When he was coming out of high school at Warren Central, De’Arius Christmas was passed over by a lot of college football programs because he was considered too small.

He wound up at Grambling and showed them all what they missed by becoming the biggest and baddest defender in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

Christmas was named the SWAC’s Defensive Player of the Year on Thursday. The award caps a terrific year for the junior linebacker in which he ranked fourth in the league with 76 tackles and third with 14.5 tackles for loss. He also had 3.5 sacks and two forced fumbles.

Christmas won the SWAC’s Defensive Player of the Week award twice this season, and was also picked as a first-team all-conference linebacker. He ranks 22nd in the Football Championship Subdivision in tackles for loss and is a STATS FCS Buck Buchanan Award finalist as the best defensive player in the FCS.

Helped by Christmas, Grambling had the best run defense in the SWAC this season and won the Western Division championship with a 10-1 record. It will play Alcorn State in the conference championship game Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in Houston.

Grambling swept the SWAC’s major awards announced Thursday. In addition to Christmas, quarterback Devante Kincade won the Offensive Player of the Year award and Broderick Fobbs was named the Coach of the Year for the fourth year in a row.

Kincade was the preseason Offensive Player of the Year as well. He has thrown 19 touchdown passes and only three interceptions in 308 attempts. His 2,457 passing yards lead the SWAC, and he’s 21st in the FCS in passing efficiency.

Among the other individual awards, Mississippi Valley State wide receiver Quinn McElfresh was the Newcomer of the Year and Prairie View A&M kicker Zach Elder was the Freshman of the Year.

McElfresh, a junior transfer, caught five touchdown passes and led the league in receiving yards with 889. Elder was 10-of-12 on field goals and 42-for-43 on PAT attempts.

Grambling and Alcorn dominated the All-SWAC teams. Grambling had 12 players picked to either the first or second teams, and Alcorn had nine. Eight of the 11 players on the first-team offense played for either the Tigers or Braves.

Leading the way for Alcorn on the first-team offense were running back De’Lance Turner, offensive linemen Timothy Gardner and Kenyon Brantley, and wide receiver Norlando Veals. Offensive lineman Mustaffa Ibrahim made the second team.

On defense, lineman Michael Brooks, linebacker Trae Ferrell and defensive back Deago Sama were second-team picks. Alcorn kicker Corey McCullough was a second-team special teams pick.

Kincade, running back Martez Carter, and offensive linemen Trent Scott and William Waddell were first-team offensive picks for Grambling, while wide receiver Darrell Clark and tight end Jordan Jones were on the second team.

Christmas was one of four Tigers on the first-team defense. He was joined by linemen La’Allan Clark and Brandon Varner, and defensive back De’Aumante Johnson. Lineman Linwood Banks made the second-team defense, and kicker Marc Orozco was a first-teamer on special teams.

McElfresh, offensive lineman Alvin Solomon, linebacker Patrick Harbin and defensive back Everett Nicholas were all second-team selections from Mississippi Valley State.

Linebacker Shawn Bishop was the only Jackson State player named All-SWAC. He was on the second team defense.

SWAC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
• Grambling (10-1) vs. Alcorn State (7-4)
• Saturday, 3:30 p.m., at Houston
• TV: ESPNU; Radio: 91.7 FM