• 2017 All-OVC Football Teams and Award Winners (PDF)
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. - Ohio Valley Conference champion Jacksonville State took home two of the four major 2017 Ohio Valley Conference football awards and had 15 All-OVC selections while league runner-up Austin Peay took home the other two major awards and had six All-OVC and three All-Newcomer picks in voting conducted by league head coaches and sports information directors and announced on Tuesday.
Jacksonville State senior defensive end
Darius Jackson repeated as Defensive Player of the Year, while Gamecock senior running back
Roc Thomas was named Offensive Player of the Year, marking the third year in a row a JSU player has earned that award. Austin Peay quarterback
Jeremiah Oatsvall was named OVC Freshman of the Year while his coach
Will Healy earned the Roy Kidd OVC Coach of the Year honor.
Jacksonville State also had an All-Newcomer pick to have 16 total selections, while Austin Peay had nine selections across the three teams. UT Martin had eight selections, while Eastern Illinois, Eastern Kentucky and Tennessee State had seven selections apiece. The All-OVC first-team included 13 seniors, five juniors and two sophomores while the second-team included 11 seniors, 12 juniors, two sophomores and four freshmen.
Jackson is the fifth player in OVC history to repeat as Defensive Player of the Year and first since Eastern Kentucky’s George Floyd in 1980-81. The senior followed an All-American season in 2016 with an even better campaign in 2017, ranking fourth nationally in tackles-for-loss (1.7/game), 19th in forced fumbles/game (0.27) and 47th in sacks (0.64). The leader of a defense unit that ranks second nationally in total defense (230.5 yards/game), Jackson tallied 51 tackles, 19.0 tackles-for-loss, 7.0 sacks, 19 quarterback hurries, forced three fumbles and recovered two. His 19.0 tackles-for-loss tied the school record he established two years ago, and he had at least one TFL in 10 of 11 games this year including a season-high 4.0 in a victory over Tennessee Tech. Jackson owns the Jacksonville State career record for tackles-for-loss (59.0). The senior had a sack in six different games this season, including 2.0 in a win over UT Martin. The JSU defense held its final eight opponents of the season to under 300 yards of total offense (the final three to under 200 yards), including allowing just 97 yards to Tennessee State in the season finale (only the second time in school history the team had allowed less than 100 yards in a game). His play helped Jacksonville State win its fourth-straight OVC Championship and his senior class completed a perfect 30-0 Conference record in four years. He is a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award after finishing fourth in the voting a year ago.
A year ago, Thomas joined the Jacksonville State team after transferring from Auburn and rushed for nearly 800 yards and seven touchdowns in nine games. This year, after the graduation of two-time OVC Player of the Year Eli Jenkins, Thomas took his game to another level, rushing for 991 yards and 12 touchdowns and catching 16 passes for 235 yards to account for 1,226 all-purpose yards in 11 regular season games. Thomas averaged 6.2 yards/carry, a mark that ranked ninth nationally, his 12 rushing scores were 11th in the FCS and his 90.1 yards/game average ranked 21st. The numbers were even more impressive considering he accounted for only 33.9 percent of Jacksonville State’s rushing attempts during the year (his single-game high rushing attempts mark was 19 carries in the season-opener against Chattanooga). Thomas, who was named OVC Player of the Week five times during the year, had multiple touchdowns in four games, including two scores and a season-high 138 rushing yards in a win over Murray State. Thomas is a finalist for the Walter Payton Award this season. Jacksonville State is only the second program in OVC history to have three-straight OVC Offensive Player of the Year winners (joining Eastern Illinois who had Tony Romo win the award three times in a row).
A year ago, Healy inherited a team in a tailspin and used his first year as a collegiate head coach to change the culture. After an 0-11 campaign, the team started the 2017 season with close back-to-back losses to FBS opponents, leaving the program with a 29-game losing streak. In fact, the program had won just one of its previous 48 games at that point. But a convincing 69-13 victory over Morehead State on September 16 began a turnaround that saw the Governors finish 8-4 overall and 7-1 (second place) in the OVC. The eight total wins tied the school record established by the 1977 OVC Championship team, while the seven Conference wins were the most in program history. Along the way the team snapped a 21-game OVC losing streak and a 45-game road losing streak; the Govs finished the year with four road victories, which was more than the program won in the previous nine years combined. Healy, a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award, also led the team to its first three-game winning streak against Division I opponents since 1980, its first regulation shutout since 1980 and its first win over a nationally-ranked opponent since 2009. Healy helped the Austin Peay defense improve from 120 out of 122 FCS teams a year ago (506.6 yards/game allowed) to 16th nationally this season (310.1 yards/game allowed). Healy is the third Austin Peay coach to be named OVC Coach of the Year, joining Bill Dupes (1964) and Boots Donnelly (1977). The OVC Coach of the Year award is named after Eastern Kentucky legend Roy Kidd, a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, who won the award a record 10 times during his career (1964-2002) and retired with 314 victories, the second-most in I-AA/FCS history.
