6 Tigers Earn Preseason Honors, Football Picked 3rd In SWAC West

Football
7/25/2023 10:35:00 AM

TSU Sports Information

Six Texas Southern football student-athletes earned 2023 Preseason All-SWAC Honors while the TSU football team was picked third in the annual preseason poll voted on by each school’s respective Head Football Coach and Sports Information Directors.
 
The six preseason selections mark the most at TSU in more than a decade and marks the second straight season head coach Clarence McKinney has had four or more preseason selections. The third-place selection marked the highest preseason nod since 2011.
 
Wide receiver Derek Morton was named to the preseason first team while quarterback Andrew Body, running back Jacorey Howard, offensive lineman Mehdi Torrence, defensive end Michael Akins and kick returner Chaunzavia Lewis earned second team honors.
 
After posting less than 10 receptions in 2021, Morton emerged out of the shadows in 2022 and posted career highs in receptions (36) and yards (571) as he finished as TSU’s top receiver. The San Antonio, Texas native had a 53-yard touchdown against Southern and averaged 57.1 yards per game.
 
Body returns for his junior season after passing for 1,799 yards last fall and 13 touchdowns while rushing for 576 yards. The Corpus Christi, Texas native is currently nearing the 4,000-yard career passing mark as he has 3,816 yards entering the year.  
 
A senior running back from Houston, Howard scored a team-high six touchdowns on 425 rushing yards in 2022. Torrence had a big part in the rushing attack’s success this past fall as TSU finished third in rush offense in the SWAC while finishing fourth with 32 total touchdowns scored.
 
Defensively, Akins had a strong redshirt freshman season with 11 tackles for loss and 39 tackles while recording three sacks. Lewis had a breakout freshman campaign as one of the most exciting punt and kick returners in the SWAC. The Monroe, La. native ranked sixth in the SWAC with 86.7 all-purpose yards and first in combined kick returns (795 yards). He ranked second in the SWAC and 12th nationally with 26.5 yards per kick return while also leading the SWAC (6th FCS) in punt return touchdowns (1) and punt return yardage (1st FCS) (16.4).
 
TSU finished the 2022 season with its best record in eight seasons and best conference finfish since 2000.