SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- In preseason voting of the Southern Conference football coaches, three Elon Phoenix players were recognized with all-league accolades.  Senior wide receiver Aaron Mellette was the lone first-team pick while senior quarterback Thomas Wilson and junior defensive lineman Tony Thompson were second-team selections.

Mellette was a first-team All-Southern Conference selection by both the Southern Conference's coaches and media members and finished fifth in the voting for the Walter Payton Award in 2011.  He is on the preseason watch list for the Payton Award again in 2012.  The Sanford, N.C., native ended 2011 as the FCS leader in both receptions per game (10.27) and receiving yards per game (149.0).  His 1,639 receiving yards established a new Elon and SoCon record, surpassing the mark of 1,633 yards set by former Phoenix standout Terrell Hudgins in 2009.  Mellette had nine 100-yard receiving games and twice went over 200 yards receiving during his junior campaign.  He began the season 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 made a SoCon-best 113 catches and led the league with 12 touchdown receptions.  He was twice honored as the league's offensive player of the month.

In his three seasons in the maroon and gold Mellette has caught 207 passes for 2,856 yards and 26 touchdowns.

Mellette was named to seven All-America teams following his junior year.  He was a first-team choice to teams announced by The Associated Press, The Sports Network/Fathead.com, the Walter Camp Football Foundation, College Sporting News, Phil Steele and College Sports Madness.

Wilson, who hails from Raleigh, N.C., led the SoCon and ranked 13th nationally with 3,057 passing yards.  That yardage total ranks as the fourth-highest in Elon history.  His 23 touchdowns in his junior season also led the league.  Wilson had a career day in a win over North Carolina Central, passing for 416 yards and three scores while completing 34 passes.  He established a new program record with 60 pass attempts in a contest at Samford.

Thompson ended his sophomore campaign with 24 total tackles, including seven stops for a loss and three sacks.  The Simpsonville, S.C., native also recovered one fumble and notched three quarterback hurries.  In a win over No. 17 Furman Thompson made a career-best five tackles.

Defending league champ Georgia Southern was selected to repeat as champion by both the media and coaches.  The only differences in the two polls was in spots two and three.  The media tabbed Wofford second and Appalachian State third while coaches swapped the two.

Holding down the fourth spot was Chattanooga while Furman was fifth followed by Samford and Elon.  The Citadel and Western Carolina rounded out the polls.

The coaches named Wofford senior running back Eric Breitenstein as the Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and Georgia Southern defensive lineman Brent Russell as the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.

The Phoenix kicks off the 2012 season on Sept. 1 at North Carolina at 12:30 p.m.