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NASHVILLE - Coming off an OVC Championship and its first FCS Playoff victory,
UT Martin has been picked as the preseason football favorites in the Ohio Valley Conference for the 2022 season. The Skyhawks picked up 10 of a possible 14 first-place votes in a poll of league head coaches and communications directors.
It marks the first time the Skyhawks have been picked the preseason favorites since joining the league prior to the 1992 season.
UT Martin totaled 70 points to finish ahead of Southeast Missouri (59). Murray State (51) was tabbed third, just ahead of Tennessee State (46), who also picked up a first-place vote. The poll was rounded out by Tennessee Tech (29), Eastern Illinois (20) and Lindenwood (19).
This season, the 75th year of the Conference, the OVC welcomes Lindenwood and has Murray State as an affiliate to comprise the seven-team league. Six of the seven teams will play five conference games that count in the league standings, with Lindenwood, who joined in February, playing four games that count in the standings (and challenging Eastern Illinois in a contest that counts as a non-conference game).
In addition to the League schedule, OVC schools will collaborate with the Southland Conference in a non-conference scheduling alliance for 2022 and 2023. Beginning in 2023, the OVC and Big South Conference begin an agreement to create an association between its football member institutions. The unique agreement combines the two conferences’ football membership to ensure NCAA championship access and stability and will provide the football member institutions a schedule of games against all the teams in their multisport conference and additional games against schools from the other conference.
The 2022 season marks the 17th for head coach
Jason Simpson who moved into fourth place in OVC history with 100 career wins a season ago. He hit the century mark with a win over Missouri State in the First Round of the FCS Playoffs. Overall Simpson is one of just 16 coaches in league history to coach 10 or more seasons at the same school. Although the team has to replace OVC Offensive Player of the Year Keon Howard at quarterback, and first-team All-OVC running back Peyton Logan, the team has plenty of returning firepower. That includes another first-team running back in
Zak Wallace (807 yards, 15 touchdowns) and wide receiver
Colton Dowell (22 catches, 398 yards, 2 touchdowns), along with three offensive linemen -
Matthan Hatchie,
Gavin Olson and
Lamar Morgan - who were selected to the Preseason All-OVC squad. Defensively the team returns graduate linebacker
John H. Ford II (88 tackles, 4 interceptions, 1 forced fumble), who was named the Preseason OVC Defensive Player of the Year, and safety
Deven Sims (93 tackles, 1 interception) who earned the same honor from Lindy's magazine.
In a league with five of its top seven rushing leaders returning, the back at the top of the performance list is senior
Geno Hess, the Preseason Offensive Player of the Year who has been a first-team All-OVC selection each of the past two seasons. In 2020, Hess led all FCS players with 12 rushing scores, and a year ago he tallied 1,116 yards and 14 touchdowns for the Redhawks. This season is the ninth year for head coach,
Tom Matukewicz has established SEMO Division I records for overall (41) and OVC wins (33) as well as wins over nationally-ranked opponents (7).
After being tabbed the preseason favorite last season, Murray State was picked third this year. Now in his third season with the Racers, head coach
Dean Hood has guided the program to 11 total victories in the past two seasons. Among the team's returning players is third-year running back
Damonta Witherspoon (912 rushing yards, 8 touchdowns, 18 receptions), who has earned a pair of All-OVC honors during his career, and sophomore quarterback
DJ Williams (1,552 yards of total offense and nine total touchdowns) who became the team's starter halfway through last season on his way to OVC Freshman of the Year honors. On the defensive side of the ball, linebacker
Eric Samuta (76 tackles, 3 forced fumbles) is the team's leading returning tackler and was an All-OVC pick last season.
