On Tuesday, the OVC-Big South Football Association announced its postseason honors. The Lindenwood football team had 14 student-athletes earn recognition across the first, second, and honorable mention teams.

Rico Bond and Gavin Hulet landed on the first team. Bond had an outstanding redshirt freshman campaign, hauling in a team-high 61 catches for 701 yards and six touchdowns. The St. Louis, Mo. native had two games with 100+ receiving yards during the year.

The 6-1 wideout was named OVC-Big South Freshman of the Week three times during the year and averaged 11.5 yards per catch. His 701 yards ranks fourth while the 61 catches rank second in the conference. He was recently named a finalist for the 2025 Jerry Rice Award, which honors the national freshman player of the year in college football's Division I FCS subdivision.

Hulet was a mainstay on the offensive line during his time as a Lion, starting all 24 games at both tackle positions across the last two seasons. He was named a third team honorable mention All-American by Phil Steele earlier this season.
The Lions had six players on the second team including Nate Glantz, Steve Hall, Jalen Smith, Tajay Passmore, Jacob Waller, and Jayden Patrick.

Glantz led the Association in passing yards with 2,590 which currently ranks 17^th nationally. The Nebraska native also had eight rushing touchdowns on the year, which tied for the team lead with Hall. He was named Offensive Player of the Week once during the season.

After battling injuries to start the year, Hall finished strong. The St. Louis, Mo. native had three-consecutive 100-yard games in weeks 7-9. The redshirt sophomore running back finished the year with eight rushing touchdowns, which tied for tops on the team. Halll had six rushing scores during the final five weeks of the regular season. Overall, he averaged 4.5 yards per carry.

Smith was one of the best wideouts in the conference in 2025. The Shiloh, Ill. native hauled in 37 passes for 771 yards and four touchdowns. The 711 yards led the team and ranked fourth in the conference. The 6-4 wideout had three 100-yard receiving games during the year and averaged a conference leading 19.3 yards per catch.

Passmore led the team in sacks with seven during the 2025 season, which ranked fifth in the conference. Overall, the Queens, N.Y. native had 38 tackles, including eight for loss, while forcing two fumbles.

Waller was a one-time Defensive Player of the Week selection after compiling 17 tackles in a win over Charleston Southern. He finished with 89 stops on the year, which ranked seventh in the conference. 59 of those tackles were solo and that led the Association. He also compiled 8.5 tackles for loss, tops on the team.

Patrick, a fifth-year defensive back, compiled 40 tackles on the year, including 29 solo stops. The Tulsa, Okla. native tallied five tackles for loss during the season and had seven pass breakups, second on the team. He also recovered two fumbles and forced one.

Another running back in Jared Rhodes earned honorable mention recognition. The St. Louis, Mo. native had seven rushing touchdowns on the year and led the team in rushing yards with 620. He also had 15 catches for 115 yards and a touchdown.
Darrin Fugitt, Kobe McClendon, Sanjay Strickland, Eric Gant, and Christopher Bennett Jr. also garnered honorable mention accolades. Fugitt caught 32 passes for 341 yards and two touchdowns.

McClendon finished his senior campaign with 43 tackles in 2025. The St. Mary's product had four tackles for loss, including 2.5 sacks. He was second on the team with four quarterback hurries and forced and recovered a fumble.

Strickland was a two-time Defensive Player of the Week selection during the season, leading the team with 94 tackles. He had three games with at least 10 or more tackles, including a career-high 13 against App State. He also tallied 6.5 tackles for loss and a pair of sacks.

Gant led the team with 12 pass breakups on the season and finished the year with 49 tackles with 37 of them being solo. He also picked up an interception at App State during the year.

Bennett made a big impact on special teams during the season, being named Freshman of the Week after his performance at Tennessee State where he totaled 114 all-purpose yards (69 KO, 45 PR). On the year, Bennett averaged 22.9 yards per kick return, which ranked fourth in the conference, and 10.7 yards per punt return which ranked second.