Kyle Mitchell (East Chicago, Ind./Central) took first team honors after recording 45 tackles on the season while notching three quarterback sacks. Mitchell had 5.5 tackles for loss in 2004, and recovered two fumbles during the season; including a key recovery at the goal line which helped ISU to a double overtime victory over Illinois State. He was named GFC All-Academic earlier this week.

Placing on the second team was sophomore wide receiver Sam Logan (Kentland, Ind./South Newton). Logan, an 11-game starter, paced the squad and finished second in the conference with 55 receptions * a school single-season record. He recorded 760 receiving yards, good enough for third best in the Gateway. His longest play of the year was a 58-yard catch-and-run for a score versus Illinois State. He enjoyed a 10-catch, 114-yard evening at Western Kentucky, and had five catches for 161 yards and a touchdown against Illinois State. Logan caught at least two passes in each game while becoming the first Sycamore since 1988 to record three 100-yard receiving games in a season.

Senior offensive lineman Fred Freitag (Omaha, Neb./Westside) also was selected to the Gateway's second team. He closed out his career having made 28 consecutive starts along the offensive front. He was a key blocker for a squad which set the school's season record for passing yards with 2,307. Freitag was named the Gateway Football Conference's Offensive Lineman of the Week on September 28, after ISU had two 100-yard rushers against Tennessee-Martin * the first time ISU accomplished that feat since 1992. Freitag was also recently named to the Gateway's All-Academic squad.

On defense, junior transfer Orlando "Doc" Gooden (East St. Louis, Ill./Missouri) earned one of the linebacker spots on the second team. Gooden led the Sycamores and finished third in the Gateway with 106 total tackles, an average of 9.6 stops per game. He recorded three tackles for loss and recovered two fumbles for ISU -- both in his own end zone which stopped opponent's scoring drives. One recovery came in a double overtime victory over Illinois State which stopped the Redbirds at the one-yard line while the other came at Western Illinois as Gooden recovered a fumble deep in the end zone and returned the ball to mid-field. Gooden forced two fumbles, broke up a pass, recorded an interception and had five double-digit tackle outings, including a season-best 16 tackles at Youngstown State.

Quarterback Phillip Johnson (Tell City, Ind./Tell City) earned honorable mention honors by completing 155-of-308 passes for 1,946 yards, which ranks as the third-best single-season in school history. He tossed eight touchdowns during the year. Against Illinois State, Johnson completed 22-of-35 passes for a total of 373 yards and three touchdowns * just 19 yards short of the ISU single-game record. His 61-yard touchdown pass to Markus Naves at Youngstown State proved to be the longest play from scrimmage in 2004. Johnson was previously named Gateway All-Academic earlier this week.

Sophomore kicker Kyle Hooper (Ft. Myers, Fla./Bishop Verot) also was an honorable mention selection as he connected on 16-of-20 field goal attempts in 2004. Hooper drilled two game-winners, both in overtime, at Eastern Illinois and versus Illinois State. He hit eight consecutive field goal attempts during the course of the season, and his 16 field goals were just two shy of the school's single-season record. A perfect 27-of-27 on PATs, Hooper paced the team with 75 points scored, which ranked in the Gateway's Top 10. Hooper also earned GFC First Team All-Academic honors this season.

ISU's final representative on the all-conference honorable mention list is junior linebacker LaDrelle Bryant (Muncie, Ind./Garden City C.C.). Bryant finished second on the team with 101 total tackles, an average of 9.2 tackles per game. He led ISU with 58 solo stops and was the team's leader with 10.5 tackles for loss. Bryant recovered two fumbles and forced three more while blocking two punts during the season, one of which resulted in a touchdown. He recorded five double-digit tackle outings and notched a season-best 12 tackles on three separate occasions.

Southern Illinois quarterback Joel Sambursky took Offensive Player of the Year honors while Illinois State linebacker Boomer Grigsby became the first player in league history to take Defensive Player of the Year honors three times. SIU's Jerry Kill won the "Bruce Craddock" Coach of the Year Award for the second consecutive season.

Gateway Football Conference postseason awards are voted on by a panel of 40 Gateway sports information directors, head coaches and media representatives.