San Antonio Earns Dominant Presence in All-Arena Defensive Category
August 7, 2013 - Arena Football League (AFL)
San Antonio Talons News Release
SAN ANTONIO - The 2012 Central Division Champion San Antonio Talons and the Arena Football League announced Wednesday that four Talons players have been selected to the 2013 All-Arena Defensive Teams. Defensive End Joe Sykes, Nose Guard Tim McGill, and Jack Linebacker Jamar Ransom have been named to the First Team, while defensive back Fred Shaw has earned Second-Team honors.
Joe Sykes (6'5, 280, Southern) has been a defensive weapon for San Antonio since coming on board after leaving San Jose in 2012. Sykes was named Riddell Defensive Player of the Year, Game Tape Exchange Defensive Lineman of the Year and earned First-Team All-Arena honors after leading the league with 18 tackles for loss and recording an AFL record 16 sacks with San Jose. Sykes has tallied 30 sacks over the last two seasons, including 14 in 2013 with San Antonio. This season, he produced 34.5 tackles and 18.5 of those for a loss of 81 total yards.
Nose Guard Tim McGill (6'3, 300, Illinois) was named First Team All-Arena as well for his standout performance on the interior defensive line. McGill totalled 16.5 tackles and 6 sacks for San Antonio in the 2013 season. This seven year veteran has had a well decorated career including time with the Tampa Bay Storm and San Jose SaberCats. McGill was voted Week 15 AFL MVP for his performance against the Iowa Barnstormers where he recorded three tackles, a key fourth quarter sack and blocked what would have been a game-winning Iowa field goal in San Antonio's 35-34 victory over the Barnstormers. The sack was the 37th of McGill's career, tied for the second-highest total among active AFL players.
Jamar Ransom (6'0, 230, Oklahoma State) garnered First Team recognition as a Jack Linebacker for San Antonio in 2013. Ransom joined the Talons organization in 2010 in Tulsa where he earned Second-Team All-Arena honors after recording 75 tackles and six interceptions as a rookie. This three year veteran moved to San Antonio with the Talons in 2012 where he collected 108 tackles and two interceptions. In his 2013 season, Ransom posted 70 solo tackles, 7 interceptions and 10 passes broken up. He was also named the Riddell Defensive Player of the Week in Week 9 where he set a franchise record with three interceptions in San Antonio's 56-33 victory over the Cleveland Gladiators. He returned two of those interceptions for scores. After being named Defensive Player of the Week, Ransom was voted Week 9 AFL MVP by Arena Football League fans.
Defensive Back Fred Shaw (6'2, 220, Central Oklahoma) rounded out the Talons' AFL All-Arena Defensive Team honors on Second Team. After spending time in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Shaw has been with San Antonio since their inaugural season in 2012 where he tallied a single-season franchise record 120 tackles to go along with a team-high eight interceptions. Shaw was awarded the Cutters Catch of the Week after he hauled in a game-clinching interception, returning it for a touchdown as time expired to give the Talons a 61-54 victory over the Chicago Rush in Week 13. Shaw led San Antonio with 11 total interceptions in 2013.
The San Antonio Talons are in their second season in the Arena Football League (AFL). The team won the AFL's Central Division title, as well as hosted their first AFL playoff game in the 2012 season. For more information or to ask about season tickets please call 210.227.TEAM
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