By WJBC Staff
ST. LOUIS – Senior center Mark Spelman and junior defensive back Davontae Harris highlighted a group of eight Illinois State football players who earned All-Missouri Valley Conference honors Monday, as the duo was named to the All-MVFC First Team in a vote of league head coaches, sports information directors and media.
Three Redbirds were also selected to the All-MVFC Second Team, as senior wide receiver Anthony Warrum was joined by junior safety Alec Kocour and junior defensive tackle Dalton Keene. Senior linebacker Alejandro Rivera, senior offensive tackle Cameron Lee and junior placekicker Sean Slattery were also named All-MVFC Honorable Mention selections in the annual vote.
Spelman earned All-MVFC First-Team honors for the second-consecutive season at center, making him the first Redbird offensive lineman to earn back-to-back first-team plaudits since Isaiah Wiggins repeated in 2006-07. The Brookfield, Wisconsin, native started in all 12 games for the Redbirds, who ranked No. 6 in the MVFC in total offense (390.1). Spelman was named MVFC Offensive Lineman of the Week, following a great performance in a win over South Dakota State and was named as one of three captains in a vote by his teammates for the season.
Harris started 11 of 12 games for the Redbirds at cornerback and ranked No. 1 in the MVC in passes defended with 15 (13 PBU, 2 INT), while averaging 1.36 passes defended per game to also top the list. The Wichita, Kansas, native tallied 5.5 tackles-for-loss and 59 total tackles on the season. He recorded his first-career interception against South Dakota and broke up the final two pass attempts against Western Illinois to secure the Redbird victory. Harris ended the season with four tackles and an interception in the playoff game at Central Arkansas.
Warrum finished his stellar career with his second-consecutive 1,000-plus yard receiving season to become the first player in ISU history to record multiple 1,000-yard receiving seasons in his career. The Fishers, Indiana, native ended his ISU run ranked No. 1 in career yards per reception (19.53), No. 2 in career touchdown catches (31), No. 3 in career receiving yards (2,871) and finished tied at No. 5 in career receptions (147).
Kocour started in all 12 at safety and joined Spelman as one of three team captains. The Waukesha, Wisconsin, native ranked No. 9 in the MVFC and second on the team in tackles with 91 (47 solo, 44 unassisted) and leads all MVFC defensive backs with those 91 stops. He finished the season with two TFLs and one interception, with four pass breakups.
Keene started in all 11 games at defensive tackle and was named MVFC Defensive Player of the Week, following a nine-tackle effort in a win over Southern Illinois. The Jacksonville, Illinois, product was third on the Redbird defense with 7.5 tackles-for-loss and tied for second in the league among defensive lineman with 67 tackles.