Tennessee State enters year two under former Heisman Trophy winner
Eddie George. In the first year with the Big Blue, the Tigers took care of the football, throwing only six interceptions in 11 games, which led the OVC and ranked 17th nationally. This year the team welcomes a new signal caller in Austin Peay transfer
Draylen Ellis. Ellis was named OVC Co-Freshman of the Year in 2020 and last season was a second-team All-OVC pick after passing for 2,626 yards and 19 touchdowns. He will be teamed with third-year running back
Devon Starling, who shared those Freshman of the Year accolades with Ellis in 2020. A year ago he was named All-OVC and earned Sophomore All-American honors after rushing for 800 yards. Defensively, the Tigers placed three players on the Preseason All-OVC team, in
Tadarrius Patterson (30 tackles, 5.5 sacks),
Teray Jones (15 tackles, 3.5 sacks) and
James Green (77 tackles, 1 interception).
This year the Tennessee Tech football team celebrates the 100th anniversary of its first varsity contest. It marks the fifth season under head coach
Dewayne Alexander who welcomes a new quarterback into his system in 2022. That signal caller is
Jeremiah Oatsvall who was the 2017 OVC Freshman of the Year at Austin Peay and spent four years there before transferring to Memphis last year and not playing. The Golden Eagles also return running back
David Gist who ranked fourth in the OVC in rushing last year (901 yards) while also catching 37 passes. Shoring up the other side of the ball is redshirt senior safety
Josh Reliford (69 tackles, 6 pass breakups).
Eastern Illinois begins this year with a new head coach in former Panther player and assistant coach
Chris Wilkerson. Wilkerson played for the Panthers from 1991-94 and coached under Hall of Famer Bob Spoo from 1995-2001. He takes over the EIU program after a successful tenure at the University of Chicago, where he posted winning seasons in seven of his eight seasons. A year ago Eastern Illinois ranked in the Top 30 nationally in both kickoff return yardage defense (15th - 16.44 yards/return) and tackles for loss per game (28th - 6.5). This year the team returns a trio of defensive players who earned All-OVC honors in 2021 in
Jordan Vincent (60 tackles),
Tim Varga (46 tackles, 4.0 sacks) and
Jordan Miles (38 tackles, 11.0 tackles for loss, 4.0 sacks).
Lindenwood, who joins the OVC and begins its reclassification to Division I, is eligible to win the OVC Championship but cannot earn the league's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs. Should the Lions claim the regular season title, the runner-up (as determined through a tiebreaker to address the unbalanced schedule), would earn the AQ. The Lions, now in year five under head coach
Jed Stugart, have made the playoffs in each of its last two seasons (2019 and 2021 - the team did not compete in 2020), compiling an 18-7 overall and 14-0 Conference mark. Lindenwood begins its Division I era with an experienced quarterback in
Cade Brister. Brister was a finalist for the Harlon Hill Award in 2019 when he passed for 3,779 yards. A year ago, before getting injured, he completed 70.8 percent of his passes for 1,572 yard and 10 touchdowns while rushing for 317 yards and seven additional scores.
2022 OVC Football Predicted Order of Finish
1. UT Martin (10 first-place votes) – 70 points
2. Southeast Missouri (3) - 59
3. Murray State - 51
4. Tennessee State (1) - 46
5. Tennessee Tech - 29
6. Eastern Illinois - 20
7. Lindenwood - 19
All-OVC Preseason Football Team
Southeast Missouri senior running back
Geno Hess and UT Martin graduate student linebacker
John H. Ford II were named the 2022 OVC Preseason Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year in a vote of by the league’s head football coaches and communications directors.
Tennessee State and UT Martin led the way with eight selections apiece, while Eastern Illinois and Murray State had seven players apiece, Southeast Missouri had six selections, Tennessee Tech added three and newcomer Lindenwood had two players on the team. Returning players who were first- or second-team All-OVC selections last year were automatic selections to the preseason team this year.
Additionally, a seven-member "Newcomer to Watch" list included one player from each school who is expected to make an impact this season.
