Stone Snyder ’23, Alex Oliver ’24, Robert Soderholm ’23, and Jack Culbreath ’24 received first team nods from the coaches. The Keydets also had representation on the all-freshman squad, with Isaiah Lemmond 2023+3, Jahleel Porter 2023+3, and Geoffrey Speight 2023+3 earning accolades.—Photo courtesy VMI Keydets.
The Southern Conference released its coaches and media All-SoCon teams and awards Nov. 22, 2022, with Stone Snyder ’23, Alex Oliver ’24, Robert Soderholm ’23, and Jack Culbreath ’24 all getting first team nods from the coaches. The Keydets also had representation on the all-freshman squad, with Isaiah Lemmond 2023+3, Jahleel Porter 2023+3, and Geoffrey Speight 2023+3 earning accolades.
On the media side, Oliver and Soderholm earned first team nods, with Snyder and Culbreath earning second team honors. There is no all-freshman team in the media poll.
Snyder continued to dominate defensively, posting a league-high 107 tackles despite missing one game due to injury. The Richmond, Virginia, native had 11-plus tackles five times this season, including a season-high 19, along with a tackle for loss and forced fumble against Cornell. At the end of the regular season, Snyder’s average of 10.7 tackles per game ranks third in the nation, and his 5.1 solo tackles per game are ranked 29th. Among Snyder’s other standout games this season were Wake Forest (6 tackles, 0.5 TFL), No. 10 Samford (12.0 tackles, 0.5 TFL), and The Citadel (18.0 tackles). Finishing his career with 339 tackles (sixth among active FCS players), Snyder is just outside of the top 10 at VMI; he has achieved this in just 38 games due to the season shortened by COVID-19. Snyder leaves VMI as a two-time All-American, two-time SoCon Defensive Player of the Year, and a three-time Buck Buchanan finalist for Defensive Player of the Year in FCS Football, with more postseason awards likely to come his way.
Building upon a successful sophomore campaign, Oliver set career-highs in tackles at 75.0—placing him fourth on the team—three interceptions, and 10 break ups. Oliver’s 10 break ups are not only a team-high but currently rank him 24th in the nation and have him finishing the season fourth among SoCon players. Oliver recorded at least two tackles in every game, racking up eight or more on five different occasions, including a career-high of 11 and a fumble recovery at Wofford College. Oliver’s three interceptions were a team best, with two coming against No. 16 Mercer University. Oliver’s 27 career pass break ups currently rank him 10th among active players at the FCS level.
Recently earning Special Teams U All-American status, Soderholm is now a four-time All-American and has earned All-SoCon first team nods the past two seasons. Soderholm, who was preseason All-American by three different organizations, does more than execute his snaps in a nearly flawless fashion. The Stafford, Virginia, native has also picked up three tackles this season and is responsible for picking up blockers after the snap.
Coming off a 2021 season in which he was named a Hero Sports All-American and made the All-SoCon First Team, Culbreath had another career year, totaling 2,790 yards on 64 punts for an average of 43.6 yards per kick. Handling the kickoff duties as well, Culbreath notched career-highs in touchbacks (5) and fair catches (15), pinning the ball inside the 20 nine times and hitting 14 punts 50 or more yards. Against Wofford, Culbreath crushed a career high 60-yard punt as he averaged 51.5 yards per kick on the day.
It didn’t take long for Lemmond to work himself into the offense, hauling in three catches for 80 yards in the second game of his career. Lemmond, who finishes the season second on the team in receiving yards with 453, recorded two or more catches in the last six games, including six apiece against No. 9 University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Furman University, and No. 10 Samford University. Lemmond finally got into the end zone at Wofford when he hauled in a 52-yarder for his first career score.
Like Lemmond, Porter showed his value right from the start. He totaled 7.0 tackles and two pass break ups at No. 22 Wake Forest University. Porter, who recorded a tackle in all but two games, registered a pass break up against Cornell, two pass break ups against East Tennessee State University, and one against Furman. Perhaps the most noteworthy highlight of Porter’s young career came at Chattanooga when he returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown. It was the first kickoff return for a touchdown by a VMI player since 2015 and is the fourth-longest play in Keydet history.
Making his debut at Wake Forest University, Speight established himself with 3.0 tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss in a win over Bucknell University. Speight, who would record a tackle in all but one game, registered tackles for loss at Chattanooga (1.0), against Furman (1.5), against Mercer (1.5), and at Samford (1.0). Speight’s season high in tackles came against Mercer, in which he totaled 7.0, registering a quarterback hurry in the process.
To view the full list of All-Conference honorees, visit soconsports.com.
Editor’s Note: This story first appeared at vmikeydets.com.
