The United Athletic Conference has placed five athletes on the Phil Steele Preseason All-America Team, it was announced Monday.

Offensive linemen Joshua Sales Jr. from Austin Peay and Luke Roaten from Abilene Christian both were named to the Offense Second Team while Tarleton State’s B.J. Fleming (WR) and Aidan Moe (OL) were named to the Offense Third and Fourth Teams, respectively. DeAndre Buchannon (KR) was also named to the list as a Special Teams honoree on the Second Team.

Sales Jr., a South Bend, Ind. native, started in all 12 games for the Govs last season primarily at right tackle where he was ranked as the No. 1 tackle in the UAC with a 70.9 grade from PFF while also being graded as the No. 1 tackle in the league in pass and run block. The redshirt senior led an offensive line that helped Austin Peay rank 12th in FCS in total offense (451.1), 14th in passing offense (364.7), 15th in scoring offense (35.1) and 25th in rushing offense (186.4). As a team, the Governors also ranked second in the league and 33rd in the country in tackles for loss allowed (4.75) while allowing just 1.83 sacks allowed per game.

Roaten started all 14 games at right tackle for the Wildcats last season where he had an 84 percent overall grade from PFF. The Tomball, Texas native helped an Abilene Christian team to the third best offense in the UAC with 238 passing yards per game last season. ACU was also just one of eight FCS teams to have three different players rush for at least 500 yards for the season while ranking in the top-10 in the country in time of possession.

Fleming, a new face to Tarleton State this season, joins the Texans after playing at North Dakota last season. As the Fighting Hawks’ leading receiver, Fleming recorded 817 receiving yards and seven touchdowns on 48 receptions. In his 13 appearances, he had three games with 100-plus yards, topping out at 138 with a score of five catches against No. 5 Montana. The All-Missouri Valley Football Conference honoree recorded a 134-yard game with a touchdown against Northern Iowa and had a 123 yard performance with a score in the Fighting Hawks’ season finale against No. 22 South Dakota State.

Moe, a Stats Perform FCS Preseason All-American and 2025 All-UAC Second Team honoree, started 12 games for the Texans on the offensive line where he helped Tarleton State rank No. 1 in scoring offense, No. 5 in total offense, No. 10 in rushing offense and No. 13 in pass offense. Moe also led the line to allowing just 1.83 sacks allowed per game, ranking second in the UAC.

Buchannon, a senior out of Atlanta, Ga., was named a Stats Perform FCS Preseason All-America honoree earlier this month after transferring to Tarleton State in the offseason from fellow UAC member, West Georgia. Buchannon was the Wolves’ second leading receiver last year, totaling 347 receiving yards on 30 receptions, to go with two touchdowns in nine games. His best game came against Abilene Christian, where he had 137 yards and a touchdown on six receptions. He was also a kick returner and punt returner for the Wolves, taking a kickoff 92 yards to the house in the season opener against Samford on Aug. 28, rattling off four 30-plus yard kick returns throughout the season and a 33-yard punt return against Nicholls State. He ranked sixth in the country in kickoff returns, averaging nearly 30 yards per return. He was First Team All-UAC Return Specialist.

To view the full list of the Phil Steele FCS Preseason All-America Team, click here.

Requests for interviews should be directed to:
Claire Johnson, Senior Director, Strategic Communications & Content
Unisun Sports / claire.johnson@unisunsports.com
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About the United Athletic Conference

The United Athletic Conference (UAC) was established in 2023 as a single-sport football conference through a partnership between the Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) and the former Western Athletic Conference. In July 2026, the ASUN and UAC formed Unisun Sports to further strengthen the conference, which now features eight football-playing member institutions: Abilene Christian University (Abilene, Texas), Austin Peay State University (Clarksville, Tenn.), the University of Central Arkansas (Conway, Ark.), Eastern Kentucky University (Richmond, Ky.), the University of North Alabama (Florence, Ala.), Tarleton State University (Stephenville, Texas), the University of West Georgia (Carrollton, Ga.) and the University of West Florida (Pensacola, Fla.).