FRISCO, Texas – Junior
Rodney Dansby and senior
Jalyx Hunt lead a group of five HCU football players named preseason all-Southland Conference on Friday morning. Dansby and Hunt were automatic first team selections after receiving all-conference honors last season and are joined on the first team by junior
Devion Hargrove and senior
Karl Reynolds while senior
Christian Hood was a second team selection.
Dansby, a linebacker from Houston, was already earned HERO Sports Preseason All-America honors earlier in the week and was a Stats Perform FCS All-America Third Team honoree and a HERO Sports Sophomore All-America selection last season along with being named first team all-SLC. Dansby totaled 126 tackles last season to lead the league and was a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award.
Hunt, who played defensive end and linebacker last season, started every game for the Huskies in 2022 and led the conference in tackles for loss, with 11.5, and forced fumbles, with three, en route to second team all-conference honors. He was the team's leader with seven sacks to tie for second in the conference and his 87 tackles ranked ninth in the league.
Hargrove, a junior cornerback, was a first team selection coming off a season in which he started 10 of 11 games and recorded 42 tackles and 11 pass breakups, ranking fourth in the conference in the category. Additionally, he had two tackles for loss, one interception and one forced fumble. Hargrove recorded a career-high 11 tackles in the team's season-opening win at Northern Colorado.
Reynolds, a senior wide receiver, led the Huskies in 2022 with five touchdown catches and recorded 29 receptions for 421 yards. He caught three touchdowns in the Huskies' win at Lamar last season, finishing with nine catches and 109 yards. Reynolds also posted a seven-catch, 146-yard game vs. Lindenwood.
Hood, meanwhile, is a fifth-year senior who has appeared in 30 games with more than 20 starts under his belt along the HCU offensive line. Hood will be joining Dansby and head coach
Braxton Harris at the Southland Conference Media Day on Monday.
Fans can watch the 2023 Southland Conference Football Media Day on Monday, July 24 live on ESPN+ starting at 10:00 a.m. with the Huskies' segment scheduled for 1:15 p.m.
HCU opens the 2023 season on Saturday, Sept. 2, at Husky Stadium vs. Arkansas Baptist at 6:00 p.m.
