SEARCY – For the second time in the last two seasons, a Harding football player received Great American Conference Defensive Player of the Year. In 2016, it was defensive end Tre'von Biglow, now Harding's defensive line coach. Senior T.J. Winslow, the GAC's leader with 9.5 sacks, won the honor Wednesday.

Winslow, a native of Houston, Texas, was one of 14 Harding players to receive some level of All-GAC honor. Harding had seven on the first team, four on the second team and three that received honorable mention.

First-team honorees included: sophomore fullback Cole Chancey, senior center Bryce Bray, senior offensive lineman Keith Pledger, senior defensive end T.J. Winslow, senior linebacker Sam Blankenship, senior cornerback Frank Herbert, and senior safety Dra Smith. The award was the fourth All-GAC honor for Bray, making him only the fourth Harding player ever to earn four all-conference honors. The other were Luther Honey (1960-63), Alan "Snake" Dixon (1970-73), and Said Perez (1997-2000).

Listed on the second team were sophomore running back Tristan Tucker, senior offensive lineman Heath Pledger, junior linebacker Chris Wein and junior cornerback V'Onte Williams.

Junior safety Jacory Nichols, junior punter Cameron Scott, and sophomore special teams player Cory Batie received honorable mention.

Harding's All-GAC Honorees

Name Team Pos. Hometown Key Stats Previous All-GAC Honors

Cole Chancey 1st FB Commerce, Ga. 860 rush yards, 13 TD 2017 (2nd Team)

Bryce Bray 1st C Rogers, Ark. 11 games, 11 starts 2015 (2nd Team), 2016 (1st Team), 2017 (2nd Team)

Keith Pledger 1st OL Lonoke, Ark. 11 games, 11 starts

T.J. Winslow 1st DE Houston, Texas 9.5 TFL, 3 forced fumbles 2017 (2nd Team)

Sam Blankenship 1st LB Tulsa, Okla. 68 tackles, 7.5 TFL 2017 (1st Team)

Frank Herbert 1st CB Pensacola, Fla. 20 tackles, 1 INT 2017 (honorable mention)

Dra Smith 1st S Bonham, Texas 38 tackles, 3 INT, 6 PBU

Tristan Tucker 2nd RB Orlando, Fla. 673 rush yards, 6 TD

Heath Pledger 2nd OL Lonoke, Ark. 11 games, 11 starts

Chris Wein 2nd LB Brentwood, Tenn. 46 tackles, 2.5 TFL

V'Onte Williams 2nd CB Tampa, Fla. 19 tackles, 4 INT

Jacory Nichols HM S Houston, Texas 40 tackles, 1 INT

Cameron Scott HM P Frisco, Texas 41.4 avg., 16 inside 20

Cory Batie HM ST Troy, Ala. 17 tackles