Orleans, La./2nd team All-C-USA, 97 tackles, 10.0 TFL
DB/Macon Clark, Tulane/Jr./St. Rose, La./First Team All-AAC, 74 tackles, 4 interceptions
DB/Zy Alexander, Southeastern/Fr./Loreauville, La./First-Team All-SLC, 36 tackles, 6 interceptions
DB/Jay Ward, LSU/Jr./Moultrie, Ga./62 tackles, 2 interceptions
DB/Percy Butler, UL/Jr./Plaquemine, La./2nd team All-SBC, 60 tackles, 1 interception
 
FIRST TEAM SPECIAL TEAMS
Pos/Name, School/Class/Hometown/Notes
K/Cade York, LSU/Jr./McKinney, Texas/2nd team All-SEC, 15-18 FGs, 39 PATs, 5 FGs 50 or more
P/Ryan Wright, Tulane/Sr./San Ramon, California/AAC Punter of Year, 47.5 average, 7th nationally
RS/Gage Larvadain, Southeastern/Fr./New Orleans, La./SLC FOY, 29.4 KO Return, 1 TD

SECOND TEAM OFFENSE – 
OL – O'Cyrus Torrence, UL – So., Greensburg, La.; Caron Coleman, McNeese – Jr., St. Louis, Mo; Austin Deculus, LSU – Sr., Grad; Johnathan Bishop, Southern – Sr., Birmingham, Ala.; Corey Dublin, Tulane – Sr., New Orleans, La.
TE – Tyrick James, Tulane – Jr. Waco, Texas
WR – Smoke Harris, LA Tech – So., St. Francisville, La.; Kayshon Boutte, LSU – So., New Iberia, La.
RB – Montrell Johnson, UL – Fr., New Orleans, La.; Chris Smith, UL – Jr., Louisville, Miss.; Tujae Spears – Tulane – Fr., Ponchatoula., La.
QB – Levi Lewis, UL – Sr, Baton Rouge, La.
 
SECOND TEAM DEFENSE
DL – Andre Jones, UL – Sr., Varnado, La.; Sundiata Anderson, Grambling – So., College Park, Ga.; Perry Ganci, Nicholls – So., New Orleans, La; BJ Ojulari, LSU – So. Marietta, Ga.
LB – Kordell Williams, McNeese – Jr., Carencro, La.; Micah Baskerville, LSU – Sr., Shreveport, La.; Lorenzo McCaskill, UL – Sr., Detroit, Mich.
DB – Beejay Williamson, LA Tech – So., Dallas, Texas; Andre Sam, McNeese – Jr., Iowa, La.; Kevin Johnson, Nicholls – Sr., New Orleans, La.; Jarius Monroe, Nicholls – So., LaPlace, La.
 
SECOND TEAM SPECIAL TEAMS
K – Calum Suthlerland, ULM – Sr., Keller, Texas; P – Rhys Byrns, UL – Sr., Rye Australia; RS – Mason Pierce, McNeese – So., Pearland, Texas.
 
HONORABLE MENTION
DL --Darius Hodges, Fr., Montgomery, Ala.; Ty Shelby, ULM – Gr., Houston, Texas DB – Eric Garror, UL – Mobile, Ala. RS – Smoke Harris, LA Tech – So., St. Francisville, La.