2022 Preseason All-OVC Football Teams
Preseason Offensive Player of the Year: Geno Hess (RB), Southeast Missouri
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: John H. Ford II (LB), UT Martin
OFFENSE
QB - Draylen Ellis, Tennessee State
QB - Cade Brister, Lindenwood
QB - DJ Williams, Murray State
RB - Devon Starling, Tennessee State
RB - Geno Hess, Southeast Missouri
RB - Zak Wallace, UT Martin
RB - David Gist, Tennessee Tech
RB - Damonta Witherspoon, Murray State
WR - Johnny King, Southeast Missouri
WR - Zaire Thornton, Tennessee State
WR - Quintin Cross, Tennessee Tech
WR - Isaiah Hill, Eastern Illinois
WR - LaMartez Brooks, Murray State
WR - Colton Dowell, UT Martin
TE - Jay Vallie, Eastern Illinois
OL - Levi Nesler, Murray State
OL - Zack Gieg, Southeast Missouri
OL - Matthan Hatchie, UT Martin
OL - Robert Lacey, Tennessee State
OL - Nate Korte, Southeast Missouri
OL - Gavin Olson, UT Martin
OL - Lamar Morgan, UT Martin
DEFENSE
DE - Jordan Miles, Eastern Illinois
DT - Teray Jones, Tennessee State
DT - Tadarrius Patterson, Tennessee State
DE - Tim Varga, Eastern Illinois
OLB - Darnel Victor, Murray State
ILB - John H. Ford II, UT Martin
ILB - Eric Samuta, Murray State
ILB - Bryce Norman, Southeast Missouri
OLB - James Green, Tennessee State
CB - Oshae Baker, UT Martin
CB - Russell Dandy, Eastern Illinois
SAF - Josh Reliford, Tennessee Tech
SAF - Deven Sims, UT Martin
SAF - Kai Ross, Lindenwood
NB - Jordan Vincent, Eastern Illinois
SPECIALISTS
K - Aaron Baum, Murray State
P - Zach Haynes, Southeast Missouri
KR/PR - Dayron Johnson, Tennessee State
NEWCOMERS TO WATCH
LB - Foday Jalloh, Eastern Illinois
WR - Kobe Smith, Lindenwood
DL - Nate Chambers, Murray State
WR - Ryan Flournoy, Southeast Missouri
LB - K'Vaughn Pope, Tennessee State
QB - Jeremiah Oatsvall, Tennessee Tech
DB - Shaun Lewis, UT Martin
OVC Notables
• Every current OVC team (except newly Division I Lindenwood) has been ranked in the Top 25 polls for at least one week over the past six years (2016-21).
• The OVC has placed multiple teams in the FCS Playoffs seven times in the past 12 years.
• The OVC is one of just four FCS Conferences to have six different teams win a playoff game over the past nine years (2013-2021). Over that time Austin Peay, Eastern Illinois, Jacksonville State, Southeast Missouri, Tennessee State and UT Martin have all won at least one game while representing the OVC. The other conferences to have six different teams win over that period are the CAA, Missouri Valley and Southern Conferences.
• OVC teams have 13 playoff wins since 2013, including five Quarterfinal appearances and one National Championship game appearance.
• Since 2013, the OVC has produced one Walter Payton Award Winner, two Buck Buchanan Award Winners, an Eddie Robinson Award Winner and a Deacon Jones Trophy winner. In addition, the league has had two Doris Robinson Award Winners, as the National Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
• In 7 of the past 12 years, an OVC team has defeated a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) opponent.
• The OVC has produced at least one NFL Draft Pick in 10 of the last 15 years.
• In January 2020, OVC alum Jimmy Garoppolo became just the eighth former FCS quarterback to start in a Super Bowl, doing so with the San Francisco 49ers. Last season 11 former OVC players were on active rosters at the end of the year.
• Former EIU quarterback Tony Romo was selected to the 2021 College Football Hall of Fame Class. He is the third former OVC player to be inducted (Jim Youngblood, George Floyd Jr.); in addition, there are also three former OVC coaches (Roy Kidd, Boots Donnelly, Frank Beamer) already enshrined.
• Over the previous 74 years, 15 of 18 teams that have competed have claimed at least one league championship.