D3Football.com All-America Teams
CLINTON, MS - The Mississippi College football team received a final honor from the 2009 season when three Choctaw players were named as D3football.com All-Americans Saturday. Senior tight end Renard Ellis was a First Team selection, senior guard Josh Lankford a Second Team selection and senior linebacker Quartez Ashmore earned Third Team recognition.
Ellis, already named an All-American by the American Football Coaches Association, turned in arguably the best season of any Division III tight end in the nation. Ellis finished the season with 58 receptions for 748 yards and eight touchdowns, ranking third in the American Southwest Conference in each category.
Lankford was an All-ASC First Team selection earlier this year as well as the ASC Offensive Lineman of the Year. Lankford helped pave the way for the ASC's leading rusher in junior tailback Steven Knight who finished with 1,333 yards. He also protected record-setting senior quarterback Adam Shaffer who was one of ten finalists for the Gagliardi Trophy.
Ashmore also was an All-ASC First Team Selection as well as a First Team All-South selection by D3football.com. The ASC Defensive Player of the Year earned All-ASC honors for the second consecutive season. He led the Choctaws with 87 total tackles, registered 7.5 tackles for loss and forced three fumbles.
As a team, the 2009 Choctaws finished the season 9-3 and won the American Southwest Conference for the first time since the 1997 season. They also reached the NCAA Playoffs for the first time since the 1991 season.