
BOONEVILLE, Miss. - A collection of big men on the Northeast Mississippi Community College football team have secured national recognition ahead of their promising sophomore years.
The trio of Neil Sledge, Cameron Stancil and Terrell Washington obtained Preseason All-American awards from two different online publications.
Stancil and Washington were first-team honorees by JUCOWeekly while Sledge received second-team distinction from the Rivals recruiting network website JCGridiron.
Sledge and Stancil blocked for an offense last fall that racked up 312.2 yards per game. The Tigers also averaged 27.2 points, which ranked inside the top 20 in the entire country at the two-year level.
They were everyday starters during their freshmen campaigns for Northeast. Sledge (6-4, 310 pounds) saw action at right guard while Stancil (6-5, 275 pounds) got the nod at left tackle.
Both had prosperous high school senior seasons. Sledge represented Ola in the Georgia Elite Classic All-Star Game while Stancil was a Mississippi Scoreboard All-Metro selection at Madison Central.
"Neil has made a lot of strides over the last nine-to-ten months," said Northeast head coach Greg Davis. "He's gotten a lot better with his technique and his maturity. Overall, he's going to provide a lot of leadership in that o-line room.
"The same thing with Cameron. He has a lot of football intelligence. He's a kid that has some athletic ability and can work in space. He provided a lot of good pass protection for us last year."
Washington joins the Tigers after transferring from NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) member Hampton (Va.) University. He recorded three tackles and a sack in his collegiate debut with the Pirates at the University of Maine.
He helped Heritage High School reach the 2022 Virginia High School League (VHSL) Class 3 state title contest. Washington was the Seminole District and Region 3C Defensive Player of the Year with 66 total tackles.
"I'm really pumped up about him and the way he produces on a daily basis," Davis said. "He's a guy that's come in and shown a lot of dedication and passion and a lot of energy that our defensive unit needs."