EIU's Romo, Tech's Evitts, WKU's Harbaugh Headline 2000 All-OVC Football Team


BRENTWOOD, Tenn. -- Eastern Illinois quarterback Tony Romo, who tied an Ohio Valley Conference record for touchdown passes and was second in Division I-AA in pass efficiency, and Tennessee Tech linebacker Chad Evitts, who ranked among the OVC's best in tackles and tackles for loss, earned top honors on the 2000 All-OVC football team in voting by the league's head football coaches and sports information directors.

Romo was selected as the OVC Offensive Player of the Year, while Evitts was chosen as the OVC Defensive Player of the Year. Western Kentucky head coach Jack Harbaugh earned the league's Coach of the Year award after guiding the Hilltoppers to the OVC championship.

Romo, a 6-foot-2, 216-pound sophomore from Burlington, Wisc., completed 164-of-278 passes for 2,583 yards and 27 TD's in his first year as a starter for the Panthers. His passing yardage total was the 8th-best in OVC history and the 27 TD's matched the league mark set by Murray State's Justin Fuente a year ago. Romo threw for at least one touchdown in every game this season, and tied an EIU record with six TD passes against Murray State on Oct. 14. Along with ranking 2nd in Division I-AA in pass efficiency (160.5 rating), he's also 25th in the nation in total offense (233.3 ypg). Romo guided an EIU offense which tied an OVC record for points (430) in a season and set new school marks for touchdowns (58) and total offense (4982 yds). After going 2-10 a year ago, the Panthers posted an 8-3 mark in 2000 and earned a berth in the Division I-AA playoffs for the first time since 1996. Romo is one of 16 finalists for the Walter Payton Award, which honors the top offensive player in Division I-AA.

Evitts, a 6-foot-2, 225-pound senior from Hartsville, Tenn., led the OVC with 24 tackles for loss (-53 yards) and was fifth in the conference with 118 total tackles. He also recorded two quarterback sacks, 18 quarterback hurries, five forced fumbles, one interception, three pass breakups and a blocked kick. Evitts' 118 tackles is the 2nd-most by a Tech player in 15 years and he broke his own school record for tackles for loss in a season. He finished his Golden Eagle career ranked 9th in total tackles (308) and he recorded at least one tackle for loss in 29 of his final 31 contests. Evitts, who is one of the 16 finalists for the Buck Buchanan Award which honors the top defensive player in Division I-AA, earned national defensive player of the week accolades on Sept. 23 after tallying nine tackles, a tackle for loss, a forced fumble and a blocked punt in a win over Eastern Kentucky. He played a big role in Tennessee Tech posting an 8-3 overall record in 2000, which was their best mark since 1993.

Harbaugh earned OVC Coach of the Year honors for the first time after guiding Western Kentucky to a 10-1 overall record and the OVC championship with a perfect 7-0 mark. The 10 victories is the most for the Hilltoppers in the regular season since 1973 and they are ranked 6th in the latest I-AA Top 25 polls. WKU led the nation in scoring defense (11.6 ppg) and turnover margin (+2.73 pg) this season and ranked among the top 10 teams in I-AA in rushing (268.5 ypg) for the 9th straight year. The Toppers will make their first I-AA playoff appearance since 1997 this Saturday as they host Florida A&M. Harbaugh is one of 16 finalists for the Eddie Robinson Award, which honors the top coach in Division I-AA.

Eastern Illinois had six players selected to the All-OVC first team, while Western Kentucky and Tennessee Tech both had five. Joining Romo from EIU were senior tight end Nathan Kreke, senior guard Matt Gehrig, senior tackle Dan Fellows, senior defensive lineman Mike Carlin and junior cornerback Kourtney Young. Making the squad from WKU were senior tailback DeWayne Gallishaw, junior guard Chris Price, sophomore kicker Peter Martinez, senior linebacker Melvin Wisham and sophomore defensive back Bobby Sippio. Selected from Tech were Evitts, junior center Joey Bishop, senior tackle Andrew McGraw, sophomore defensive lineman D.J. Bleisath and senior defensive back Troy Grant.

Also named to the All-OVC first team were senior running back Corey Crume, senior wide receiver Alex Bannister, sophomore defensive end Nick Hill and sophomore safety Yeremiah Bell of Eastern Kentucky; junior wide receiver Michael Slater, senior linebacker Jai Williams and senior safety Beau Guest of Murray State; junior defensive end Walter Reese and freshman return specialist Carlos Wright of Tennessee State and junior punter of Jason Witczak of Southeast Missouri.

