Southern defensive end Ckelby Givens was named Southwestern Athletic Conference co-Defensive Player of the Year for 2024 as the conference released All-SWAC individual honors Monday.
Givens, a 6-feet-2, 250-pound junior from Shreveport, led the conference and FCS in tackles for loss with 26½ and was second in the league with 11 sacks.
“I’m elated and ecstatic about him being chosen,” Southern coach Terrence Graves said. “He’s put in the work. I’ve known Ckelby since he was born and watched him grow and develop in to the young man he is now. He’s an even better young man off the field than he is on the field.”
Givens shared the honor with Grambling linebacker Andrew Jones, who led the conference with 122 tackles and was second in tackles for losses to Givens with 20½.
East Division champion Jackson State captured the other two major individual awards, including TC Taylor as the coach of the year. Taylor, a former Jackson State quarterback, led his alma mater to a 10-2 record and an 8-0 conference mark. The Tigers are ranked No. 15 in FCS poll and No. 1 in the HBCU top 10.
In two seasons since replacing Deion Sanders, Taylor is 17-6 overall and 13-3 in SWAC play.
Jackson State running back Irv Mulligan was named Offensive Player of the Year after leading the league in yards rushing, despite playing only 10 games. Mulligan piled up 1,058 yards and 10 touchdowns on 157 carries, averaging 6.7 yards per carry.
“He’s been a voice on the football team,” Taylor said. “He was kind of rusty early on, but now he’s really hit stride finishing the season. He’s one of the unquestioned leaders on this team.”
Florida A&M quarterback Daniel Richardson was named Newcomer of the Year and Jackson State freshman running back Travis Terrell was named Freshman of the Year.
Richardson completed 231 of 330 passes for 2,662 yards and 23 touchdowns for the Rattlers, who went 7-5 overall and 5-3 in league play. Terrell rushed for 412 yards and three TDs on 64 carries, a 6.4 average. But he was also explosive as a special teams return man. He led the nation in kickoff return touchdowns with two; was fourth in kickoff returns (30.4 yards per return), third in punt returns (17.3 average), fourth in combined kick return yards (792), and 19th in all-purpose yards (116.6).