LUT WILLIAMS BCSP Editor
LEADERS OF THE PACK: 2023 BCSP “Baad Team” Defensive Players of the Year are playmakers Willie Drew of Virginia State and Terrell Allen of Tennessee State.
Great defenses include great playmakers and two of the nation’s best lead the 2023 Black college SportS page “Baad Team” of football defensive all-Americans.
Six-foot, 185-pound Virginia State defensive back Willie Drew and 6-foot, 275-pound defensive tackle Terell Allen of Tennessee State fit the playmaker bill. They are the BCSP co- Defensive Players of the Year in 2023 black college football.
Drew led the CIAA and tied for the lead among black college players with Tuskegee’s Michael King with six interceptions in ten games. His .6 interceptions per game was fourth best in NCAA Div. II football.
The James Madison transfer recorded 11 interceptions over the past two seasons and earned CIAA Defensive Player of the Year honors this season playing for head coach Henry Frazier III.
In 2023, he totalled 34 tackles, 28 solos and his 22 pass break-ups were second among all NCAA Div. II players. Drew also stands out as the only black college and Div. II player getting to show his mettle in this year’s Senior Bowl (Sat., Feb. 3 on NFL Network).
He and King were picked as first- team NCAA Div. II American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) all- Americans. Drew was selected first- team all-American by D2football.com and second-team Div. II all-American by the Associated Press (AP).
Allen was a game-wrecker for Eddie George’s Tigers of TSU after transferring in 2022 from Austin Peay.
The Big South-OVC Defensive Player of the Year finished 2023 as the FCS leader in sacks (14.5, 1.32 per game) and Tackles For Loss (28.0, 2.5 pg.). The 28.0 tackles for loss was a TSU record. He also set a TSU single-game record with 6.5 sacks vs. Lindenwood and had a four-game span of recording 4.0 tackles for loss.
He finished the season with 65 total tackles (5.9 tackles per game) with 44 solos. He was a consensus FCS first team all-American earning that status from the AFCA, Stats Perform, FCS Football Central and Phil Steele.
Joining Allen up front on the defense are Benedict senior edge rusher Loobert Denelus, fellow Benedict pass rusher Jayden Broughton and Morgan State junior defensive tackle Elijah Williams.
Denelus and Broughton led the way as the Tigers produced the most prolific pass-rushing attack in Div. II (49.0 sacks, 4.08 pg.). Denelus posted ten sacks for -57 yards while Broughton added 10.5 for -76 yards.
Williams (6-3, 270) led the stingy, hard-hitting Bears defense and topped the MEAC with seven sacks and 11 tackles for loss.
Celebration Bowl Defensive MVP, linebacker Isaiah Major of Florida A&M posted 106 tackles and was the lynchpin of the defense that propelled the Rattlers to the Div. I BCSP national championship. The other first team linebackers are Tennessee State junior Monroe Beard III who had a single- game record 19 tackles vs. UT-Martin and finished with 95 tackles (10.6 pg.) on the season and Alabama State sophomore Colton Adams who had a whopping 125 tackles, tied with Arkansas-Pine Bluff junior LB Rico Dozier for fifth in the FCS.
Joining Drew in the defensive secondary are Howard senior Kenny Gallop Jr., (6-1, 214) who was fourth with 59 tackles in the MEAC from his cornerback position, Morgan State senior Jordan Toles (6-1, 209) who picked off three passes and registered 66 tackles on the season, and FAMU redshirt senior corner Kendall Bohler (6-0, 193) the leader in the Rattlers’ secondary.
Jackson State grad senior Matt Noll’s 44.3-yard average in 34 punts earns him the first-team punter designation. His average was .1 point better than FAMU junior Trey Wilhoit, the second-teamer.
