Nov. 21, 2007

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Six Furman Paladins have been named All-Southern Conference following balloting by league football coaches, it has been announced.

Three Paladins earned first team honors, including senior defensive end Wallace Artis, junior offensive tackle Joel Bell, and sophomore tight end Larry Hedden, and three garnered second team accolades, including senior fullback Jerome Felton, senior linebacker Andrew Jones, and junior safety Thomas Twitty.

Artis, a 6-foot-4, 265-pound product of Calhoun Falls, S.C., racked up 50 tackles, including 11 for-loss, and a conference leading six sacks on a Paladin defensive unit that paced the SoCon with 29 sacks.

Bell, a 6-foot-7, 318-pound Spartanburg, S.C., product, started in 10 of Furman's 11 games and helped key a Paladin offensive attack that averaged 31.6 points and 407.8 yards per game.

Hedden caught 36 passes for 421 yards and three touchdowns in his first season of starting duty. The 6-foot-5, 257-pound Birmingham, Ala., native is the ninth Paladin tight to garner all-conference honors since 1999 and 22nd overall since 1977.

For Felton and Jones, the All-SoCon citations mark the third of their respective careers. Felton rushed for 705 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2007 and completed his career as the school's all-time leading scorer (414 points) and top rushing fullback (2,652 yards). Jones, meanwhile, registered 80 tackles this year, including a squad leading 13 for loss, to finish his Paladin tenure with 352 stops, good for 13th on the school's all-time ledger.

Twitty paced Furman with 95 tackles and six pass deflections in 2007.

The Paladins won their final three games to finish the campaign with a 6-5 record and 4-3 league mark, good for a third place tie.