CHICAGO, Ill. – I-AA.org has announced its preseason Southern Conference accolades, honoring senior defensive lineman Mark Hatch (Charlotte, N.C./Vance), senior defensive back Dwayne Ijames (Winston-Salem, N.C./R.J. Reynolds), junior linebacker Chad Nkang (Hyattsville, Md./Northwestern) and senior linebacker Mike Sheley (Greensboro, N.C./Page/North Carolina State).

Nkang (pictured right) was tabbed a preseason First Team All-Conference selection by I-AA.org while Hatch, Ijames and Sheley were all chosen as second team picks. Nkang and Sheley were also named to I-AA.org's "SoCon High Five" list for the league's top five linebackers during the preseason. The complete previews for the Southern Conference and other NCAA I-AA leagues will be featured in I-AA.org's annual fall magazine, available later this month.

Nkang was also recently named the 11th-best linebacker in I-AA football by The Sports Network. NCAA Division I-AA football consists of 119 teams. He was also declared a preseason First Team All-Southern Conference player by the league's coaches as well as a preseason Second Team All-American linebacker by both Lindy's Football Annuals and College Sports Report this summer. The Sports Network tabbed Nkang an honorable mention selection for preseason All-America honors this year.

Last year, the 6-0, 214-pound inside backer recorded a team-best and league-high 135 total tackles (12.3 per contest) in his first season on the defensive side of the ball. His tackle numbers were good enough to rank him in a tie for fourth place nationally in that category in 2004. He led the team with three fumble recoveries and was tied for the team lead with two forced fumbles.

Nkang also tallied one sack and one interception in 2004 en route to being awarded the Sid Varney Scholarship as the team's best linebacker as a sophomore. He was named the SoCon’s Defensive Player of the Month for November and earned First Team All-Southern Conference distinction and Second Team All-South Region recognition a year ago.

In 2004, Ijames (pictured left) led the Southern Conference with 1.09 passes defended per game and finished tied for second in the league with four interceptions for the season. He was tied for seventh among SoCon defenders with 6.9 total tackles per contest. A 2004 Second Team All-SoCon player, Ijames also earned the league’s defensive player of the week honors once last fall.

Hatch amassed 51 total tackles last season, including 16 for lost yardage and two sacks, on his way to earning the Hill-York Scholarship, recognizing him as his team's best defensive lineman. He also forced a pair of fumbles, recovered a pair of fumbles and blocked a kick last fall.

Back after suffering a season-ending injury in the fifth game last fall, Sheley led the league and ranked sixth in the country with 13.3 tackles per contest after the year’s first four games. He still finished fifth on the squad with 58 tackles last season while collecting 10 tackles for loss, including two sacks, and forcing two fumbles. He was named the Southern Conference Defensive Player of the Month for September 2004.

– ELON –