Four Colonels Named All-Louisiana

The Nicholls State University football team had four players named to the 2024 Louisiana Sports Writers Association (LSWA) All-Louisiana College Football Team as Evan Roussel made first team while Eli Ennis, Collin Guggenheim and Rasheed Lovelace were second-team selections.

The teams, which were announced on January 2, were chosen by a group of voters from state media relations and communications office and selected media based on nominations made by each University. School media relations voters could not vote for players from their own school.

The Colonels’ starting center on the offensive line, Roussel closed out his career with his third all-state honor. In his final campaign, Roussel was named to three All-American teams, Southland Offensive Lineman of the Year, and All-SLC First Team.

Ennis also had an All-American season at linebacker and was a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award. The junior excelled in the middle of the Colonel defense, racking up 111 tackles with three interceptions and three forced fumbles. One of his top performances came at LSU where he totaled 13 tackles.

Guggenheim wrapped up his decorated career with his third All-Louisiana honor.  Leaving Nicholls as the second-leading all-time rusher with 3,282 yards, Guggenheim rushed for 843 yards and seven touchdowns in his final season while also adding his first career touchdown catch. His best game was in Death Valley as well when he rushed for 145 yards and two scores at LSU.

Lovelace landed his first All-Louisiana award after anchoring one of the top rushing defenses in the FCS. Nicholls allowed a school record 83.9 yards rushing per game and gave up the fewest rushing TDs in the nation with only six. In addition to his 46 tackles, Lovelace also contributed with an interception and a forced fumble.

LSWA ALL-LOUISIANA TEAM AND AWARDS
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Garrett Nussmeier, LSU
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Whit Weeks, LSU
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR – Ahmad Hardy, ULM
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR – Mario Williams, Tulane
COACH OF THE YEAR – Michael Desormeaux, Louisiana

FIRST TEAM OFFENSE
POS/NAME/SCHOOL/CL/HOMETOWN/NOTES
OL/Landon Burton/Louisiana/Sr./Lafayette, La./First Team All-SBC
OL/Will Campbell/LSU/Jr./Monroe, La./First-Team AP, Walter Camp, AFCA All-America
OL/AJ Gillie/Louisiana/Sr./Natchitoches, La./First Team All-SBC, HM All-America (CFN)
OL/Shadre Hurst/Tulane/So./Cartersville, Ga./First Team All-AAC, HM All-America (CFN)
OL/Evan Roussel/Nicholls/Sr./Lutcher, La./SLC OL of Year, Second Team AP FCS A-A
TE/Terrance Carter/Louisiana/So./Killeen, Texas/First Team All-SBC; 48 rec., 4 TDs
WR/Tru Edwards/Louisiana Tech/Sr./Shreveport, La./First Team All-CUSA; 77 rec., 897 yds, 6 TDs
WR/Kyren Lacy/LSU/Sr./Thibodaux, La./Second Team All-SEC; 58 rec., 866 yds, 9 TDs
RB/Ahmad Hardy/ULM/Fr./Monticello, Miss./SBC Freshman of Year; 1,351 rush yds, 13 TDs
RB/Makhi Hughes/Tulane/So./Birmingham, Ala./AAC RB of Year; HM A-A (CFN); 1,372 yds, 13 TDs
QB/Garrett Nussmeier/LSU/Jr./Lake Charles, La./3,735 pass yards; 26 TDs; 3 rushing TDs

