NORFOLK, VA (WTKR)- Jason Henderson is one of the most feared tacklers in the country and the Sun Belt Conference rewarded him for his efforts on Thursday.
Henderson earned All-Sun Belt First Team honors, one of six Old Dominion players to be honored by the league in its end-of-season awards.
The junior linebacker leads the country with 170 tackles and ranks third nationally with 19.5 tackles for loss. He's tallied double-digit tackles in 11 of the 12 games this season, including a 22 tackle effort on November 4 against Coastal Carolina, which tied his own school record. This is the second straight first team honor for Henderson, who suffered an undisclosed injury during Saturday's regular season finale against Georgia State.
His fellow linebacker, Wayne Matthews, pulled in an All-Sun Belt Third Team nod. Matthews grabbed his first all-conference honor after tallying 121 tackles and 8.5 tackles for loss on the season. His career-best 16 stops this past Saturday helped ODU top Georgia State to lock up bowl eligibility.
Terry Jones, Shawn Asbury, LaMareon James and Denzel Lowry each earned honorable mention status from the Sun Belt. Jones ranks fourth in the league with 107 tackles and added four tackles for loss, four pass breakups, while forcing a recovering a fumble. He notched six double-digit tackle games and totaled a career-high 13 stops on two occasions in 2023.
Asbury is fourth on the squad with 85 tackles and third on the team with six tackles for loss. He broke up four passes and recorded an interception at James Madison.
James started all 12 games at corner this year, breaking up a team-best eight passes. He tied for third in the Sun Belt with three fumble recoveries and became the eighth player in FBS history to score a defensive touchdown on a fumble and interception return in the same game when he did it against Wake Forest.
Lowry led all ODU defensive linemen with 42 tackles. He added a pair of sacks and recovered a fumble.
James Madison's Jordan McCloud earned 2023 Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year honors, while Troy's Kimani Vidal was named Offensive Player of the Year. Defensive Player of the Year honors went to JMU's Jalen Green, with Dukes' head coach Curt Cignetti earning Coach of the Year accolades, though Cignetti resigned Thursday to take the head coaching job at Indiana.
Appalachian State's Joey Aguilar was named the conference's Newcomer of the Year, with Arkansas State's Jaylen Raynor earning Freshman of the Year.
Old Dominion finished the regular season 6-6 and will discover its bowl opponent and destination Sunday.
