Three defensive players and one special teams player from Arkansas Tech University have been voted to the 2010 All-Gulf South Conference football team.
Defensive back Antonio Charles, linebacker Brandon Wright, defensive lineman Derandus Frye and kick block team member Garret Ratcliff are the Wonder Boys’ representatives on the honor squad.
Charles (photographed, top left), a senior from Sarasota, Fla., led Arkansas Tech with 87 tackles this season. He made 8.5 tackles for a loss, two quarterback sacks, two interceptions, four pass break-ups, a fumble recovery and a blocked kick.
Charles’ 87 tackles were the most in a single season by a Wonder Boy since 2005, when Mike Houston made 113 stops for Arkansas Tech.
Wright (photographed, top right), a senior from Stuttgart, made 44 tackles in 2010. Fourteen of those were for a loss, including five quarterback sacks. Wright’s tendency to make big plays also extended to turnovers. He recovered three fumbles — two of which he returned for touchdowns — and he forced two fumbles.
Wright’s 14 tackles for a loss in 2010 were the most in a season by an Arkansas Tech player since Cedric Cursh made 17.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage in 2004. The five sacks that Wright made in 2010 were the most by a Wonder Boy since Cursh had five sacks in 2007.
Frye (photographed, bottom left), a senior from New Orleans, La., also created a fair amount of havoc in the backfield. He had 12.5 tackles for a loss and 4.5 quarterback sacks in 2010.
Frye made a total of 39 tackles this season and led the team in pass break-ups with seven. He also forced two fumbles.
Ratcliff (photographed, bottom right), a junior from Summit, Miss., made a big splash in his first game as a Wonder Boy. He returned a blocked punt 38 yards for a touchdown in Tech’s 34-19 win over Lambuth on Sept. 2.
Ratcliff made a total of 13 tackles and one fumble recovery in 2010. He was named by the coaching staff as the Wonder Boys’ special teams most valuable player in five of their 11 games.
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