NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion University football had 11 football student-athletes named to the Athlon Sports 2018 preseason All-Conference USA team.
Seniors Miles Fox and Oshane Ximines were named to the first-team all defensive squad, while Isaiah Harper earned first-team kick returner honors, and Darrell Brown first-team punt returner.
Running back Jeremy Cox and center Nick Clarke were named to the offensive second-team, while Jonathan Duhart and Isaac Weaver were named to the third-team. Safety Sean Carter was added to third-team defense, while linebacker Marvin Branch was named to the fourth-team. Junior punter Bailey Cate rounded out the ODU selections earning fourth-team honors.
Fox led all ODU defensive linemen and finished fourth on the team last season with 57 tackles. He notched a career-high 5.5 sacks and nine tackles for loss.
Ximines, a 2017 first-team All-C-USA performer, broke his own single-season school record with 8.5 sacks and tied the school record for forced fumbles in a season with four. He also owns the ODU career record with 21 sacks.
Harper was named the 2017 Conference USA Special Teams Player of the Year after returning three kickoffs for touchdowns and finished 10th in FBS in kick return average with 29.1 yards per return.
Brown earned first-team All-C-USA honors as a punt returner last season, averaging 8.4 yards per return with a long of 31.
Cox rushed for 621 yards and four touchdowns last season, and as a sophomore in 2016, rushed for 685 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Clarke, a C-USA honorable mention performer last season, is a three-year starter at center and has started 31-straight games for the Monarchs.
Duhart started the first two games last season but suffered a season-ending injury in the win at UMass. For his career, he ranks sixth in school history with 109 receptions and is sixth with 1,619 receiving yards.
Weaver started all 12 games at left tackle last season and earned C-USA All-Freshman honors while also receiving honorable mention accolades.
Carter and Branch are both former walk-ons that started all 12 games last season. Branch led the Monarchs with 96 tackles, while Carter had a team-high three interceptions, while adding 54 tackles.
Cate set an ODU single-season record in 2017 with 66 punts, averaging 40.5 yards per boot and knocking 17 inside the 20.
ODU opens the 2018 season on Saturday, Sept. 1 at Liberty.