FRISCO, Texas – Following the program's first undefeated season in the Southland Conference, the Nicholls State University football team received four of the seven SLC superlative honors while posting a league-high 16 All-SLC selections as the league office announced Wednesday its 2023 postseason football awards. 
 
Redshirt sophomore running back Jaylon Spears was named Player of the Year while left tackle Mark Barthelemy garnered Offensive Lineman of the Year. Defensive lineman Rasheed Lovelace was selected as Freshman of the Year and head coach Tim Rebowe was named Coach of the Year for the first time in his nine seasons. 
 
For the All-Southland honors, a total of six Colonels received All-Southland First – offensive linemen Evan Roussel and Barthelemy, running backs Spears and Collin Guggenheim, and defensive backs Tyler Morton and Kendarius Smith. Ten players received All-Southland Second Team – three on offense, quarterback Pat McQuaide, tight end Lee Negrotto and receiver David Robinson Jr.; five on defense, linemen Perry Ganci, Kershawn Fisher, and Lovelace, linebacker Hayden Shaheen and defensive back Jordan Jackson, and two specialists, punter Kylan Dupre and kicker Gavin Lasseigne. 
 
In his first season in the backfield as a featured runner, Spears led the Southland in league play with 102.2 yards per game while averaging an impressive 7.6 yards per carry. He racked up three 100-yard rushing games including a career-high 177 yards in the win over Lamar. For the year, he ranked 12th in the FCS in all-purpose yards (126.6) and his 6.8 yard-per-carry average with ninth best.  Spears was well-known for making explosive plays, finishing with 12 on the year which included a 69-yard touchdown run, and TD catches of 88 and 73 yards.
 
Spears totaled 1,286 all-purpose yards, including 709 rushing and 256 receiving to go with nine touchdowns. He especially came on strong towards the end of the year, finishing with 100 or more yards for scrimmage in his final four games, including a 206-yard, three-score game against Lamar to clinch the Southland title.

Spears is the third Nicholls player to earn Player of the Year, joining Sully Laiche (2019) and Chase Fourcade (2018).

Barthelemy started at left tackle, anchoring a Nicholls offense that averaged 162.4 rushing yards per game and has only allowed 1.70 sacks per game this season. Those numbers rose in conference play as the Colonel offense rushed for 219.7 yards per game and averaged 33.2 points per game. A four-year starter, he joined offensive line coach P.J. Burkhalter as the only Colonels to win the honor. Burkhalter was a three-time winner from 2019-21.

Starting at nose tackle as a redshirt freshman, Lovelace earned the top freshman honor after totaling 25 tackles with 2.5 for loss and 0.5 sacks. He recorded his first career interception in the win over Lamar and his best game statistically was at Texas A&M-Commerce, where he had six tackles and his half sack. Lovelace was named a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award, which honors the nation's top freshman. 
 
Lovelace is the sixth Colonel to be named freshman of the year, joining teammate Eli Ennis (2022), Broderick Cole (2004), LeJuan Walker (2001), Josh Son (2000) and Darryl Pounds (1991). Lovelace and Ennis are the first players from the same team to earn the award in back-to-back seasons since McNeese in 2005-06. 

In his ninth season, Rebowe led Nicholls to the program's first outright Southland Conference title and third overall during his tenure. The Colonels won all but one league game by double figures, outscoring opponents 33.2 points per game to 16.0 ppg. Nicholls is set to make its fourth playoff appearance in the last seven years, all coming under Rebowe. 
 
It is Rebowe's first time winning the Southland Coach of the Year and the first time a Colonels coach has won the award since Jay Thomas in 2005. Rebowe is the fourth Nicholls coach to win this honor, joining Thomas, Daryl Daye (2002), and Darren Barbier (1996). Rebowe was an assistant for Barbier in '96. He was also recognized earlier this week as a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award, given to the top coach in the FCS.
 
For the first-team offense, Spears and Barthelemy were joined by Guggenheim and Roussel. Guggenheim led the SLC in overall rushing yards per game (79.2) and rushing touchdowns (11), which ranked 17th in FCS for TDs on the ground. In league play, he averaged 92.7 yards rushing, ranking only behind teammate Spears. Guggenheim had three 100-yard games in conference, highlighted by a season-high 153 yards in the win at UIW. Guggenheim rushed for four touchdowns twice, at UIW and vs. Houston Christian, and also threw a touchdown pass in win over McNeese. He and Spears are the first running backs to make first team from the same squad since ULM in 1992. 
 