The highly-recruited Oatsvall saw split time at quarterback through the first half of the season before taking over the main signal caller duties after an injury to the starter in the first possession of the Tennessee State game on October 14. In the final six games of the season, Oatsvall led his team to a 5-1 record, with the only loss coming to nationally-ranked Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) foe UCF (who is currently undefeated on the season). In those six games he accounted for 1,178 yards of total offense and 11 touchdowns (6 passing, 4 rushing, 1 receiving), including multiple scores in four of those games, and was named OVC Newcomer of the Week three times. He had a season-high 209 yards passing at UCF, and a season-best 82 rushing yards against Tennessee State. He had a trio of touchdowns in victories over Southeast Missouri and a come-from-behind road victory at Eastern Kentucky, where he scored the game-winning touchdown with 53 seconds remaining. Oatsvall is the first Austin Peay player to be named OVC Freshman of the Year since the award was first given out in 2004.
The All-OVC first team offense was highlighted by Thomas, who earned his second-straight All-OVC selection. He was joined on the team by his junior quarterback
Bryant Horn. Horn moved into the starting role this season and accounted for 1,997 yards of total offense and 16 touchdowns (11 passing, 5 rushing) after taking over for Eli Jenkins, a three-time first-team All-OVC pick. The backfield also included Southeast Missouri junior running back
Marquis Terry, who led the OVC with 1,076 rushing yards (13th nationally) and added seven touchdowns. The wide receivers were highlighted by Tennessee Tech senior
Dontez Byrd who established new school records for catches (78) and receiving yards (1,003) this season. He ranks 10th nationally in receptions/game (7.1), 15th in receiving yards and 18th in receiving yards/game (91.2). He is joined by Murray State senior
Jordon Gandy, a repeat first-team pick. Gandy hauled in 65 catches for 954 yards and 10 touchdowns (13th nationally) in 2017. The tight end was Eastern Kentucky junior
Dan Paul, who caught 41 catches for 407 yards and a touchdown this year. For the second time in three years Jacksonville State placed four offensive linemen on the All-OVC first-team, a feat that has now been accomplished four times in OVC history (1956 Middle Tennessee, 2010 Southeast Missouri, 2015 Jacksonville State). The selections included senior tackles
Justin Lea (who earned his third-straight first-team nod after being a second-team pick his freshman season) and
Dylan Cline, senior center
Tyler Scozzaro and junior guard
B.J. Autry. The first-team was rounded out by Eastern Illinois senior guard
Austin Askin.
The first-team defense was headlined by Jackson who earned his second-straight All-OVC first-team honor and third overall selection of his decorated career. He was joined on the defensive line by Austin Peay sophomore
Jaison Williams, Southeast Missouri senior
Kendall Donnerson and Tennessee State senior
Ebenezer Ogundeko. Williams had a breakthrough season in 2017, ranking 13th nationally in forced fumbles (0.33/game) and 28th in sacks (0.79/game) while being named a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award after helping the APSU defense improve from 120th to 16th nationally in total defense. Donnerson capped his career with 13.5 tackles-for-loss and six sacks in earning his first All-OVC selection, while Ogundeko earned his third-straight first-team honor after tallying 43 tackles, 7.5 tackles-for-loss and four sacks. Tennessee State senior
Chris Collins, who led the OVC with 8.8 tackles/game to go along with 13.0 tackles-for-loss and two forced fumbles, earned the first-team linebacker selection after being a second-team pick a year ago. He was joined at linebacker by Austin Peay junior
Gunnar Scholato, who tallied 100 stops in 12 total games, and Jacksonville State senior
Jonathan Hagler who had 73 tackles, two interceptions and a defensive touchdown. Each of the four defensive back selections earned some type of All-OVC honors a year ago, including Jacksonville State sophomore
Marlon Bridges and senior
Siran Neal and UT Martin senior
Kahlid Hagens, who were each first-team picks a year ago. Bridges, a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, shared the JSU lead with 73 tackles while adding three interceptions, five pass breakups and a touchdown while teammate Neal had 33 tackles, an interception and 11 pass breakups. Despite missing the last three games of the season due to injury, Hagens had 49 tackles, three interceptions and three forced fumbles for the Skyhawks. The team was rounded out by Murray State senior
D’Montre Wade, who led the OVC and ranked second nationally with six interceptions; he moved up from the second-team a year ago.
