FBS All-Americans / National Award Winners

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1. LEODIS MCKELVIN

Leodis McKelvin became Troy’s first Football Bowl Subdivision All-American in 2007 when he was named to the Rivals.com All-America Team, The Sporting News All-America First Team and the Pro Football Weekly AllAmerican First Team.

McKelvin, a native of Waycross, Ga., was the only player in the nation to return three punts for touchdowns in 2007. He ranked third in the nation with an average of 18.3 yards per return; that included a 74-yard touchdown against Oklahoma State, an 84-yard score against FIU and a 52yard touchdown against North Texas.

He also led the Trojans in all-purpose yardage with 1,192 despite not having taken an offensive snap all season. He had 436 yards on 25 punt returns and 765 more yards on 33 kickoffs, recording an impressive 23.2 kickoff return average.

McKelvin finished his Trojan career with seven career combined punt and kickoff returns for touchdowns, one shy of the all-time NCAA record.

An outstanding cover corner, as well, McKelvin recorded 60 total tackles during the season, 52 solo, added two interceptions, 11 pass break-ups and three forced fumbles and excelled against top competition in the Trojans’ biggest games such as Oklahoma State, Georgia, Arkansas and Florida.

The Buffalo Bills selected him with the 11th overall pick of the 2008 NFL Draft. McKelvin did not disappoint in his rookie season as he was an All-Pro selection.

2. MARCUS JONES

Marcus Jones became Troy’s first All-American in a decade when the freshman was named to the Phil Steele All-America Third Team as a kickoff returner in 2017.

He averaged 30.31 yards per kickoff return in 2017, with a school record three returned for a touchdown. The native of Enterprise, Ala., finished eighth nationally and first among freshmen with his kickoff return average, which also ranked as the fourth-best in Troy and Sun Belt Conference history.

Jones tied an NCAA record when he returned two kickoffs for touchdowns in Troy’s victory at Coastal Carolina; he became just the 24th player in FBS history to accomplish the feat. He is one of just six players nationally with four all-purpose plays of 80 or more yards that season and one of six players with three plays of 90 or more yards.

Also a key part of Troy’s top-rated defense, Jones intercepted a pass and returned it 100 yards for a touchdown in the Trojans’ Sun Belt title clinching victory at Arkansas State. The Sun Belt Freshman of the Year opened the scoring for Troy in the game with a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

Jones was also named to the Football Writers Association of America Freshman All-America Team and the ESPN Freshman All-America Team.

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3. CARLTON MARTIAL

Carlton Martial was named to the Pro Football Focus All-America Second Team following the 2019 season. Martial, a former walk-on, became just the 12th player and first underclassman in the last 20 years at the FBS level to finish a season with at least 100 tackles, 15 tackles for loss and three interceptions. He closed the year with 126 tackles, and 18.5 tackles for loss, and three interceptions.

Martial was the only player in the country to rank in the top eight nationally in tackles and tackles for loss. He recorded double-digit tackles in seven of Troy’s games and added seven or more tackles in four other games. A season after earning multiple Freshman All-America honors and ranking fifth nationally against the run per Pro Football Focus (PFF), Martial was the third rated defensive player in the country (minimum 750 snaps) according to PFF with a 91.3 grade and was ranked as the nation’s No. 35 player.

His tackle per game total was the eighth most in the country and the most by a Troy player since 2000. Martial’s 18.5 tackles for loss ranked eighth nationally and as the fifth most in Troy history – every player ahead of him on the tackle for loss list went on to play in the NFL. Martial was the only player to rank in the top eight nationally in both tackles and tackles for loss.

Martial was named to the Pro Football Network All-America Team as an honorable mention selection following the 2021 season.

He finished the season with eight more tackles than anyone else in the Sun Belt (player in second place played two more games; Martial averaged 2.08 more tackles per game) and was the only player averaging double-digit tackles per game. Ranked sixth nationally with 10.6 tackles per game and ended the season just 17 tackles shy of the all-time Sun Belt record. Since 2000, Martial is one of just two players at the FBS level to record more than 425 tackles, 45 tackles for loss and five interceptions in their career – he has 436 tackles, 46 tackles for loss and five interceptions. He is the nation’s leading tackler since the start of the 2018 season, with 442 tackles: 66 more than the next closest player. A finalist for the Burlsworth Trophy, Martial had six games with double-digit tackles, including games with 18 and 19 tackles.

4. AL LUCAS

Al Lucas was named the 1999 Buck Buchanan Award winnner. This award is given yearly to the top defensive player in the nation at the NCAA Division I-AA level. The award was named after former Grambling State defensive lineman Buck Buchanan, who went on to a stellar career with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Two-time All-American defensive tackle Al Lucas claimed the award after the 1999 season. That year, he led the Trojans with an 11-2 record and a berth in the Division I-AA quarterfinals. He finished with 126 tackles, which ranked second on the team and recorded 20 tackles for loss during the season.

5. NICK COLBERT

Nick Colbert was named a 2000 College Football Scholar-Athlete by the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame. He was one 16 award recipients named in 2000 for the award which represents college football’s finest student-athletes from all divisions.

Colbert graduated from Troy in May 2001 with his degree in biology and finished with a grade point average better than 3.7. He was an annual