WILLIAMSBURG — William & Mary standout left tackle Charles Grant was honored as the FCS National Offensive Lineman of the Year by Phil Steele, which highlighted an impressive group of five Tribe standouts who earned All-America honors by the organization.
In addition to being chosen as the national offensive lineman of the year, Grant and cornerback Jalen Jones earned first-team All-America honors while defensive lineman Ty Gordon, safety Sascha Garcia and safety TJ McGill were selected to the Freshman All-America Team.
The accolade marks the fourth postseason All-America recognition this season for Grant and Jones, as both were also first-team selections by the Associated Press, Stats Perform and FCS Football Central. Gordon, Garcia and McGill also earned freshman All-America distinction by FCS Football Central, while Gordon garnered the honor by Stats Perform as well.
One of the top prospects for this spring’s NFL Draft, Grant recently became the nation’s first player to earn and accept an invitation to play in the 2025 Reese’s Senior Bowl.
Ranked among the nation’s top-rated tackles in the FCS this season according to PFF (90.2), Grant allowed just one sack in 368 passing blocking snaps. Additionally, he helped W&M’s offense rank fourth nationally in rushing (232.8) and 24th in total offense (413.2) en route to being selected as a Walter Payton Award Finalist and garnering first-team All-CAA accolades for the third consecutive season.
Jones, one of the nation’s top defensive playmakers and a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, led the country in passes defended (22), pass breakups (20) and passes defended per game (1.8). Additionally, the first-team all-conference selection totaled 48 tackles, two interceptions, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
The Chesapeake, Va., native will enter his senior season next fall ranked fourth in school history with 45 passes defended (6 INT/ 39 PBU).
Gordon, a transfer from Syracuse and native of Gainsville, Va., made an immediate impact on the defensive line this fall and ranked second on the team in sacks (5.0) and tackles for a loss (6.0). Additionally, he totaled 27 tackles, an interception and two pass breakups. Highlighting a number of impressive performances was his effort against Elon in which he posted two sacks and a pair of pass breakups.
After emerging as a starter midway through the season, Garcia quickly solidified himself among the CAA’s top safeties and finished the season ranked tied for third in the league with 11 passes defended. The Clinton, Md., native also totaled 19 tackles and a blocked field goal. One of Garcia’s best performances came in the win at Wofford when he recorded a career-high four pass breakups.
A starter in all 12 games, McGill was a prominent standout in the Tribe’s secondary throughout his redshirt freshman season. In addition to ranking fourth on the team in tackles (61), he also registered four pass breakups, an interception and a forced fumble. The Charlotte, N.C., native was honored as the CAA Rookie of the Week after tallying four tackles, a PBU and his first career interception, which he returned 23 yards, in the win against Furman.
Season tickets, including renewals, for the 2025 campaign are now on sale at TribeAthletics.com. The 2025 schedule was recently announced and is available here.
