Bonneau earns Preseason All-SIAC Offensive Player of the Year

ASU quarterback picked to lead the SIAC

Albany State University junior quarterback Dionte Bonneau was selected as the SIAC preseason Offensive Player of the Year at the annual SIAC Media Day in Atlanta, GA. The entire 2022 squad was announced as well as the predicted order of finish. The Golden Rams were selected to repeat as SIAC eastern division champions. In 2021, the Golden Rams went undefeated in SIAC play en route to a 9-1 regular season, winning the conference championship in a dominating 33-0 romp over the Bears of Miles College, avenging two consecutive seasons of losses to Miles in the SIAC Championship game.

Bonneau finished the season with 1,763 yards passing. He completed 117 of 223 passes for a 52.5% average. In 11 games, Bonneau had 136 rushing yards. He connected with 18 different receivers in 2021.

Joining Bonneau on the All-SIAC first team was 2021 SIAC Defensive Player of the Year Stephan Pierre. Also on the first team are Katray Pringle (OL), Tyree Taylor (TE), and Malik Barnes (DL). On the second team, the Golden Rams have eight players. Jajuan Gordon (OL), Josh Simon (OL), Joe'Vontae Shorter (WR), Kam Ward (RB), Anthony Harvey (DL), Josh Hill (DL), James Hawkins (DB) and Brandarious Rawlings (DB) all made the squad.

This year's Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) preseason team features 29 returning players from the 2021 SIAC Football All-Conference team, led by Bonneau alongside Andrew Farmer, Lane College, who was tabbed as the 2022 Preseason Defensive Player of the Year announced Wednesday during the league's media day presented by Cricket Wireless in Atlanta, Ga.

All nominations and votes are submitted by head coaches and sports information directors.

Preseason Offensive Player of the Year
Dionte Bonneau, Albany State
Quarterback

Bonneau, a junior, was the starting quarterback for the Golden Rams and was tabbed as this year's Preseason Offensive Player of the Year after helping the Golden Rams to a 10-2 (7-0 in the SIAC). The Atlanta, Ga. native led the Golden Rams to an appearance in the 2021 NCAA Division II Playoffs. Bonneau finished the season with 1,896 passing yards and 19 passing touchdowns. Bonneau had three games in which he passed for at least three touchdowns. Bonneau will be vital to the Golden Rams' offense as they seek back-to-back SIAC Championships in 2022.

Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
Andrew Farmer, Lane
Defensive Lineman

Farmer, a senior from Jacksonville, Fla., was a second-team All-SIAC performer last season and was a key element in the Dragon defense. Farmer led the Lane defense to a 6-4 overall and 3-3 in conference record and topped the league in sacks with 11.5 and finished with 54 total tackles from the defensive end position.

Preseason Rankings
In the East Division, reigning champions Albany State was picked to dominate the Eastern Division and potentially face Miles, who was picked as the West Division.

Led by Gabe Giardina, Albany State snapped their championship game losing streak by defeating Miles College during the 2021 championship game in a 31-0 fashion. The Golden Rams finished with a perfect 6-0 conference record last season boasting the top defense in the nation, locking up six shutouts, and collecting their 11th championship game title since 1990 and ASU's first since 2013.

Miles, under new leadership of head coach Sam Shade, inherited a Golden Bears team that posted a 6-4 overall record in 2021 (4-2 in SIAC) and looks to continue the legacy that they've been building.

Football Preseason Rankings by Division
East Division

2022 Preseason Ranking	Last Season (2021) Finish
Albany State	1^st
Benedict	5^th
Savannah State	2^nd
Morehouse	3^rd
Fort Valley State	4^th
Edward Waters^	n/a^
Clark Atlanta	6^th
Allen^	n/a^

West Division

2022 Preseason Ranking	Last Season (2021) Finish
Miles	1^st
Lane	3^rd
Tuskegee	4^th
Kentucky State	2^nd
Central State	5^th

^Not eligible for SIAC Championship game during NCAA membership transition.

