Eleven Navarro Bulldogs were named in some capacity to the 2023 All-Southwest Junior College Football Conference team chosen by league coaches.

 

Coach Ryan Taylor's eighth-ranked Bulldogs reached the SWJCFC Championship game by winning their final three games and six of their final seven -- an effort that resulted in Navarro claiming four first-team, five second-team and two honorable-mention slots.

 

Sophomore lineman Jared Pele was Navarro's lone first-team offensive selection. Three sophomore defenders – lineman Breylon Charles, linebacker Jordan Smith and defensive back Ty Marsh – headlined Navarro's first-team defensive picks from a unit that was second in NJCAA defensive scoring with five touchdowns and 32 points.

 

Charles, the team's sixth-leading tackler but tops among defensive linemen, finished with seven sacks among his 39 total stops.

 

Smith averaged almost eight tackles and totaled six tackles for losses, two sacks, a fumble recovery and an 48-yard interception return for a score against Northeastern Oklahoma A&M.

 

Marsh, a Denton Ryan product, was Navarro's third-leading tackler on the season (5.5 per game), and his worksheet was filled with big plays: two blocked kicks, two forced fumbles, three break-ups, an interception and six tackles for losses from the secondary.

 

Second-team honors went to freshman tight end Jaxxon Warren, freshman offensive lineman Anfernee Crease and sophomore transfer Shumarkus Adams, while defensive plaudits went to linebacker Eddy Toussom and defensive back Jakelyn Morgan.

 

Warren, who transferred from North Texas as a 6-foot-7 quarterback from Flower Mound, became a valuable tight-end target down the stretch. The team's third-leading receiver averaged 16 yards from his 14 catches in seven games. He had five catches for 115 yards in two games against TVCC, and snagged a TD-pass against Tyler.

 

Offensive line transfers Crease (from UT-Permian Basin) and Adams (from Grambling State) were key components on a line that helped the Bulldogs chisel 158 rushing and 215 passing yards per game.

 

Toussom amassed team-highs in tackles for losses (13) and sacks (8 as Navarro's second-leading tackler this season. The 6-foot-5 sophomore from Brenham had an eight-tackle game against TVCC and seven against Tyler and Hutchinson.

 

Morgan contributed big plays from the secondary with scoring interception returns against Kilgore and NEO, five pass break-ups, a forced fumble and 23 tackles.

 

Prominent offensive fixtures Dane Jentsch and Bryan Spotwood were relegated to honorable mention status. Jentsch is on the verge of a 4,000-yard pass, 1,000-yard rush career as a Navarro quarterback; Spotwood, now with 54 career catches, likely will land among NC's career Top 20.

 

SWJCFC Coaches selected as league superlatives Tyler wide receiver Tray Taylor (39-850-9) as MVP, NMMI quarterback Kobe Muasau as Offensive Player of the Year (2296 passing with 22 TDs and 127-4 rushing), and TVCC's Isaiah Crosby (41 tackles, 5 interceptions) as the Defensive Player of the Year.

 

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