RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Redshirt sophomore running back Jariq Scales was named an All-Great American Conference First Team performer on Wednesday, while five other Muleriders earned recognition on the league's all-conference teams. Scales along with grad placekicker Austin Wilkerson (All-GAC Second Team) and senior right tackle Austin Patricia (All-GAC Honorable Mention) again find themselves on all-league teams, while grad defensive end Prince Udenze (All-GAC Second Team), junior linebacker Jacob Berry (All-GAC Honorable Mention) and sophomore center Thomas Bowman (All-GAC Honorable Mention) earn all-league plaudits for the first time in their respective careers as Muleriders.
 
Jariq Scales | Osceola, Ark.
 
Sophomore slump? More like sophomore sensation. Scales picked up in 2022 where he left off following a GAC Freshman of the Year season in 2021. The Arkansan adds a first-team honor to a second-team plaudit from a year ago following another historic season from the all-purpose standout.
 
Scales, who set the program record for single season rushing yards last fall, became just the second player (Mark Johnson; 2011, 2012) in program history to record consecutive seasons of 1000-plus rushing yards as he posted 1,043 yards (4^th GAC) at 5.8 yards per carry (11^th) on 179 carries (3^rd). The playmaking back eclipsed 125 yards on the ground four times, while in three of those performances he ran north of 150 yards with two games at 170+ total rushing yards. He scored 12 rushing touchdowns this fall which are tied for the fourth most in a single season.
 
As a receiver, Scales hauled in the third-most passes (26) on the team for 262 yards and a pair of touchdowns. In 11 games, he totaled 1,305 yards on 205 touches to average 118.6 all-purpose yards per game which ranked fifth in the GAC behind four fellow first-team selections. His 84 total points were the sixth-most in the regular season.
 
Scales' marks in rushing yards per carry, rushing yards, rushing touchdowns, total points scored and total touchdowns all ranked in the top 30 nationally in DII.
 
At the conclusion of the regular season, Scales ranks, among active career players in Division II, fourth in rushes per game (18.9), fifth in all-purpose plays per game (20.5), fifth in rushing yards per game (114.5), and ninth in all-purpose yards per game (129.6).
 
With his sophomore season output, Scales enters his junior season with 2,518 career rushing yards which are the fifth-most all-time in program history. His 21 career rushing touchdowns rank tied for the seventh most in a single career. His 144 career points scored rank just outside the program's career top 10 as do his 2,853 all-purpose yards.
 
Prince Udenze | Forney, Texas
 
Udenze's athleticism in his final season in Magnolia took center stage from Week 1. The defensive end consistently disrupted offensive game plans which helped him accumulate 8.5 tackles for loss totaling 41 loss yards. He was one of 13 players in the league to record eight or more tackles for loss this season.
 
He recorded at least 1.5 TFL in three games this season with a season-high effort of 2.5 coming in SAU's Homecoming matchup with East Central. The powerful Udenze recorded at least four stops in five games. Udenze concluded his final season in Magnolia with 34 total tackles of which 13 were solo stops and he added two sacks, three quarterback hurries and an interception.
 
For his career, Udenze played in 37 games recording 78 total tackles, 19.5 TFL and 7.0 sacks in addition to two interceptions and one forced fumble.
 
Austin Wilkerson | Dallas, Texas
 
To say Austin Wilkerson got a kick out of his final season as a Mulerider would be an understatement. The uber reliable placekicker nailed 45 of his 48 extra point attempts and was 10 of 11 on field goal opportunities with a season-long of 45 yards which saw his 90.9% success rate lead the Great American Conference and rank second nationally.
 
His 75 points scored were the fourth-most among kickers in the GAC this season and ranked 11^th overall in the league. Wilkerson's 2022 campaign will be memorable for far more than just the single season numbers produced, but also for the career milestones that he reached. He placed his name atop the program record books in several prominent kicking statistics including career field goals (47) and points scored (300). No player in program history, regardless of position, has scored more points than Wilkerson. Additionally, he finishes his career ranked second all-time in extra points (159) and is the only kicker in program history with three seasons of 10+ field goals.
 
For the fourth time in his career, Wilkerson produced three successful field goal attempts in a game which came on Senior Day against Southern Nazarene.
 
Wednesday's honor for Wilkerson is added to a lengthy list of accolades acquired by the Texan over his career in Magnolia. He earned All-GAC First Team honors in both 2019 and 2021 and was an all-region performer each year in addition to being a CoSIDA Academic All-District selection. Earlier this fall, Wilkerson was named a finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy which serves as college football's academic Heisman.
 
Jacob Berry | Round Rock, Texas
 
Berry's first season as a Mulerider was a memorable one as the Trinity Valley Community College transfer made an immediate impact on the Mulerider defense. Berry averaged 9.1 tackles per game which was tied with league Defensive Player of the Year Devon Roush of East Central for the second-best mark in the Great American Conference. The average ranked 29^th nationally at the conclusion of the regular season.
 
Wherever the football was, Berry wasn't far away. The fearsome linebacker showcased his knack for getting to the pigskin as he posted 100 tackles, the second-most in the GAC, to go along with 3.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and two quarterback hurries.
 
Of his 100 stops, 56 were assisted and 44 were of the solo variety and the first-year Mulerider became the first to reach the century mark in tackles in a single season since all-region linebacker Keenan Washington in 2004. Berry recorded seven games of at least nine tackles and crossed over ten-plus stops in a game five times, including a pair of games with 15 tackles.
 
In the season finale at Arkansas-Monticello, Berry recorded ten solo tackles as part of a 13-tackle performance. Berry finished the '22 season with the most tackles of any DII defender in the state of Arkansas with the next closest Natural State tackler 29 stops back.
 
Thomas Bowman | Belton, Texas
Austin Patricia | Forney, Texas
 
Southern Arkansas' offensive successes this season began in the trenches and two of the unit's anchors up front find themselves on the All-GAC Honorable Mention team.
 
Patricia, an All-GAC HM honoree following the 2019 season and 2022 Gene Upshaw Award nominee, and Bowman, who earned his first-ever league plaudit, were instrumental in the Mulerider offense ranking sixth in DII in total offense (485.4 ypg) and sixth in DII in rushing offense (257.5 ypg). At the conclusion of the regular season, SAU led the GAC and ranked seventh nationally in first downs offense (263) and eighth nationally in third-down conversion rate (49.4%). Additionally, the duo helped protect a pair of signal callers that combined to rank 30^th overall in team passing efficiency (146.59).
 
Catalysts in individual successes too, the duo helped pave the way for Scales as well as junior quarterback OB Jones who became the first player in program history to record 2000-yard passing and 700-yard rushing efforts in a single season.
 
Patricia posted an average grade per game of 91%, while also averaging a dozen knockdowns per game. He produced a single-game high 22 knockdowns in addition to averaging 11 MTXE (Mental Toughness/Extra Effort) plays per game.
 
Bowman's average grade per game stands at 93% in 11 games this season. Like Patricia, he averaged a dozen knockdowns per game with a game-high 19. His MTXE average per game stands at 14 at season's end.