2022 SIAC FOOTBALL PRESEASON AWARDS

Superlative Awards

Preseason Offensive Player of the Year	Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
Dionte Bonneau, Albany State	Andrew Farmer, Lane

2022 SIAC Football Preseason Teams
First Team

Position	Name	School	Classification	Hometown
Offensive Lineman	Emmanuel Boone	Fort Valley State	Junior	Macon, Ga.
Offensive Lineman	Tyler Lowry	Miles	Junior	Evergreen, Ala.
Offensive Lineman	Terrence Jordan	Lane	Sophomore	New Orleans, LA
Offensive Lineman	Waylin Bell	Fort Valley State	Senior	Harlem, GA.
Offensive Lineman	KaTray Pringle	Albany State	Junior	St. George, S.C.
Tight End	Tyree Taylor	Albany State	Sophomore	Suwanne, Fla.
Wide Receiver	Anthony Evelyn	Lane	Senior	Atlantic Beach, Fla.
Wide Receiver	Marcus Lodge	Miles	R-Junior	Plantation, Fla.
Running Back	Ike Brown	Lane	Sophomore	Shreveport, La.
Running Back	Emanuel Wilson	Fort Valley State	Junior	Charlotte, N.C.
Quarterback	Dionte Bonneau	Albany State	Junior	Atlanta, Ga.
Defensive Lineman	Malik Barnes	Albany State	Sophomore	Newton, Ga.
Defensive Lineman	Andrew Farmer	Lane	Senior	Jacksonville, Fla.
Defensive Lineman	Makenly Newbill	Savannah State	Senior	Savannah, Ga.
Defensive Lineman	Roosevelt Thompson	Miles	R-Sophomore	Dixon Mills, Ala.
Linebacker	Stephan Pierre	Albany State	Junior	Tallahassee, Fl.
Linebacker	Rodney Lewis	Clark Atlanta	Junior	Atlanta, Ga.
Linebacker	Daylon Land	Morehouse	Sophomore	Benton, AR
Defensive Back	Mitchell Smiley	Miles	Senior	Huntsville, Ala.
Defensive Back	Armani Maddox	Morehouse	Sophomore	Atlanta, Ga.
Defensive Back	Charles Crawford	Clark Atlanta	Graduate Student	Prichard, Ala.
Defensive Back	Tyler Moore	Fort Valley State	Senior	Ashburn, Ga.
Kicker	Kenneth Lockhart	Savannah State	Sophomore	Hinesville, Ga.
Punter	Kenneth Lockhart	Savannah State	Sophomore	Hinesville, Ga.
Punt Returner	Marqueiz Pride	Morehouse	Junior	Seabring, Fla.
Kick Returner	Anthony Evelyn	Lane	Senior	Atlantic Beach, Fla.

Second Team

Position	Name	School	Classification	Hometown
Offensive Lineman	Jajuan Gordon	Albany State	Sophomore	Orlando, Fla.
Offensive Lineman	Genesis Hartley	Central State	Senior	Montgomery, Ala.
Offensive Lineman	Josh Simon	Albany State	Junior	Atlanta, Ga.
Offensive Lineman	Kyle Frazier	Savannah State	Sophomore	Augusta, Ga.
Offensive Lineman	Nathan Harrison	Tuskegee	Senior	Tuskegee, Ala.
Tight End	Latrevien O'Neal	Tuskegee	Junior	Notasulga, Ala.
Wide Receiver	O'Joshua Bunton	Lane	R-Senior	Crawfordsville, AR
Wide Receiver	Joe'Vontae Shorter	Albany State	Senior	Vicksburg, MS
Running Back	Kamran Ward	Albany State	Sophomore	Oscilla, Ga.
Running Back	Shamarcus Poole	Savannah State	Sophomore	Sandersville, Ga.
Quarterback	Michael Huntley	Lane	Senior	Montgomery, Ala.
Quarterback	Eric Phoenix	Benedict	Senior	Savannah, Ga.
Defensive Lineman	Anthony Harvey	Albany State	Sophomore	Leesburg, Ga.
Defensive Lineman	Josh Hill	Albany State	Sophomore	Valdosta, Ga.
Defensive Lineman	Tim Alderman	Fort Valley State	Sophomore	Fort Valley, Ga.
Defensive Lineman	Loobert Denelus	Benedict	Junior	Naples, Fla.
Linebacker	Mackenzie Howard	Lane	Graduate Student	Harvest, AL
Linebacker	Gary Bourrage	Allen	Junior	DeKalb, Ala.
Linebacker	Darrell Dorris Jr.	Kentucky State	Sophomore	Lancaster, CA
Defensive Back	James Hawkins	Albany State	Junior	Fayetteville, Ga.
Defensive Back	Brandarious Rawlings	Albany State	Senior	Wrightsville, Ga.
Defensive Back	Christian Maddox	Fort Valley State	Senior	North Augusta, S.C.
Defensive Back	Jeffery Johnson	Lane	R-Senior	Jacksonville, Fla.
Kicker	Jackson Spradlin	Miles	Senior	Dora, Ala.
Punter	Jose Chaires	Central State	Sophomore	Powder Springs, Ga.
Punt Returner	Hakeem Ellington	Fort Valley State	R-Junior	Summerville, S.C.
Kick Returner	Marqueiz Pride	Morehouse	Junior	Seabring, Fla.