NEWBERRY, S.C. --- Three Tusculum College student-athletes have been named to the 2009 Daktronics NCAA Division II All-Super Region 2 Football Team announced officials Tuesday. Jarrell NeSmith was named the First Team tight end for a second straight season, while punter John Gregory and kicker Gareth Rowlands garnered Second Team recognition.

NeSmith advances to the Daktronics All-America ballot with that team being announced next month. The Daktronics All-Region and All-America football teams are selected by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

NeSmith, a 6-2, 225-pound senior from Russellville, Ala., is closing out one of the most decorated football careers in Tusculum history, both on and off the field. On the gridiron, he is a two-time All-South Atlantic Conference First Team selection, including this year where he leads the league in receiving yards per game, averaging 67.8 yards per contest. NeSmith has posted 56 catches for 678 yards (5th in TC history) and three touchdowns. He earned All-America honors in 2008 from three organizations (including Daktronics) as he posted 67 receptions for 635 yards and seven touchdowns and was also an All-Conference and All-Region selection.

NeSmith has wrapped up his career with 158 receptions (3rd in TC history) for 1,670 yards (4th in TC history), both school records for a tight end. He was selected as the 2008-09 recipient SAC Presidents Award, becoming only the second football player in the history of the award to earn the conference's most prestigious honor. He is also a three-time recipient of the SAC Scholar Athlete Award, becoming the first football player in league history to be a three-peat honoree.

NeSmith was also honored by CoSIDA earning a spot on the 2009 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® Football First Team. He was an Academic All-America® Second Team selection last year, marking the first time a Pioneer football player has garnered Academic All-America® honors twice in his career.

Last month, he was named as one of the 16 national finalists for the William V. Campbell Trophy. He is the only NCAA Division II representative on the 2009 National Football Foundation National Scholar-Athlete Team, which includes Heisman Trophy candidates Tim Tebow (Florida) and Colt McCoy (Texas). Earlier this fall, he was also a Southeast Region representative for the 2008-09 Division II Commissioner's Scholar Athlete Award and was a national semifinalist for the American Football Coaches Association's Good Works Team.

Gregory, a 6-2, 210-pound senior punter from Ooltewah, Tenn., becomes the first Tusculum football player to earn All-Region recognition four times in his career. This marks the third time he has been named to the Daktronics All-Region Team. The four-time All-SAC honoree ends his career as the greatest punter in school history, establishing TC marks in punt attempts (219), punting yards (9,120) and average career average (41.64).

The 2008 All-SAC First Team selection currently leads the league in punting average at 41.5 and is looking to claim his third league statistical title. His average is also seventh in the nation.

Gregory, a 2008 All-American, has pinned the opposition inside its respective 20-yard line on 15 occasions, including four times in this year's home finale win over Mars Hill College, earning him D2football.com National Special Teams Player of the Week honors.

Gregory has also been recognized for his accomplishments in the classroom, being named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District team three times in his career.

Rowlands, a 6-1, 195-pound junior placekicker from Wales, Great Britain, leads the league in field goals per game, averaging 1.2 per contest. Rowlands finished 2009 as his team's top scorer with 66 points, while are the third-most kicking points in school history.

The King's Academy (Tenn.) graduate connected on 12 of his 16 field goal attempts, while going 30-of-31 on extra points earning him All-SAC First Team accolades. Of his dozen field goals, eight were from 40 more yards, including a school-record 52-yarder at Elizabeth City State University. Only a junior, Rowlands is Tusculum's all-time leading kick scorer with 159 points, which are third in all-time TC scoring.

Like NeSmith and Gregory, Rowlands has also been recognized for his exploits in the classroom, earning ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District honors the last two years.

Tusculum posted a 3-7 record this past season, while finishing sixth in the South Atlantic Conference.

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