The first-team All-OVC specialists were headlined by Tennessee State senior kicker
Lane Clark who earned his second-straight first-team honor. Despite battling injuries, Clark connected on 13 field goals, which ranked him 10th nationally in field goals made/game (1.30). He was joined by Eastern Kentucky senior
Keith Wrzuszczak, who ranked sixth nationally in punting (44.1 yards/punt), setting the EKU record with an 84-yard punt during the year and helping his team rank second nationally in net punting (41.14 yards/punt). It marked the third All-OVC honor of his career. The team was rounded out by Austin Peay senior return specialist
Kyran Moore, who averaged 23.0 yards/kick return (including a touchdown) and 10.8 yards/punt return.
The All-OVC second-team offensive unit included Oatsvall, the OVC Freshman of the Year. He was joined in the backfield by UT Martin junior running back
Ladarius Galloway (859 rushing yards, 4 TDs) and Eastern Illinois junior
Isaiah Johnson (683 rushing yards, 5 TDs). The wide receiver picks were Eastern Kentucky senior
Ryan Markush (55 catches, 745 yards, 9 TDs) and Tennessee State senior
Patrick Smith (42 catches, 648 yards, 8 TDs) who earned the third All-OVC honor of his career. Smith capped his career with 31 receiving touchdowns, fourth-most in OVC history. The second-team tight end pick was Jacksonville State freshman
Trae Barry (9 catches, 240 yards, 3 TDs). The second-team offensive line included Jacksonville State sophomore guard
Darius Anderson, Austin Peay junior guard
Ryan Rockensuess and junior tackle
Kyle Anderton, Eastern Illinois senior center
Louis Vailopa and Southeast Missouri junior tackle
Drew Forbes.
The second-team defensive line included Eastern Kentucky senior
Luder Jean Louis (52 tackles, 16.0 TFL, 10.0 sacks), Eastern Illinois senior
David Johnson (51 tackles, 9.5 TFL, 3.5 sacks), Jacksonville State junior
Randy Robinson (29 tackles, 5.5 TFL, 3.5 sacks, 1 FF), Tennessee State senior
Jason Morrow (21 tackles, 5.0 TFL, 2.5 sacks, 3 blocked kicks) and UT Martin senior
Jay Murphy (39 tackles, 5.0 TFL, 2 FR). The linebacker unit included Jacksonville State senior
Joel McCandless (40 tackles, 6.5 TFL), Southeast Missouri sophomore
Zach Hall (79 tackles, 15.0 TFL, 9.0 sacks), UT Martin junior
James Gilleylen (88 tackles, 9.0 TFL, 2.0 sacks, 3 FF, 2 FR) and Eastern Illinois senior
Nick Horne (71 tackles, 11.5 TFL, 4 QBH, 2 FF). The defensive backs included UT Martin senior
Tae Martin (53 tackles, 4 INT, 5 PBU), Eastern Kentucky senior
Kobie Grace (78 tackles, 7.0 TFL, 7 PBU, 3 FF, 4 FR), Eastern Illinois senior
Bradley Dewberry (68 tackles, 3 INT, 3 PBU) and Tennessee State freshman
Vincent Sellers (49 tackles, 2 INT, 1 blocked kick, 2 TDs).
The second-team specialists were Jacksonville State junior kicker
Cade Stinnett (13-of-18 FGs, long of 50, 37-of-39 PATs), Murray State sophomore kicker
Gabriel Vicente (14-of-18 FGs, OVC-best 52-yarder), Tennessee Tech junior punter
Nick Madonia (40.1 yards/punt, long of 65), Eastern Kentucky junior return specialist
LJ Scott (30.0 yards/kick return) and UT Martin freshman return specialist
Peyton Logan (27.0 yards/kick return, long of 95, TD).
