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GLIAC -- The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference has announced its 2019 All-GLIAC award winners after postseason balloting conducted by the league's head coaches. Saginaw Valley State has four All-GLIAC First Team honorees, three Second Team players and six student-athletes who earned honorable mention recognition.
This year's all-conference class for the Cardinals was headlined by senior defensive tackle Heath Williams, who was chosen as the GLIAC Defensive Lineman of the Year. He joins senior quarter back Ryan Conklin, junior running back Nate McCrary and junior wide receiver Chad Gailliard on the first team.
Appearing on the league's second team are sophomore wide receiver Casey Williams, senior offensive lineman Trevor Curle and senior linebacker David Still.
Being named to the All-GLIAC Honorable Mention team were senior offensive lineman Max Fister, senior linebacker Justin Whitted, junior safety Marvin White, sophomore cornerback Nick Whiteside, senior linebacker Austin Egler and senior offensive lineman Fischer Klein.
All-GLIAC First Team
Heath Williams capped-off his Cardinal career with another stellar season in anchoring the SVSU defensive line. Garnering plenty of attention from opposing offenses, Williams racked-up 38 tackles, with five of those coming in the form of sacks and totaling 7.5 tackles-for-loss. Heath ranks third all-time in SVSU history with 22.5 sacks and is third in single season sacks with the 13 he collected in his junior campaign. The 39.5 tackles-for-loss he has posted in his career rank third all-time as well for the East Lansing native who has 135 career tackles. Williams becomes Saginaw Valley's second-ever GLIAC Defensive Lineman of the Year, with the only other being 1999 NFL first round draft pick Lamar King in the 1998 season.
Ryan Conklin led the league with 216.3 passing yards per game and 19 touchdowns through the air. He had a career-high 2,379 yards in his senior campaign, which ranked first in the GLIAC as well. He led the league with a 146.3 pass efficiency rating. Conklin moved into second all-time at Saginaw Valley with 7,701 career passing yards, fourth with 551 completions, second with 997 attempts and fifth with 58 passing touchdowns.
Nate McCrary rushed for over 1,000 yards in 2019, racking-up 1,060 total. He was second in the GLIAC with 96.4 yards per game and with 10 touchdowns on the ground. His 167 total rushes were second-most in the league as well as he became the first SVSU running back to go over 1,000 yards since 2013. Nate is now fourth all-time for Saginaw Valley with 28 touchdowns.
Chad Gailliard led the league with 10 touchdowns and 853 yards through the air. He ranked second with 77.5 yards per game and his 48 receptions. It marks the third straight season that Gailliard led the GLIAC in receiving yards. Chad is currently fifth all-time at SVSU with 2,792 yards, fourth with 153 catches and fifth with 30 touchdowns.
All-GLIAC Second Team
Casey Williams led the conference with 81.3 receiving yards per game in his second season for the Cardinals. He was second to only Gailliard with 813 yards and had 48 catches, ranking second as well. Casey pulled-in five touchdown passes, good enough for fifth in the league.
Trevor Curle anchored the SVSU offensive line that led the offensive attack in posting 397.7 yards of total offense per game, ranking third in the GLIAC. The Cardinals were ranked second in the league in scoring, posting 30.6 points per game over the 11-game slate.
David Still led Saginaw Valley with 89 tackles, ranking him sixth in the league and third with his average of 8.9 tackles per game. He added three interceptions from his middle linebacker position with 2.5 sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss.
All-GLIAC Honorable Mention Team
Max Fister anchored the guard position on an SVSU offensive line that led the offensive attack in posting 397.7 yards of total offense per game, ranking third in the GLIAC. The Cardinals were ranked second in the league in scoring, posting 30.6 points per game over the 11-game slate.
Justin Whitted ranked third on the team with 68 tackles, adding 2.5 tackles for loss. The 68 tackles were a career-high for Whitted, who racked-up 190 total stops in his career.
Marvin White was fourth on the squad with his 55 tackles from the defensive back spot. White picked-off three passes as well, returning two for touchdowns. He was twice named the GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week in 2019.
Nick Whiteside led the team with five interceptions and added 46 tackles in 2019. He broke-up nine passes as well. his five picks were second in the GLIAC, as were the nine break-ups.
Austin Egler rounded-out his career with 54 tackles, two sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss. He added a fumble recovery and two pass break-ups as well. He finished his four-year career with 158 tackles.
Fischer Klein was the starting center of an SVSU offensive line that led the offensive attack in posting 397.7 yards of total offense per game, ranking third in the GLIAC. The Cardinals were ranked second in the league in scoring, posting 30.6 points per game over the 11-game slate.
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