GREENVILLE, S.C. (July 22, 2025) – The Southern Conference announced its Preseason All-Conference teams and unveiled the annual Preseason Coaches' Poll at the League's Media Day on Tuesday from the Hotel Hartness in Greenville, South Carolina. ETSU had nine players earn Preseason All-SoCon honors, while the Bucs were picked to finish fourth in the poll. The All-SoCon First Team honorees for the Blue and Gold were running back Devontae Houston, wide receiver Hakeem Meggett, offensive lineman Ashton Flinn and pass rusher Nick Hunter. On the second team were offensive linemen Johnathan Cline and Micah Sumpter, defensive lineman Brenden LeBlanc, linebacker Ty Anderson and kicker Ewan Johnson.
 
Houston played in 10 games for the Bucs during his first season in Johnson City in 2024. The Roanoke, Alabama native averaged 5.4 yards per carry on the season and finished second on the team with 648 rushing yards. He had three games where he passed 100 yards rushing, including a season-high 126 yards in the season opener at Appalachian State. In that game against the Mountaineers, Houston ripped off an 80-yard touchdown run, which was the longest run by a Buc in 2024. Houston also got into the end zone against Western Carolina and Furman. He rushed for 103 yards against Furman and followed that with a 104-yard effort to close out the season at VMI.  
 
In his first season in Johnson City, Meggett played in all 12 games and started five of them. On the season, Meggett caught 21 passes for 427 yards and a pair of touchdowns. His yards per reception average of 20.3 led all SoCon pass catchers in 2024. Meggett caught at least one pass in 11 of 12 games in 2024. He caught his first touchdown in an ETSU uniform in the win over Samford in mid-October. His other touchdown came in his biggest game as a Buc on November 2 at Mercer where he caught four passes for 108 yards. 
 
Flinn brings with him 32 games of college experience after spending the last three seasons at Murray State.  Prior to being a Racer, Flinn helped his high school go 50-3 during his time with the program. Jackson High School was the Missouri State 5A runner-up in 2019, State Champion in 2020 and a semifinalist in 2021. Flinn was also named SEMO Conference Offensive Lineman of the Year in 2020 and 2021.
 
Hunter played in all 12 games for the Bucs during his first season with the program in 2024. The Atlanta native finished the season with 34 tackles (7.5 for loss), 6.5 sacks, three quarterback hurries, two interceptions, and one forced fumble. His top tackling outing came in back-to-back weeks against Mercer and Furman where he totaled six stops in each game. He had a pair of two-sack games against The Citadel and Samford. Hunter also returned one of his interceptions for a touchdown in the win over UVA Wise on September 7. Hunter tallied another interception against rival Chattanooga on October 5. Hunter was the only player in the SoCon to have two or more sacks and interceptions in 2024. 
 
Cline will enter his first season as a Buc in 2025. Prior to coming to Johnson City, Cline spent the last two seasons at UCF. Cline enrolled at UCF after starting at left tackle for Cartersville High School in Cartersville, Georgia. He helped their offense average 37.4 points, 198 rushing yards per game and score 45 rushing touchdowns. Cline was named first-team offensive lineman on Region 7-5A team in 2022. Cline also competed in track and field in high school and was a regional qualifier in 2021 in both shot put and discus.
 
Sumpter played in 10 of 12 games for ETSU in 2024. Mainly playing on special teams, Sumpter made his collegiate debut on September 14 vs. North Dakota State. He also appeared in the remaining nine games of the season as well. 
 
As a sophomore, LeBlanc continued to be a staple along the defensive front for the Bucs starting all 12 games. He finished with 32 tackles on the season to go with 1.5 sacks, two quarterback hurries and a fumble recovery. His best game of the season came in the win against Western Carolina when he matched a season-high with five tackles and recovered a fumble. LeBlanc also had five tackles at Mercer on November 2 and he had at least one tackle in 10 of 12 games in 2024. 
 
In his first season with the Bucs, Anderson played in all 12 games. The linebacker totaled 40 tackles (4.5 for loss), a pair of sacks, two pass breakups and one quarterback hurry. Anderson also got some plays on offense and scored a rushing touchdown in the game vs. North Dakota State in mid-September. Anderson logged sacks against NDSU and Wofford. His top tackling day was also against the Bison with seven. He also had six-tackle performances against Chattanooga and VMI. 
 
During his second season as ETSU's primary kicker, Johnson made 13 of 20 field goals (65 percent) in 12 games. He also totaled 17 touch backs on kickoffs for ETSU. He made at least one field of 40 yards or longer in three of the last four games. Johnson was named the SoCon's Special Teams Player of the Week on both September 23 and November 11. In the season finale win at VMI, Johnson made three field goals to help a 16-9 win for the Blue and Gold.
 
ETSU will open its 2025 season on August 30 when it hosts Murray State at Bank of Tennessee Field at William B. Greene Jr. Stadium. Kickoff for that game is set for 5:30 p.m. To purchase season tickets for the 2025 season, call the ETSU Athletics Ticket Office at (423) 439–3878 or visit etsutickets.com.
 
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