RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – With the 11-week regular season in the books, the Great American Conference announced its superlative award winners and all-conference teams on Tuesday afternoon. Headlining the all-league selections for first-year head coach Mike McCarty's Muleriders was redshirt freshman running back
Jariq Scales who was named GAC Freshman of the Year in addition to landing on the league's second team. Six Muleriders earned All-GAC recognition, including four players for the first time and two repeat selections on the conference's first team.
Senior safety
Brock Floyd and senior place kicker
Austin Wilkerson received first-team plaudits. Both players were All-GAC First Team selections following the 2019 season and are the seventh and eighth Muleriders, since the program became a charter member of the GAC in 2011-12, to be named to the league's first team in consecutive seasons joining
Antonio Washington (2018, 2019), Ka'Ronce Higgins (2017, 2018), Barrett Renner (2017, 2018), DaVondrick Lison (2017, 2018), Travis Williams (2016, 2017) and Mark Johnson (2011, 2012).
Joining Scales on the league's second team were redshirt junior wide receiver
Micah Small and redshirt freshman defensive lineman
David Walker. Senior
Demoni Boyd earned All-GAC Honorable Mention. Tuesday's honors are the first for the three Muleriders in their respective playing careers. Scales joins Renner as the Muleriders that have been named the league's freshman of the year.
Jariq Scales || Redshirt Freshman || RB || Osceola, Arkansas
Great American Conference Freshman of the Year, All-GAC Second Team
In his first season of action since arriving on campus in the fall of 2019, Scales laid claim to the best single-season rushing campaign in program history. In 11 games, the Arkansan recorded 236 carries for a single-season program record 1,477 yards with nine rushing touchdowns. He averaged 134.3 yards per game on the ground and 6.3 yards per carry. He added 11 receptions for 73 yards and a score to push his all-purpose yards per game mark to 140.9.
His season totals in rushing yards and rushing yards per game both rank sixth in Division II through 11 weeks of play. Scales' volume of totes are the third-most in a single season and the most-ever by a running back in SAU's NCAA Era. This season, Scales recorded 100+ rushing yards in seven games and eclipsed the 200-yard mark twice which included a the second-most rushing yards in a single game following a 23-carry, 245-yard rushing showcase in SAU's Murphy USA Classic win over Arkansas Tech.
Scales finished second in the GAC in total rushing yards with the second-most rushing yards in a single season in GAC history and third in the league in all-purpose yards for the regular season.
Brock Floyd || Senior || S || Frisco, Texas
All-GAC First Team
An intimidating fixture in the Mulerider secondary for years, Floyd's final season in Magnolia was yet again a productive one. The Frisco, Texas, native led the Muleriders in solo tackles with 50 and tied for the team-lead in total stops with 79. The hard-hitting safety owned a robust statistical ledger this fall as he logged three tackles for loss totaling 11 yards which included one sack. He picked off two passes for 45 yards, broke up one more, recorded a QB hurry, forced a fumble and recovered two more; one of which he housed from 60 yards out in SAU's Murphy USA Class win over Arkansas Tech. For his efforts in the win over ATU, he was named the GAC's Defensive Player of the Week.
He was the only Mulerider to record a sack, an interception, force a fumble and recover a fumble this season. For his career, Floyd recorded 209 total tackles, a dozen for loss with one sack and added six fumble recoveries and seven interceptions. He broke up nine passes and found the endzone three times, while totaling 203 all-purpose yards.
Austin Wilkerson || Senior || K || Dallas, Texas
All-GAC First Team
Wilkerson logged another impressive campaign kicking the football for the Muleriders in 2021. He led the Great American Conference with 14 made field goals with a season-long of 47 yards. He ranked sixth nationally in field goal percentage at 87.5%, while his field goals per game of 1.4 ranked seventh in Division II. Both of those marks were tops in the GAC.
The Dallas, Texas, native led the team in scoring with 14 field goals and 31 extra points in 34 attempts. His 73 points scored ranked ninth in the GAC among all players. Wilkerson booted 65 kickoffs at an average of 52.6 yards per kick with 22 touchbacks.
His 37 career field goals are the second-most all-time and he is one of just two kickers in program history with multiple seasons with 10+ field goals. His 225 career points are the third-most all-time.
Micah Small || Redshirt Junior || WR || Magnolia, Texas
All-GAC Second Team
Only two other receivers have ever done what Small did this season as the Muleriders' top pass catcher. He hauled in 60 passes for 1,012 yards averaging 91.0 receiving yards per game with a dozen touchdowns. The Texan became just the third different receiver to eclipse the 1,000 receiving yard mark in a single season in program history and only the third different receiver to haul in a dozen or more touchdown catches in a single season. His 60 catches rank sixth all-time in a single season.
Small delivered four games with 100+ receiving yards, including 184 yards against Southeastern Oklahoma which stands as the fifth-most in a single game in program history. He added four games with two or more touchdown catches, including a career-high three vs. Southwestern Oklahoma. His season receiving totals in yards, yards per game and touchdowns all rank in the top 20 nationally.
David Walker || Redshirt Freshman || DL || Stuttgart, Arkansas
All-GAC Second Team
Walker spent as much time in the opponent backfield this season as he did on the SAU side of the football. The dominant playmaker recorded seven sacks totaling 55 yards and an impressive 15.5 tackles for loss resulting in 80 yards. His tackles for loss per game average of 1.4 ranks 25
th in Division II. If he wasn't bringing quarterbacks and ball carriers to the ground, he was certainly making it difficult in the passing game as he logged nine quarterback hurries. He finished with 51 total tackles, 33 of which were solo efforts, and he recovered a fumble.
Demoni Boyd || Senior || DL || Covington, Louisiana
All-GAC Honorable Mention
Boyd was a highly formidable force to be reckoned with along a talented defensive front for Southern Arkansas. The Pelican State product logged 37 tackles with 8.5 tackles for loss totaling 49 yards. He registered 4.5 sacks as part of a unit that recorded 28 total for 195 yards. The Muleriders ranked second in the GAC in team sacks per game at 2.55. Of Boyd's 37 stops, 18 were solo and he also blocked a pair of kicks this season. For his career, Boyd totaled 72 tackles with 15 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks.
