SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- Five members of the 2011 Elon football program were honored with all-league accolades from the Southern Conference coaches on Tuesday. 

Earning first-team All-SoCon distinction were senior offensive lineman Ned Cuthbertson and junior wide receiver Aaron Mellette.  Second-team honors were bestowed upon senior linebacker Joshua Jones while both offensive lineman Austin Sowell and linebacker Jonathan Spain were named to the SoCon All-Freshman Team.

Cuthbertson, of Forest City, N.C., started all 11 games at left tackle for the Phoenix in 2011 and started each of the final 22 games of his collegiate career.  Cuthbertson helped to anchor an offensive line that allowed quarterback Thomas Wilson to throw for a league-leading 3,057 yards and 23 touchdowns.  He served as a team captain in 2011.  Cuthbertson was a second-team All-SoCon pick by the league's media members a year ago.

Mellette, a finalist for the Walter Payton Award which is presented to the top player at the FCS level, was a two-time SoCon Offensive Player of the Week.  His 1,639 receiving yards established a new Elon and league record.  He ended the regular season as the national leader in receptions per game (10.27) and receiving yards per game (149.0).  The Sanford, N.C., native had nine 100-yard receiving games and twice went over 200 yards receiving.  Mellette began the year with an 11-catch, 180-yard performance at Vanderbilt.  In a win at North Carolina Central Mellette caught 16 passes for a career-high 237 yards.  In the season finale against Appalachian State, Mellette hauled in 14 balls for 236 yards.  He caught a SoCon-best 12 touchdown passes during his junior campaign.  Last season, Mellette was a first-team all-league selection by both the media and coaches.

Jones ended his career in the maroon and gold as the program's fifth-leading tackler all-time with 343 stops.  In his final season, Jones tallied a team-leading and career-best 112 tackles, including 64 solo stops.  The Tampa, Fla., native notched 17.0 tackles for a loss including four sacks.  He also intercepted one pass, returning it 40 yards for a score in a win over 17th-ranked Furman.  Jones had seven outings in which he recorded at least 11 tackles and posted a personal-best 13 takedowns in three contests (Georgia Southern, Wofford and Furman).  He earned one SoCon Defensive Player of the Week award during the year.  This is the second all-conference honor of Jones' career.

Sowell, of Knoxville, Tenn., started eight games at right tackle during his red-shirt freshman season.  Sowell's performance helped allow Wilson to throw for a league-leading 3,057 yards and 23 touchdowns.

Spain, a red-shirt freshman from Greensboro, N.C., made five starts in 2011.  Spain tallied 37 total tackles, including 4.5 tackles for a loss and one sack.  In his first career start against Western Carolina, Spain made six tackles, recovered a fumble and intercepted the first pass of his career.  In subsequent outings against Samford and Chattanooga, Spain posted a career-high nine tackles.  All nine stops against Samford were solo takedowns.  He had just one tackle in his collegiate debut against Vanderbilt, but it was his lone sack of the year.