FIRST TEAM DEFENSE
POS/NAME/SCHOOL/CL/HOMETOWN/NOTES
DL/David Blay/LA Tech/Jr./Levittown, Pa./First Team All-CUSA; 46 tackles, 10.5 TFL, 6.5 sacks
DL/Ckelby Givens/Southern/Jr./Shreveport, La./SWAC Co-Def. POY; Buchanan Award finalist; 28.5 TFL
DL/Patrick Jenkins/Tulane/Sr./New Orleans, La./First Team All-AAC; 30 tackles, 6.5 TFL, 4.5 sacks
DL/Jordan Lawson/Louisiana/Jr./Brandon, Miss./Second Team All-SBC; 38 tackles, 9.5 TFL, 5.5 sacks
LB/Andrew Jones/Grambling/Jr./Marrero, La./SWAC Co-Def. POY; Buchanan Award finalist; 20.5 TFL
LB/K.C. Ossai/Louisiana/Sr./Conroe, Texas/First-Team All-SBC; 110 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 1 INT
LB/Whit Weeks/LSU/So./Watkinsville, Ga./First Team All-SEC; 119 tackles, 10.0 FGL, 3.5 sacks, 1 INT
DB/Keydrain Calligan/Southeastern/Sr./New Iberia, La./All-SLC; 39 tackles, 1 INT
DB/Tyrone Lewis/Louisiana/Sr./Hammond, La./Second Team All-SBC; 2.5 TFL, 0.5 sacks, 4 INT, 1 FR
DB/Keyon Martin/Louisiana/Sr./Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Second Team All-SBC; 50 tackles, 2 TFL, 2 INT
DB/Wydett Williams/ULM/Jr./Lake Providence, La./Third Team All-SBC; 100 tackles, 4.5 TFLs, 2 FR, 3 INT

FIRST TEAM SPECIALISTS
P/Finn Lappin/McNeese/Fr./Melbourne, Australia/All-SLC 1st Team; 46.1 avg; 21 punts 50+; long 60+
K/Kenneth Almendares/Louisiana/Sr./Clute, Texas/Lou Groza Winner, First-Team A-A; 1st FBS 27 FGs
RS (tie)/Darius Lewis/Southeastern/Sr./New Orleans, La./First Team All-SLC; FCS leader 18.5 yds per ret. RS (tie)/Rayshawn Pleasant/Tulane/So./West Monroe, La./Second Team All-ACC specialist, 2 KR TDs

 SECOND TEAM OFFENSE
OL – Derrick Graham, Tulane (Jr., Lake Minneola, Fla.); Emery Jones, LSU (Jr., Baton Rouge, La.); Cole LeClair, McNeese (Sr., Middleburg, Fla.); Josh Remetich, Tulane (Sr., New Orleans, La.); Brockhim Wicks, Southeastern (Sr., Plaquemine, La.).
TE – Mason Taylor, LSU (Jr., Plantation, Fla.)
WR – Darius Lewis, Southeastern (Sr., New Orleans, La.); Mario Williams, Tulane (Sr., Tampa, Fla.)
RB – Joshon Barbie, McNeese (So., New Orleans, La.); Daylon Charles, La. Christian (Sr., Gueydan, La.); Collin Guggenheim, Nicholls (Sr., Kenner, La.)
QB – Ben Wooldridge, Louisiana (Sr., Pleasanton, Ca.

SECOND TEAM DEFENSE
DL – Logan Brimmer, La. Christian (Sr., Boutte, La.); Savion Jones, LSU (Sr., Vacherie, La.); Rasheed Lovelace, Nicholls (So., Pensacola, Fla.); Warren Peeples, Southeastern (Sr., Stone Mountain, Ga.)
LB – Eli Ennis, Nicholls (Jr. Ohatchee, Ala.); Blake Gotcher, Northwestern State (Sr., Little Elm, Texas); Bradyn Swinson, LSU (Sr., Douglasville, Ga.)
DB – Zy Alexander, LSU (Sr., Loreauville, La.); Bailey Despanie, Tulane (Jr., Lafayette, La.); Khamron Ford, Southeastern (Sr., Olive Branch, Miss.); Yusef Leak, McNeese (Sr., Orlando, Fla.); Tyree Skipper, Louisiana (Jr., New Orleans, La.); Jacob Wilson, Centenary (Fr., Shreveport, La.)

SECOND TEAM SPECIALISTS
P – Alex Mahler, Southeastern (So., Vacherie, La.)
K — Damian Ramos, LSU (Jr., Baltimore, Md.)