Eight Ohio Valley Conference football players have been named to the 2020 Phil Steele FCS Preseason All-American Team.

The selections included four second-team and four third-team selections. The second-team picks included Jacksonville State senior quarterback Zerrick Cooper, Austin Peay senior wide receiver DeAngelo Wilson, Jacksonville State senior tight end Trae Barry and Austin Peay senior offensive lineman Blake Mitchell. The third-team picks included UT Martin junior TE/WR Colton Dowell, Austin Peay senior defensive lineman Josephus Smith, Murray State senior linebacker Anthony Koclanakis and Austin Peay senior defensive back Kordell Jackson.

Cooper earned his second-straight All-OVC honor in 2019 after being named a first-team selection in 2018, extending JSU's streak of consecutive seasons with a quarterback on the All-OVC teams to seven. In 2019, Cooper finished the regular season ranked eighth nationally in total offense with 310.3 yards per game, eighth in passing yards with 3,404 yards, ninth in points responsible for with 204 and 11th in passing touchdowns with 28. In just two years at JSU, Cooper has the top two single-season passing marks and ranks third in school history for career passing yards (6,820). He also has the top two single-season passing touchdown marks and ranks seventh in OVC history and second in JSU history with 60 career passing touchdowns, just one away from Ed Lett's school record of 61 from 1979-82.

Wilson, the OVC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, was named a consensus All-American with four All-American honors in 2019. He caught 89 passes for 1,564 yards and 15 touchdowns for the OVC champion Governors. The 89 catches were the ninth-most in OVC history, the 1,564 yards were the second most (100 off the record) while the 15 touchdown catches were the fifth-most in league history. Wilson's 1,554 yards leads all FCS players while his 104.3 yards/game average was sixth and his 15 touchdows ranked second. Wilson had 100 or more receiving yards in eight games as Austin Peay advanced to the FCS Quarterfinals.

Barry was voted to the 2020 Preseason All-OVC squad despite playing in just five games before an injury forced him to miss the remainder of the 2019 season. Despite the injury, he is JSU's leading returning receiver with 25 catches for 330 yards and a touchdown a year ago. He joined Cooper on HERO Sports Sophomore All-America Team in 2018 after catching 32 passes for 503 yards and a score to grab First-Team All-OVC honors that year. Barry enters his senior campaign with 67 career catches for 1,076 yards and five touchdowns.

Mitchell earned All-American honors from Phil Steele in 2019 after helping the OVC Champion Governors advance to the FCS Quarterfinals in its first-ever appearance. He helped team break program’s single-season record for total offense (6,288 yards) despite losing starting quarterback in second game of the season. The team led the OVC and ranked 19th nationally in scoring offense (34.5 points/game), which scoring 40 or more points seven times. Austin Peay ranked 30th nationally in total offense (419.2 yards/game). The team also ranked 32nd nationally in third down conversion (42.1%).

Dowell had a breakout season a year ago, tallying 38 catches for 765 yards and fourth touchdowns in 12 games (10 starts). That was 28 more receptions and 627 additional yards than he redshirt freshman season of 2018. He had four 100-yard receiving games, including a season-best 154 yards and two touchdowns against Tennessee Tech. He played a part in UTM finishing first in the OVC and 33rd nationally in passing yards per completion (13.47).

Smith was a key part of an Austin Peay defense that ranked 12th nationally in total defense (307.5 yards/game), 15th in pass efficiency defense (115.98) and 18th in scoring defense (20.6 points/game). Individually he ranked 42nd nationally in tackles for loss/game (1.2), tallying 18.5 in 15 games. Smith added 50 tackles and 7.5 sacks while recovering a fumble.

Koclanakis led the OVC in tackles in 2019 with 124, including a league-best 63 solo stops. His 10.3 tackles per game ranked him 11th nationally in that category, while his 5.3 solo tackles ranked 20th. The Anaheim, California native also posted a team-high 9.5 tackle-for-loss on the season in addition to 3.0 sacks. He ended the season with seven 10-plus tackle performances including tallying a career-high of 18 twice. In addition, Koclanakis finished his junior campaign with two fumble recoveries, a pass breakup, a quarterback hurry and an interception.

A year ago Jackson was an unanimous All-American selection in addition to being the the FCS ADA Defensive Back of the Year. He tallied seven interceptions, just one off the national lead, and also scored three defensive touchdowns, two by interception and one on a fumble return. He also added 43 tackles (7.0 for loss) and two sacks. He was a key part of an Austin Peay defense that ranked 12th nationally in total defense (307.5 yards/game), 15th in pass efficiency defense (115.98) and 18th in scoring defense (20.6 points/game). He has been a key part of the Austin Peay playoff run, as the Govs have won two playoff games to advance to the Quarterfinals in its first-ever playoff appearance. He was named the 2020 OVC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.

2020 Phil Steele FCS Preseason All-American Team
QB - Zerrick Cooper, Jacksonville State (2nd Team)
WR - DeAngelo Wilson, Austin Peay (2nd)
TE - Trae Barry, Jacksonville State (2nd)
OL - Blake Mitchell, Austin Peay (2nd)
TE - Colton Dowell, UT Martin (3rd)
DL - Josephus Smith, Austin Peay (3rd)
LB - Anthony Koclanakis, Murray State (3rd)
DB - Kordell Jackson, Austin Peay (3rd)