Twelve (12) players were selected to the All-OVC Newcomer squad; to be selected to the team an individual had to be a first-year player (freshman or transfer) in the OVC. One of the selections was APSU’s Oatsvall, the OVC Freshman of the Year, who was also a second-team pick at quarterback. The squad also included seven other players who were either first or second-team All-OVC selections including SEMO’s Terry (first-team running back), UTM’s Galloway (second-team running back) and Logan (second-team return specialist), APSU’s Anderton (second-team offensive lineman), TSU’s Sellers (second-team defensive back), MSU’s Vicente (second-team kicker) and EKU’s Scott (second-team return specialist). The remaining All-Newcomer selections included Austin Peay freshman running back
Ahmaad Tanner (697 rushing yards, 8 TDs), Eastern Illinois junior wide receiver
Alexander Hollins (47 catches, 694 yards, 7 TDs), Jacksonville State junior running back
Tramel Terry (429 rushing yards, 4 TDs) and Murray State junior quarterback
Shuler Bentley (1789 passing yards, 13 TDs).
2017 OVC Football Award Winners
OVC Offensive Player of the Year: Roc Thomas (RB), Jacksonville State
OVC Defensive Player of the Year: Darius Jackson (DE), Jacksonville State
OVC Freshman of the Year: Jeremiah Oatsvall (QB), Austin Peay
Roy Kidd OVC Coach of the Year: Will Healy, Austin Peay
FIRST-TEAM OFFENSE
QB - Bryant Horn, Jacksonville State
RB - Roc Thomas, Jacksonville State
RB - Marquis Terry, Southeast Missouri
WR - Dontez Byrd, Tennessee Tech
WR - Jordon Gandy, Murray State
TE - Dan Paul, Eastern Kentucky
C - Tyler Scozzaro, Jacksonville State
OG - B.J. Autry, Jacksonville State
OG - Austin Askin, Eastern Illinois
OT - Justin Lea, Jacksonville State
OT - Dylan Cline, Jacksonville State
FIRST-TEAM DEFENSE
DL - Darius Jackson, Jacksonville State
DL - Jaison Williams, Austin Peay
DL - Kendall Donnerson, Southeast Missouri
DL - Ebenezer Ogundeko, Tennessee State
LB - Chris Collins, Tennessee State
LB - Jonathan Hagler, Jacksonville State
LB - Gunnar Scholato, Austin Peay
DB - Marlon Bridges, Jacksonville State
DB - D’Montre Wade, Murray State
DB - Siran Neal, Jacksonville State
DB - Kahlid Hagens, UT Martin
FIRST-TEAM SPECIALISTS
K - Lane Clark, Tennessee State
P - Keith Wrzuszczak, Eastern Kentucky
RS - Kyran Moore, Austin Peay
SECOND-TEAM OFFENSE
QB - Jeremiah Oatsvall, Austin Peay
RB - Ladarius Galloway, UT Martin
RB - Isaiah Johnson, Eastern Illinois
WR - Ryan Markush, Eastern Kentucky
WR - Patrick Smith, Tennessee State
TE - Trae Barry, Jacksonville State
C - Louis Vailopa, Eastern Illinois
OG - Ryan Rockensuess, Austin Peay
OG - Darius Anderson, Jacksonville State
OT - Kyle Anderton, Austin Peay
OT - Drew Forbes, Southeast Missouri
SECOND-TEAM DEFENSE
DL - Luder Jean Louis, Eastern Kentucky
DL - David Johnson, Eastern Illinois
DL - Randy Robinson, Jacksonville State
DL - Jason Morrow, Tennessee State
DL - Jay Murphy, UT Martin
LB - Joel McCandless, Jacksonville State
LB - Zach Hall, Southeast Missouri
LB - James Gilleylen, UT Martin
LB - Nick Horne, Eastern Illinois
DB - Tae Martin, UT Martin
DB - Kobie Grace, Eastern Kentucky
DB - Vincent Sellers, Tennessee State
DB - Bradley Dewberry, Eastern Illinois
SECOND-TEAM SPECIALISTS
K - Cade Stinnett, Jacksonville State
K - Gabriel Vicente, Murray State
P - Nick Madonia, Tennessee Tech
RS - LJ Scott, Eastern Kentucky
RS - Peyton Logan, UT Martin
ALL-NEWCOMER TEAM
OT - Kyle Anderton, Austin Peay
QB - Jeremiah Oatsvall, Austin Peay
RB - Ahmaad Tanner, Austin Peay.
WR - Alexander Hollins, Eastern Illinois
RS/RS - LJ Scott, Eastern Kentucky
RB - Tramel Terry, Jacksonville State.
QB - Shuler Bentley, Murray State
K - Gabriel Vicente, Murray State
RB - Marquis Terry, Southeast Missouri
DB - Vincent Sellers, Tennessee State
RB - Ladarius Galloway, UT Martin
RS/RS - Peyton Logan, UT Martin