SEMO's Hall Wins Buck Buchanan Award: Southeast Missouri junior linebacker Zach Hall was named the winner of the 2018 Buck Buchanan Award. The award, sponsored by STATS, is given to the top defensive player in the FCS. A national panel of 153 sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries selected Hall as the FCS defensive player of the year by a margin of 114 votes over Sam Houston State's Derick Roberson. Hall picked up 28 first-place, 31 second-place, 19 third-place, 13 fourth-place and seven fifth-place votes. It marks the second-straight season an OVC player has won the award, as JSU defensive end Darius Jackson won the award in 2017 (becoming the first OVC player to win the award since in began in 1995). Earlier in the season Jacksonville State junior safety Marlon Bridges and Austin Peay junior defensive end Jaison Williams were candidates for the award but did not make the finalists list.

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