Alcorn Football Earns All-SWAC Accolades

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Six Alcorn Football student-athletes have been named to the 2022 Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) All-Conference Football Postseason Team, announced Tuesday by the league office from its headquarters in Birmingham, Alabama. Named to this year's All-SWAC Team from Alcorn were Jarveon Howard (First Team – RB), Malachi Bailey (First Team – DL), Jason Longcor (First Team – Long Snapper), Will Ready (Second Team – OL), T.J. Yarbrough (Second Team – OL) and Claudin Cherelus (Second Team – LB).
 
Jackson State's Shedeur Sanders was selected Offensive Player of the Year while fellow teammate Aubrey Miller Jr. was tabbed Defensive Player of the Year. Alcorn's Jarveon Howard was named Newcomer of the Year. Jackson State's Kevin Coleman Jr. was selected for Freshman of the Year accolades while JSU's Deion Sanders was tabbed Coach of the Year to round out the list of individual award winners.
 
Jarveon Howard, a 5-foot-10, 200-pound redshirt senior from Columbia, Mississippi, was named to the all-conference first team at the running back position, as well as being named SWAC Newcomer of the Year. Howard was named SWAC Newcomer of the Week twice this past season. He leads the league in rushing yards (1,273) while ranking fourth in scoring (78 points). He ranks tied for 20th in the FCS with 12 rushing touchdowns and is also currently ranked eighth in the FCS in rushing yards. Howard rushed for a season-high 299 yards and four touchdowns against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. He tallied 199 yards and a score on the ground in his Alcorn debut against No. 10 Stephen F. Austin. Howard contributed five (5) games of 100 yards or more throughout the 2022 campaign. Howard arrived to the Lorman campus from Syracuse University in the spring.
 
Malachi Bailey was also named to the first team for the Braves, as the 6-foot-2, 260-pound defensive lineman from Atlanta, Georgia is earning his first all-conference first team selection with the Purple and Gold. Bailey finished the 2022 season ranked 21st in the SWAC in tackles for loss, tallying 11.5 stops behind the line for a loss of 66 yards to the opposition. Additionally, he was fourth in the conference in quarterback sacks, recording 9.5 sacks for a loss of 62 yards, while going on to end the season with 36 tackles overall (20 solo / 16 assisted). Bailed registered one fumble recovery for the Braves. The Miller Grove High alum posted six stops with 2.5 of those coming behind the line of scrimmage (both quarterback sacks) against No. 5 Jackson State. He would also have two quarterback pressures of Sanders in that contest against the Tigers.
 
Also named to the All-SWAC First Team was Jason Longcor, selected to the first team as a long snapper for the Braves. The 6-foot-3, 240-pound native of Harrisonburg, Virginia, served as the primary long snapper for Alcorn in all punting and extra-point/field goal duties across the 2022 season. He snapped for punter and placekicker Noah Kiani who finished the year with 65 punts for an average of 33.6 yards per kick. In punting, Kiani had 15 kicks pinned inside the 20 for the Purple and Gold, as well as two kicks over 50 yards. On snapping for PAT & field goals, Longcor had a perfect rating while Kiani finished the year seventh in the SWAC in scoring with 66 points, and he was second overall in the conference for field goals – connecting on 14 of the 17 in which he attempted across the season.
 
The Braves had three all-conference student-athletes named to the second team.
 
Will Ready and T.J. Yarbrough were tabbed as offensive lineman, while Claudin Cherelus was selected as a linebacker.
 
Ready, a 6-foot-3, 325-pound redshirt junior from Mansfield, Texas, was a big part of the Alcorn offensive line as a guard on the 2022 season. He ended the year grading out at 85 percent on all assignments, playing on 82 percent of the snaps on the year as well for the Purple and Gold. The Lake Ridge High product achieved three downfield blocks to go along with four pancake blocks on the campaign. He was responsible for blocking for quarterbacks Aaron Allen and Tre Lawrence, as well as the league's top running back in terms of yards – and SWAC Newcomer of the Year – in the form of Jarveon Howard.
 
As for Yarbrough, a 6-foot-3, 275-pound tackle from Louisville, Mississippi, he was a mainstay along the offensive line at the tackle position for the Braves across the 2022 season. He ended the year grading out at 89 percent on all assignments, playing on 94 percent of the snaps on the year as well. In addition to posting double-figure downfield blocks, the Louisville High alum amassed double-figure pancake blocks on the campaign for the Purple and Gold.
 
The Alcorn offensive line anchored the way for the Braves to have the fourth-best rushing attack in the league on the season.
 
The final Braves performer named to the all-conference team was Claudin Cherelus, a 6-foot-2, 230-pound linebacker from Golden Gate, Florida. The senior middle linebacker has served as one of the best at his position during the Fred McNair era. Cherelus concluded the 2022 season ranked eighth in the SWAC for tackles for loss, despite missing a pair of games with an injury. Additionally, he was 10th overall in the league for total tackles. The Golden Gate High alum registered 67 tackles across the 2022 season, including a team-leading 13.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage. He went on to add a team second-most six quarterback sacks for a loss of 39 yards to the opposition. Against Southern, he intercepted a pass and returned it into Jags territory. He would post nine stops (eight solo) in the season opener at home to No. 10 Stephen F. Austin, as well as having three quarterback hurries in that game. He tallied double-figure tackles in games against Prairie View (15) and No. 5 Jackson State (12), respectfully.
 
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About the SWAC
The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) is considered one of the premier HBCU conferences in the country and currently ranks among the elite in the nation in terms of HBCU alumni playing with professional sports teams.
 
Current championship competition offered by the league includes competition for men in Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Football, Golf, Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field, and Tennis.

Women's competition is offered in the sports of Basketball, Bowling, Cross Country, Golf, Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field, Soccer, Softball, Tennis, and Volleyball.
 
Follow the SWAC
For complete coverage of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, please follow the SWAC on social media at @TheSWAC (Twitter), @TheSWAC (Facebook), and @TheSWAC (Instagram) or visit the official home of the Southwestern Athletic Conference at www.swac.org.