Roussel earned all-league for the fourth time in as many seasons. The Colonel center has now been named All-Southland First Team three times. 
 
Second-team offense selections featured McQuaide, Negrotto and Robinson. In his first season with the program, McQuaide threw for over 2,000 yards and ranked second in passing yards per game (206.9). He posted two 300-yard games and tossed 13 touchdown passes. He ended the regular season earning SLC Player of the Week after going 20 of 25 with 300 yards, two passing touchdowns and a rushing TD in River Bell Classic win over SLU.
 
Negrotto was a key blocker for the league's top rushing offense. He totaled 13 receptions for 137 yards and a touchdown. His TD grab was for 19 yards in the victory at UIW and a week later, he hauled in a long 40-yard reception in the conference-clinching win over Lamar.
 
Robinson ranked fifth in conference play in receiving yards per game (56.0) and was third with four touchdown catches. For the season, he totaled a team-high 456 yards on 27 receptions, ranking 36th in the FCS with 16.9 yards per catch. Robinson posted a career-high 127 yards on seven receptions with one TD in the win against HCU.
 
The first-team defensive selections both came from the secondary. Morton was a two-time Southland Defensive Player of the Week and national honorable mention. He led the SLC in league play with 10 passes defended including a conference-best four interceptions. He totaled 56 tackles on the season with 3.0 for loss. 
 
Smith started at cornerback and led the SLC in pass breakups (13), ranking 11th in FCS in breakups per game. Smith had a breakup in every SLC contest and eight of 10 games overall. He totaled 24 tackles with a high of five at Texas A&M-Commerce.
 
Nicholls landed five players on second-team defense. Along with Lovelace, the defensive line featured Ganci and Fisher as all-league recipients. Ganci earned All-Southland honoree for the third time in his career. He tied for first in TFLs in league play (7.0) and was third overall (0.94/g). For the season, Ganci had 1.5 sacks and totaled 32 tackles. Fisher started in his first season with the program, totaling 6.5 TFLs including 2.5 sacks. He intercepted a pass in the opener against Sacramento State and returned it 38 yards, then the next game, recovered a fumble at TCU.
 
Also on second-team defense, Shaheen finished the regular season third on the team with 50 tackles. He totaled 5.0 TFLs with 2.0 sacks and was credited with three hurries and two pass breakups. Jackson tied for third in league play with six breakups. He had interceptions against TCU and HCU, and also posted three breakups against the Huskies.
 
Representing the specialists were Dupre and Lasseigne. Dupre led the Southland with 22 punts inside the 20 in 10 games played. He averaged 39.8 yards for the season and had the league's longest punt at 71 yards. Lasseigne connected on 8 of 11 field goals, including two over 40 yards. His percentage ranked third in the Southland and he was fourth overall in scoring at 5.7 points per game. He missed just one extra point and had another blocked, making 33 of 35 attempts.

UP NEXT
Nicholls will begin postseason play on Saturday, Nov. 25 at Southern Illinois. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.

STAY SOCIAL
For more information on Colonel Football, follow the team on Twitter (@Nicholls_FB), Instagram (@Nicholls_FB) and like their Facebook page (Nicholls Football).

2023 Southland Conference Football Individual Superlative Winners
Player of the Year: Jaylon Spears, Nicholls
Offensive Player of the Year: Brandon Porter, UIW
Defensive Player of the Year: Jalyx Hunt, HCU
Newcomer of the Year: Zach Calzada, UIW
Freshman of the Year: Rasheed Lovelace, Nicholls
Offensive Lineman of the Year: Mark Barthelemy, Nicholls
Coach of the Year: Tim Rebowe, Nicholls
 
2023 Southland Conference Football First Team All-Conference Offense

Pos.	Name	School	Class	Hometown
QB	Zach Calzada	UIW	Gr.	Buford, Ga.
RB	Jaylon Spears	Nicholls	R-So.	New Orleans, La.
RB	Collin Guggenheim 2	Nicholls	Jr.	Kenner, La.
TE/HB	Bauer Sharp	Southeastern	R-So.	Dothan, Ala.
WR	Brandon Porter	UIW	Gr.	Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
WR	Karl Reynolds	HCU	Sr.	Humble, Texas
WR	Caleb Chapman	UIW	Gr.	Webster, Texas
OL	Mark Barthelemy	Nicholls	Sr.	Opelousas, La.
OL	Silas Robinson	UIW	Gr.	Yoakum, Texas
OL	John Allen 3	Southeastern	Sr.	Jackson, Miss.
OL	Stanley Mark	UIW	Gr.	Seguin, Texas
OL	Evan Roussel 4	Nicholls	Jr.	Lutcher, La.
PK	Dillon Fedor	HCU	Jr.	Henderson, Nev.
P	Austin Dunlap 3	Southeastern	Sr.	Slidell, La.

