Published on November 27, 2017 by Joey Mullins
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Samford University junior quarterback Devlin Hodges and junior defensive lineman Ahmad Gooden were named the Southern Conference's 2017 Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year.
It was the first time since 2013 that Samford swept the player of the year honors.
Hodges is a finalist for the Walter Payton Award, which goes to the top offensive player in all of the Football Championship Series division. Gooden is a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award for the top defensive player at the FCS level.
The awards will be celebrated at the STATS FCS Awards Banquet and Presentation, scheduled for Jan. 5 in Frisco, Texas, on the eve of the national championship game.
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Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 5,791 students from 49 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.