Appalachian State University is a near unanimous choice of the Southern Conference’s coaches to win the 2010 SoCon football championship, the conference announced on Monday.

Appalachian received first-place votes from 7-of-9 SoCon coaches in the conference’s preseason poll. Coaches are not permitted to vote for their own teams, meaning that only one of eight possible votes was cast for a team other than ASU.

The Mountaineers are in search of their sixth-straight SoCon title, which would match the conference record for consecutive championships set by Georgia Southern from 1997-2002. The Apps return 20 starters (nine on offense, seven on defense and four specialists) from last year’s squad that went 11-3 overall, including a second-straight perfect 8-0 SoCon record, and finished ranked No. 3 in the major national polls.

Appalachian also had a league-high 13 representatives on the SoCon’s preseason all-conference squads, nearly twice as many as Samford, which landed the second-most players on the squad with seven.

Ten of ASU’s 13 preseason all-conference honorees are first-team selections, led by Walter Payton Award candidate Devon Moore at running back and its trio of Buck Buchanan Award candidates on defense: end Jabari Fletcher, linebacker D.J. Smith and defensive back Mark LeGree.

Joining Moore, Fletcher, LeGree and Smith on the first team are offensive linemen Brett Irvin and Pat Mills, tight end Ben Jorden, wide receiver Brian Quick, defensive end Lanston Tanyi and place kicker Jason Vitaris. ASU’s second-team selections include offensive linemen Daniel Kilgore and Matt Ruff and defensive back Ed Gainey.

Appalachian officially begins preparations for the 2010 campaign on Friday, Aug. 6 when it opens fall practices. The season opener is Sept. 4 at SoCon-rival Chattanooga. The opener will be televised regionally on SportSouth and kicks off at 3 p.m.
*************************************************************

2010 SoCon Football Preseason Coaches Poll

Place       School (First-place votes)     Points
1.            Appalachian State (7)                63
2.            Elon (2)                                    58
3.            Furman                                    41
4.            Samford                                   39
5.            Chattanooga                             37
6.            Wofford                                    36
7.            Georgia Southern                      25
8.            The Citadel                               14
9.            Western Carolina                      11

NOTE: Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own team
*************************************************************
2010 Southern Conference Football
Preseason All-Conference Teams
Offensive Player of the Year: Scott Riddle, Sr., QB, Elon
Defensive Player of the Year: Bryce Smith, Sr., LB, Samford
First Team Offense
QB    Scott Riddle, Sr., Elon
RB     Devon Moore, Sr., Appalachian State
RB     Chris Evans, Sr., Samford
OL     Brett Irvin, Sr., Appalachian State
OL     Pat Mills, Sr., Appalachian State
OL     Thomas Gray, Sr., Samford
OL     Chris Harr, Sr., Chattanooga
OL     Pat Illig, Sr., Wofford
TE     Ben Jorden, Jr., Appalachian State
WR    Adam Mims, Sr., Furman
WR    Brian Quick, Jr., Appalachian State

First Team Defense
DL     Jabari Fletcher, Sr., Appalachian State
DL     Lanston Tanyi, Jr., Appalachian State
DL     Brandon Ward, Sr., Elon
DL     Brent Russell, So., Georgia Southern
LB     D.J. Smith, Sr., Appalachian State
LB     Bryce Smith, Sr., Samford
LB     Kadarron Anderson, Jr., Furman
DB    Mark LeGree, Sr., Appalachian State
DB    Cortez Allen, Sr., The Citadel
DB    Buster Skrine, Sr., Chattanooga
DB    Mitchell Bell, Sr., Western Carolina

First Team Specialists
PK     Jason Vitaris, Sr., Appalachian State
P       Bob Hooper, Sr., Samford
RS     Adam Mims, Sr., Furman

Second Team Offense
QB    B.J. Coleman, Jr., Chattanooga
RB     Tersoo Uhaa, Jr., Furman
RB     Mike Rucker, Sr., Wofford

OL    Daniel Kilgore, Sr., Appalachian State
OL     Clark Bishop, Sr., Wofford

OL     Matt Ruff, Jr., Appalachian State
OL     Rodney Austin, Jr., Elon
OL     Ryan Lee, Jr., Furman
TE     Alex Sellars, Sr., The Citadel
WR    Riley Hawkins, Jr. Samford
WR    Marquell Pittman, Sr., Western Carolina

Second Team Defense
DL     Jordan Gibson, Sr., Elon
DL     John Michael Clay, Jr., Samford
DL     Josh Williams, So., Chattanooga
DL     (tie) Ameet Pall, Jr., Wofford
DL     (tie) Eric Eberhardt, Jr., Wofford
LB     Joshua Jones, Jr., Elon
LB     Ryan Consiglio, Jr., Chattanooga
LB     Mike Niam, Jr., Wofford
DB    Terell Wilson , Sr., Elon
DB    Max Lerner, Sr., Furman
DB    Ed Gainey, Jr., Appalachian State
DB    Laron Scott, Jr., Georgia Southern

Second Team Specialists
PK     Blake Bostic, Sr., Western Carolina
P       Mike Hammons, Jr., Chattanooga
RS     Richie Fordham, Jr., Samford

NOTE: Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players.