Richardson, Texas – A&M-Commerce headlined the Lone Star Conference's postseason award list with 27 players recognized -- one player of the year bid, seven All-LSC First Team selections, nine second team players, 10 honorable mentions and two All-Academic honorees – to lead all schools.
 
Running back Richard Cooper, the LSC's Offensive Back of the Year and an All-LSC First Team selection, finished third in the LSC with 127.3 yards per game in conference only stats. On the season he averaged 114.3 yards per game on the ground. The junior back opened the season with nine straight games of over 100 yards rushing to set a new A&M-Commerce record. He is the first running back to eclipse the 1,000 yard rushing mark since 2005. He was the only player in the LSC to rush for 100 yards in all six conference games.
 
Joining Cooper on the first team offense is senior left tackle Elwood Clement, wide out Lance Evans and return man Buck Wilson.
 
Clement was instrumental in the Lions two-headed rushing attack paving the way for Cooper and fellow back Theo Wofford. Clement also kept quarterback Harrison Stewart on his feet and gave him time to be one of the most efficient passers in the NCAA.
 
Evans has hauled in 45 passes for 885 yards and eight scores on the season.  He ranked 7th in the LSC in conference only games averaging 64.5 yards per game.  In league only games, he averaged a whopping 21.5 yards per catch which was the third best in the standings.  Thirty of his 45 receptions went for either a first down or a touchdown.
 
Wilson led the Lone Star Conference in league only games averaging 28.8 yards per game per return. In all games he averaged 29.7 yards per game to finished 7th in the NCAA.  The Lions are ranked sixth in the NCAA in kickoff return yards per game led by Wilson.
 
Defensively, the Lions placed three players -- Toni Pulu, Cole Pitts and Darian Lindsey -- on first team defense.
 
Pulu, the 2014 defensive player of the year and the 2015 preseason defense player of the year, controlled the line of scrimmage for the Lions despite player less snaps to stay rested finished third on the team in tackles with 51 – two off his mark from 2014.  He accounted for 5.5 tackles for loss as well.
 
Pitts finished third in the LSC in conference games in tackles per game averaging 9.2. He was sixth in total tackles in league play with 50. He also batted down six passes, forced two fumbles and recovered a fumble all in Lone Star Conference action.  He is second on the team with 86 total tackles and tied for the team lead with five pass break ups. 
 
Lindsey roamed and controlled the Lions secondary all season with 35 total tackles.  He ranked second in the league in INTs per game averaging .3 per game. 
 
The Lions saw right guard Jason Osei, wide out Darby Smith, quarterback Harrison Stewart and running back Theo Wofford earn second team honors on the offensive side of the ball.
 
Osei, like Clement, paved the way up front for the Lions
 
Smith proved to be one of the most dynamic players in the Lone Star Conference after averaging 67.5 yards per game in conference only games. He hauled in four of his six touchdowns on the season in LSC play.  His 86-yard catch and run in the season opener against Adams State held up to be the longest pass completion for the Lions on the season.  Overall he ranked fifth in the league in total reception yards, 845, and reception yards per game, 76.8.  More impressively, Smith caught 11of the 15 passes throw his direction on third down including nine of 12 on third and medium or long.  He turned seven of those into first downs.
 
The Lions trigger man on offense, Stewart, led the Lions offense that finished second in the league in conference only games with 40.8 points per game.  The Lions and Stewart led the LSC and is 18th in the NCAA in passing efficiency.  He averaged 15.3 yards per completion while completing 190 of his 336 pass attempts for 2,906 yards.  He tossed four TDs this season with his best game coming on the road at FCS Sam Houston State when he threw for 432 yards. He went all six LSC games without and INT, while finishing the regular season 13th in the NCAA in total TD passes with 29.
 
Wofford, despite the time share in the backfield with Cooper, managed to finish fourth in the LSC in rushing yards in conference only games averaging 114.8 yards per game.  On the season he averaged 89 yards per game.  Wofford led the league in yards per carry averaging 7.8 yards per carry in league only games. On the season, he ranked 13th in the NCAA averaging 6.8 yards per carry.
 
Tyree Barton, Charles Woods, Davarus Shores, Demarlon Morris and Cameron Rogers were named to the league's second team defense.
 
Barton led the Lions in tackles for loss with nine on the season and 3.5 in conference only games.  He accounted for 48 total tackles on the year while manning the Lions defense line.
 
Shores, a linebacker, led the Lions and the league in blocked kicks with three to ranked seventh in the NCAA. All told, the Lions blocked five kicks.  He also accounted for 43 total tackles including one tackle for loss.
 
Morris, a cornerback, finished second in the LSC in conference only games with two highlighted by a pick-6 against Angelo State in the Lions NCAA Division II Game of the Week.  He defended five passes on the season tying him for fifhth on the team.
 
Rogers was honor as the league's second team deep snapper.
 
Rounding out the All-LSC Honorable Mention list for the Lions was guard Shane Thompson, tackle Avery Poates, center Landon Watkins, tight end Chris Chumley, wide out Derrick Macon, kicker Kirstov Martinez, linebacker Keiston Carter, linebacker Tre'von Taylor, corner back Kevin Mederias and punter Chase Thrasher.
 
Thompson and linebacker Daniel Roland earned All-Academic recognition.  Thompson is currently in graduate school for the Lions pursuing his Master of Business, while Roland is a finance and Mathematics major.
 
Fans can follow all the action from the 2015-16 season on www.LionAthletics.com, through twitter @Lion_Athletics and also on Facebook at www.facebook.com/LionsAthletics.