CLEVELAND, Ohio (December 20, 2024) – Eight football players from the University of North Alabama were honored with postseason awards from Phil Steele on Thursday, including offensive lineman
Ryan Walker and linebacker
Josh Anglin as Freshman All-Americans.
Walker, Anglin and six others were also named to one of the four all-conference teams for the United Athletic Conference. Joining them was wide receiver
Takairee Kenebrew, defensive backs
Edwin White Schultz,
Gregory Reddick and
Ashaad Williams, linebacker
Jackson Bratton and return specialist
Justin Luke.
Ryan Walker — Phil Steele Fourth Team Freshman All-American, Fourth Team All-UAC
Walker, a redshirt freshman, started all 11 games at right guard and was the highest-graded offensive lineman by the coaching staff at 85 percent. Walker was also the second-highest graded offensive lineman on the team by Pro Football Focus. The former Thompson High School standout led the team with 859 snaps played and allowed just two sacks on 461 passing plays.
Josh Anglin — Phil Steele First Team Freshman All-American, Third Team All-UAC
Anglin, who has earned Freshman All-American honors from Stats Perform and FCS Football Central, adds a first team honor and a third team All-UAC honor from Phil Steele. Anglin finished his rookie season with 81 tackles to rank second on the team. He had 7.0 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks, as well as two quarterback hurries. The former Mill Creek High School standout forced a fumble against nationally ranked Illinois State and added a pass breakup against UT Martin.
Takairee Kenebrew — Phil Steele Second Team All-UAC
Kenebrew, a seventh-year senior, is the only player in school history to experience all seven seasons of FCS football at UNA. The Childersburg native rewrote the record book in the process, as he ends his career with 30 touchdown catches — good enough for the all-time school record. He also set the single-season touchdown record in 2023 with 10 touchdown catches. Kenebrew is also tied with Dre Hall for the most 100-yard receiving games in school history with 10, including three this season. His 187 receiving yards against Southern Utah set a new FCS school record and is tied for second in all-time school history. To cap it all off, he was named to the 2024 UNA Promising Alumni List and the UAC All-Academic Team.
Gregory Reddick — Phil Steele Third Team All-UAC
Reddick, a redshirt senior, led UNA with 91 tackles and ranked ninth in the UAC with 7.6 tackles per game. He also ranked fourth in the UAC with 54 solo tackles and was tied for second on the team with five pass breakups. On top of this, he added a forced fumble in the opener against Southeast Missouri and an interception in a win over nationally-ranked Abilene Christian — making impact plays against a pair of playoff teams. He added 4.0 tackles for loss and a pair of sacks.
Ashaad Williams — Phil Steele Third Team All-UAC
Williams, a redshirt junior out of nearby Russellville High School, led the Lions with eight pass breakups and two interceptions. The 10 passes defended ranked third in the UAC. One of his interceptions resulted in a 40 yard return to set up a redzone score in a 60-14 win over Utah Tech. In the final six games of conference play, he defended at least one pass in each game, including three in a historic win over nationally-ranked Abilene Christian. Williams was the highest-graded defender at UNA this season at 81.7 percent.
Jackson Bratton — Phil Steele Fourth Team All-UAC
Bratton, a redshirt senior transfer from UAB and Alabama, returned to the Shoals for his final season. The Muscle Shoals native played in nine games before a season-ending injury, but still ranked third on the team in tackles with 54. He led the Lions with 8.5 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks, while adding a pair of hurries and a pair of breakups. Bratton ended a win over West Georgia with a safety, recording the first safety for UNA since 2019. He recorded his first career interception against No. 21 Illinois State and recovered a fumble against No. 10 Abilene Christian, both of which advanced to the second round of the playoffs. Against Memphis, Bratton snuck onto offense and caught a 15-yard pass. He was the second-highest graded defender at UNA at 80.3 percent.
Edwin White Schultz — Phil Steele Fourth Team All-UAC
White Schultz, a redshirt junior from Mobile, played in all eight conference games. Despite missing all four non-conference games, White Schultz ranked fourth on the team with 50 tackles and third on the team with 28 solo tackles. In his season debut against Tarleton State, he forced a fumble and had eight tackles and two for loss. He also blocked an extra point in a 47-34 win over No. 10 Abilene Christian and had at least three tackles in every game.
Justin Luke — Phil Steele Fourth Team All-UAC
Luke, a junior wide receiver and kick returner, led UNA with 11 returns on kickoff for 252 yards. His longest return of the season came against Central Arkansas, as he found a seam and sprinted 82 yards into the red zone. For that game, he finished with 103 yards on three returns, becoming the first UNA player since Andre Little in 2019 to record over 100 return yards. Luke was named UAC Specialist of the Week for his efforts.
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