Nov. 8, 2007

COLUMBIA – Senior running back Lanard Stafford and junior offensive lineman Jamon Meredith earned spots on the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District (III) Football Team. Voted on by College Sports Information Directors Association members, the award is based on the student-athlete’s combination of athletic and academic achievement. Both Stafford and Meredith are now eligible for Academic All-America honors, which will be announced later this fall.

Stafford, an electrical engineering major, has started six of the Gamecocks’ 10 games this season. He has been a valuable blocking back for a pair of running backs that has combined for 1,280 yards this season. He was named team captain for the Mississippi State game and made a career-long 13-yard reception at North Carolina. Stafford was named the Harold White GPA Award winner for the offense in Spring 2007 and was a member of the 2006 SEC Fall Sports Academic Honor Roll.

A sport and entertainment management major, Meredith has helped the Gamecocks to points in 31 of 37 trips into the red zone this season, including 22 touchdowns. Regarded as one of the team’s top offensive linemen, he has started the last 23 games of his career. Meredith was named the 2006 Andrew Sorensen Scholar-Athlete for Football and was a member of the 2006 SEC Fall Sports Academic Honor Roll.

To be eligible for the Academic All-District team, student-athletes must be a starter or important reserve, be of sophomore academic and athletic standing at their current institution and hold a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher.

ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III Football Team