CONWAY, Ark. (UCA) -- The University of Central Arkansas Bears grabbed four of the seven individual awards when the 2012 All-Southland Conference Football teams were announced on Tuesday.
UCA had 17 total student-athletes honored, including 13 on the first or second teams. The Bears honored individually were junior quarterback Wynrick Smothers (Offensive Player of the Year); senior center Corey Howard (Offensive Lineman of the Year); redshirt freshman Jonathan Woodard (Freshman of the Year) and head coach Clint Conque (Coach of the Year).
UCA's first-team selection included: Smothers, Howard, Woodard, senior wide receiver Dominique Croom, graduate linebacker Seth Allison, junior safety Jestin Love, sophomore placekicker Eddie Camara and senior wide receiver Jesse Grandy, who was also the first-team punt returner and first-team kick returner.
Second-team members included: senior running back Jackie Hinton, sophomore offensive lineman Cole Caruthers and junior defensive tackle Matt Hornbuckle. Honorable mention nods went to junior tight end Chase Dixon, sophomore receiver Dezmin Lewis, junior linebacker Justin Heard and freshman cornerback Dillion Winfrey.
Smothers, from Destrehan, La., is second in the SLC in passing, total offense and pass efficiency. He has completed 261 of 386 passes for 2,852 yards and a league-high 31 touchdowns, which is one short of the school record set last season by Nathan Dick. Smothers' completion percentage is 67.6 percent. He is the second UCA player to be named the league's offensive player of the year, joining his current UCA quarterbacks coach Nathan Brown, who claimed the award in 2007.
Howard, from Wichita Falls, Texas, is a four-year starter for the Bears who led a young offensive line this season. Woodard, from Brentwood, Tenn., finished fourth in the conference with seven sacks and was the only freshman among the conference's top 20 players in the category. Woodard concluded the regular season tied for seventh in the conference in tackles for loss with 10.5 tackles for losses of 50 yards. He also recovered three fumbles on the season, returning one 72 yards for a touchdown against Stephen F. Austin. Woodard is UCA's second player to win Freshman of the Year honors after Love shared the award in 2010.
Conque, who has the 8th-ranked Bears set for their second consecutive NCAA Division I playoff appearance, won his second Coach of the Year Award after leading UCA to a 9-2 overall ranking and a 6-1 league mark. Conque is the winningest coach in UCA history with a 98-53 record in 13 seasons, and has guided the Bears to a 29-13 mark in conference play since joining the league in 2006. He was announced as a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award on Monday, the third time for that distinction in the past six seasons.
2012 Southland Conference Individual Superlative Winners
Player of the Year: Timothy Flanders, Sam Houston State
Offensive Player of the Year: Wynrick Smothers, Central Arkansas
Defensive Player of the Year: Darnell Taylor, Sam Houston State
Offensive Lineman of the Year: Corey Howard, Central Arkansas
Freshman of the Year: Jonathan Woodard, Central Arkansas
Newcomer of the Year: Kevin Johnson, Lamar
Coach of the Year: Clint Conque, Central Arkansas
2012 All-Southland Conference Football Teams
First Team Offense
QB - Wynrick Smothers, UCA, Jr. (Destrehan, La.)
RB - Timothy Flanders, SHSU, Jr. (Midwest City, Okla.)
RB - Gus Johnson, SFA , So. (Gilmer, Texas)
TE/HB - T.J. Jones, SHSU, Sr. (Tyler, Texas)
WR - Cordell Roberson, SFA, Sr. (Jefferson, Texas)
WR - Jesse Grandy, UCA, Sr. (Pine Bluff, Ark.)
WR - Dominique Croom, UCA, Sr. (Cherokee, Ala.)
OL - Corey Howard, UCA, Sr. (Wichita Falls, Texas)
OL - Kaleb Hopson - SHSU, Sr. (Early, Texas)
OL - John Steel, SFA, Sr. (Boyd, Texas)
OL - Arinze Agada, MSU, Jr. (Houston, Texas)
OL - Chris Rogers, SHSU, Sr. (Littleton, Colo.)
AP - Richard Sincere, SHSU, Jr. (Galveston, Texas)
PK - Eddie Camara, UCA, So. (Cedar Hill, Texas)
First Team Defense
DL - Willie Jefferson, SFA, Sr. (Beaumont, Texas)
DL - J.T. Cleveland, SHSU, Sr. (Baytown, Texas)
DL - Jonathan Woodard, UCA, Fr. (Brentwood, Tenn.)
DL - Darren Robinson, SFA, So. (Dallas, Texas)
LB - Darius Taylor, SHSU, Sr. (Mesquite, Texas)
LB - Seth Allison, UCA, Sr. (Stuttgart, Ark.)
LB - Derek Rose, NSU, Sr. (New Orleans, La.)
DB - Darnell Taylor, SHSU, Sr. (Mesquite, Texas)
DB - Robert Alford, SLU, Sr. (Hammond, La.)
DB - Dax Swanson, SHSU, Sr. (Waco, Texas)
DB - Josh Aubrey, SFA, Sr. (Tyler, Texas)
DB - Jestin Love, UCA, Jr. (West Memphis, Ark.)
P - Matt Foster, SHSU, Sr. (Melbourne, Australia)
KR - Jesse Grandy, UCA, Sr. (Pine Bluff, Ark.)
PR - Jesse Grandy, UCA, Sr. (Pine Bluff Ark)