NATCHITOCHES -- Five of the brightest stars in Northwestern State football history, headlined by 1988 AFC Offensive Rookie of the Year John Stephens, have been named to the Southland Conference All-Decade Team from the 1980s announced Wednesday.
 
The league office released the team as it continues to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the conference. Teams for the 1990s and the first decade of this century will be announced soon.
 
Joining Stephens were three other successful NFL players from Northwestern, receivers Al Edwards and Floyd Turner, and defensive back Randy Hilliard, along with 1987 Southland Defensive Player of the Year John Kulakowski, a defensive end.  The Demons joined the Southland for the 1987 season.
 
Edwards, Hilliard and Turner were key figures on the 1988 NSU team coached by Sam Goodwin that won the Southland Conference championship, going unbeaten in the league. That team finished 10-3, reaching the FCS playoff quarterfinals after an opening-round win at Boise State. Kulakowski and Stephens were Demon seniors in 1987.
 
Stephens, a Springhill product, is the highest NFL Draft pick (17th overall, 1st round) ever. In addition to Rookie of the Year honors and a Pro Bowl appearance, Stephens won the prestigious NFL Gale Sayers Award for community service during his six-year pro career.
 
Edwards, a two-time All-America sprinter for the Demons' track program, collected 94 career catches and 1,525 receiving yards before a three-year NFL career with Buffalo, beginning with the first of four straight Super Bowl appearances in 1990 by the Bills. The New Orleans native started in Super Bowl XXV as a rookie.
 
Hilliard, also a New Orleans product, made 40 pass breakups and 10 interceptions at cornerback from 1986-89, winning All-Southland honors and becoming an NFL Draft pick of the Cleveland Browns as a senior. “Slim” played nine seasons in the NFL, helping the Denver Broncos win Super Bowl XXXII.
 
Kulakowski, a New Orleans native, set a school record with 15 sacks among 96 tackles in 1987. A fiery four-year starter, "Kool" played on the 1984 Gulf Star Conference championship team coached by Goodwin.
 
Turner, from Mansfield, set what was at the time the Demon career record for pass receptions (98) from 1985-88 while catching 1,725 yards of passes. A sixth-round 1989 NFL Draft pick, he played nine seasons of pro football, his first four with former Demon Bobby Hebert and the New Orleans Saints.
 
Among players from other schools on the Southland All-Decade Team for the 1980s were future NFL standouts Louisiana-Monroe quarterback Stan Humphries, Stephen F. Austin running back Larry Centers and Texas-Arlington defensive back Tim McKyer, along with Canadian Football League Hall of Fame quarterback Matt Dunigan of Louisiana Tech.