Doug Ireland
NSU Assistant Athletic Director/Media Relations
NATCHITOCHES — Northwestern State All-America candidates Jazz Ferguson and Hayden Bourgeois were first-team selections on the 2018 All-Southland Conference Football Team announced Tuesday, with Ferguson winning Offensive Player of the Year honors after a record-breaking season.
Ferguson, a junior wide receiver, and Bourgeois, a sophomore safety, rank among national leaders in the Football Championship subdivision in several statistical categories. Bourgeois was one of only two sophomores among the 29 first-team choices.
They were among seven NSU players recognized on the All-Southland announcement, with the honors voted by the league’s head coaches and sports information directors from its 11 football programs.
Demons receiving honorable mention all-conference accolades were junior quarterback Shelton Eppler, senior wide receiver Jaylen Watson, senior offensive lineman Frank Boudreaux, senior defensive end/linebacker Obinna Iheoma, and redshirt freshman kickoff returner Myles Ward.
Ferguson, a St. Francisville-West Feliciana High School product, set single-season school records with 1,117 receiving yards and 13 touchdown catches, while posting the second-highest receptions total (66) in school history. Watson was second in the Southland with 10 TD catches, equaling the former school mark by Al Phillips in 1968.
Ferguson, who transferred from LSU and sat out the 2017 season with the Demons, also led the Southland with 66 receptions. He ranked sixth among all FCS players with his 13 touchdown grabs, ninth in receiving yardage, 14th in receiving yards per game (101.5), and 20th in receptions per game (6.0).
Bourgeois, from Church Point and Notre Dame High School in Crowley, ranked third in FCS in total takeaways by making five interceptions and recovering two fumbles. He also blocked a field goal that forced a second overtime, paving the way for a Ferguson touchdown catch from Eppler to beat 18th-ranked McNeese 37-34.
Bourgeois led the Demons from his safety’s spot with 84 tackles. His interception total ranked eighth in FCS and he stands 21st with two fumble recoveries.
— Featured photo courtesy Northwestern State Sports Information
