Rollins Headlines 11 Scots on All-USA South Football

USA South Release
 
MARYVILLE – USA South Athletic Conference champion Maryville is well-represented in this year's football awards.
 
Maryville under head coach Ben Fox went 7-0 in league play and finished the regular season 8-1 for the first time since 1978. In seven conference games – MC and Brevard could not play Sept. 28 because of Hurricane Helene – Maryville outscored league foes by an average of 44 to 10.
 
Bryson Rollins earned All-USA South honors for the third time, and this year the junior was named Offensive Player of the Year. He is the first Maryville Scot to win the USA South's Offensive Player of the Year award. The Elizabethton product completes nearly 63 percent of his passes and has thrown for 2,352 yards and 20 touchdowns against just six interceptions. His pass efficiency rating of 172.74 is a career high and more than 22 points better than his previous season's best.
 
Against USA South opponents, Rollins again led the League with 1,799 passing yards, 257.0 per game and good for a 186.2 passer efficiency rating. For his efforts in 2024, Rollins earned All-USA South First Team honors at quarterback for the second straight campaign.
 
All honors were determined by votes from the football coach at each institution. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own student-athletes.

All-Conference Lineup
Joining Rollins on the All-USA South First Team were wide receiver Steph Carter Jr., offensive linemen Tanner Dyer and Owen Sacks, defensive lineman Jonathan Harris and cornerback Grant Henderson. Maryville's Second Team honorees were defensive lineman Alex Mase and linebackers Tyler Bost and Devon White. Safety Jake Brock was named All-USA South Honorable Mention, and offensive lineman Trent Colburn earned a spot on the USA South All-Sportsmanship Team after being nominated by the coaching staff.
 
Carter set personal season highs in 2024 with 37 receptions for 808 yards and five touchdowns. His yards-per-reception rate of 21.8 is the third-best in program history, and the junior already ranks among Maryville's career top-10 in receptions with 77, receiving yards with 1,386 and receiving touchdowns with 13.
 
Offensive linemates Dyer, Sacks and Colburn combined to help the Scots lead the USA South in scoring at 38.3 points per game and total offense with 434.7 yards per game. Rushing yardage improved this season from 135.9 per game to 158.9, and Maryville allowed just 12 sacks in 2024 after giving up 30 a year ago.

Defensive Dominance
Maryville's defense ranks third nationally in total yards at 212.4, first in pass efficiency defensive rating at 86.2, seventh in scoring at 11.0 and 14th in rushing at 66.9. Six Scots earned All-USA South recognition for those efforts.
 
Bost leads the team with 50 tackles, followed closely by White with 46. Brock and Henderson are tied for third with 33, Harris has 26 and Mase 24. Brock was injured late in the season and is out for the rest of the year.
 
Harris leads the team in sacks with four, accounting for minus-31 yards in losses. Harris and White are tied for the most tackles-for-loss with six, and Harris matches Bost for the team lead in fumble recoveries with two.
 
Henderson leads the USA South and ranks sixth nationally in passes defended with 16. His three interceptions are a career high and include a 56-yard return for touchdown against Huntingdon, while his 13 pass breakups thus far match his total from 2022 and rank the Miami product among the top five for a second time in program history.
 
Maryville plays Saturday at Berry (8-2) in the NCAA Division III Football Championship First Round. Kickoff is noon.