 
2023 Southland Conference Football First Team All-Conference Defense

Pos.	Name	School	Class	Hometown
DL	Steven Parker 2	UIW	Jr.	Dallas, Texas
DL	Levi Drake Rodriguez	Texas A&M-Commerce	Sr.	Georgetown, Texas
DL	Arlen Williams 2	Southeastern	R-Sr.	Boothville, La.
DL	Ayodele Adeoye	UIW	Gr.	St. Louis, Mo.
LB	Micah Davey	McNeese	R-So.	Baton Rouge, La.
LB	Jalyx Hunt 2	HCU	Sr.	DeBary, Fla.
LB	Tylan Foster	UIW	Jr.	Houston, Texas
DB	Tyler Morton	Nicholls	Jr.	St. Rose, La.
DB	Ian Conerly-Goodly	Southeastern	So.	Covington, La.
DB	Max Epps	Texas A&M-Commerce	Jr.	Spring, Texas
DB	Daryion Taylor	Texas A&M-Commerce	Sr.	Humble, Texas
DB	Kendarius Smith	Nicholls	Jr.	Meridian, Miss.
KR	Damashja Harris	Lamar	So.	Killeen, Texas
PR	Darius Lewis	Southeastern	R-Jr.	New Orleans, La.

2023 Southland Conference Football Second Team All-Conference Offense

Pos.	Name	School	Class	Hometown
QB	Pat McQuaide	Nicholls	So.	Solon, Ohio
RB	Khalan Griffin	Lamar	Jr.	Tyler, Texas
RB	Harlan Dixon	Southeastern	Jr.	Slidell, La.
TE/HB	Lee Negrotto	Nicholls	Jr.	Pass Christian, Miss.
WR	David Robinson Jr.	Nicholls	R-Jr.	Raceland, La.
WR	Darius Lewis	Southeastern	R-Jr.	New Orleans, La.
WR	Jon McCall	McNeese	R-So.	New Orleans, La.
OL	Cole Leclair	McNeese	Jr.	Middleburg, Fla.
OL	Jevale Roberson	Lamar	Jr.	Cleveland, Texas
OL	Joe Bryson	UIW	Gr.	Castle Pines, Colo.
OL	Christian Hood 2	HCU	Sr.	Marshall, Texas
OL	Elias Ripley	Lamar	Jr.	Cedar Rapids, Iowa
PK	Gavin Lasseigne	Nicholls	Sr.	Raceland, La.
P	Kylan Dupre	Nicholls	So.	Geismar, La.

2023 Southland Conference Football Second Team All-Conference Defense

Pos.	Name	School	Class	Hometown
DL	Rasheed Lovelace	Nicholls	R-Fr.	Pensacola, Fla.
DL	Caleb Williams	Lamar	Jr.	Houston, Texas
DL	Kershawn Fisher	Nicholls	Jr.	New Orleans, La.
DL	Perry Ganci 3	Nicholls	Sr.	New Orleans, La.
LB	Rodney Dansby 3	HCU	Jr.	Houston, Texas
LB	Hayden Shaheen	Nicholls	R-So.	Baton Rouge, La.
LB	Herman Christophe IV 2	Southeastern	Sr.	Plaquemine, La.
DB	Brandon Richard	UIW	Gr.	San Antonio, Texas
DB	Joshua Ofili	Lamar	Sr.	Katy, Texas
DB	Ronald Wilson	UIW	Jr.	Fort Worth, Texas
DB	Ramond Stevens	Lamar	Jr.	Dallas, Texas
DB	Jordan Jackson 2	Nicholls	Sr.	Prairieville, La.
KR	Dekalon Taylor	UIW	So.	Longview, Texas
PR	Dekalon Taylor	UIW	So.	Longview, Texas

2 = Two-time All-Conference
3 = Three-time All-Conference
4 = Four-time All-Conference