2000 ALL-OVC FOOTBALL TEAM
FIRST TEAM
OFFENSE
Player, School Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown
Tony Romo, Eastern Illinois, QB, 6'2, 216, So., Burlington, Wisc.
Corey Crume, Eastern Kentucky#, RB, 5'11, 222, Sr., Lebanon, Ky.
DeWayne Gallishaw, Western Kentucky RB 5'8 190 Sr. Lakeland, Fla.
Alex Bannister, Eastern Kentucky, WR, 6'5, 202, Sr., Cincinnati, Ohio
Michael Slater, Murray State, WR, 6'0, 180, Jr., Vicksburg, Miss.
Nathan Kreke, Eastern Illinois, TE, 6'3, 240, Sr., Bartelso, Ill.
Joey Bishop, Tennessee Tech, C, 6'5, 270, Jr., Columbia, Tenn.
Matt Gehrig, Eastern Illinois, OG, 6'2, 302, Sr., Plato Center, Ill.
Chris Price, Western Kentucky, OG, 5'11, 280, Jr., Indianapolis, Ind.
Andrew McGraw, Tennessee Tech, OT, 6'5, 296, Sr., Huntsville, Ala.
Dan Fellows, Eastern Illinois, OT, 6'6, 264, Sr., Downers Grove, Ill.
Peter Martinez, Western Kentucky, PK, 6'2, 185, So., Nashville, Tenn.
Carlos Wright, Tennessee State, RET, 6'2, 200, Fr., Middleburg, Fla.

DEFENSE
Player, School Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown
Mike Carlin, Eastern Illinois, DL, 6'3, 235, Sr., Joliet, Ill.
D.J. Bleisath, Tennessee Tech, DL, 6'5, 255, So., Canton, Ga.
Nick Hill, Eastern Kentucky, DL, 6'0, 236, So., Miami, Fla.
Walter Reese, Tennessee State, DL, 6'1, 220, Jr., Ft. Wayne, Ind.
Chad Evitts, Tennessee Tech*, LB, 6'2, 225, Sr., Hartsville, Tenn.
Melvin Wisham, Western Kentucky*, LB, 6'2, 225, Sr., St. Louis, Mo.
Jai Williams, Murray State, LB, 6'0, 220, Sr., Eldorado, Ark.
Bobby Sippio, Western Kentucky*, DB, 6'3, 215, So., Kissimmee, Fla.
Kourtney Young, Eastern Illinois, DB, 6'1, 195, Jr., Chicago, Ill.
Yeremiah Bell, Eastern Kentucky, DB, 5'11, 187, So., Winchester, Ky.
Troy Grant, Tennessee Tech#, DB, 5'10, 185, Sr., San Antonio, Tex.
Beau Guest, Murray State, DB, 6'1, 190, Sr., LaGrange, Ky.
Jason Witczak, Southeast Missouri, P, 6'0, 180, Jr., Fond du Lac, Wisc.

OVC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Tony Romo, Eastern Illinois
OVC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Chad Evitts, Tennessee Tech
OVC COACH OF THE YEAR: Jack Harbaugh, Western Kentucky

SECOND TEAM
OFFENSE
Player, School Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown
Stewart Childress, Murray State, QB, 6'1, 190, Fr., Princeton, Ky.
Garner Byars, Murray State, RB, 6'0, 190, So., Louisville, Ky.
Mario Riley, Murray State, RB, 5'8, 170, So., Colorado Springs, Co.
Frank Cutolo, Eastern Illinois, WR, 5'10, 177, Sr., Boca Raton, Fla.
Shaun Boykins, Murray State, WR, 5'10, 180, Sr., St. Louis, Mo.
Josh McKeel, Murray State, TE, 6'3, 230, Jr., Murray, Ky.
Josh Foster, Murray State, C, 6'3, 290, So., Lawton, Okla.
Brett O'Buck, Eastern Kentucky, OG, 6'4, 290, Sr., Roswell, Ga.
Lawrence Smith, Tennessee State, OT, 6'4, 305, Jr., Atlanta, Ga.
Lewis Diaz, Eastern Kentucky#, OT, 6'1, 258, Sr., Miami, Fla.
David Collett, Tennessee Tech*, PK, 6'1, 190, Jr., Soddy-Daisy, Tenn.
Curtis Cooper, Southeast Missouri, RET, 5'8, 170, Jr., Toledo, Ohio

DEFENSE
Player, School Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown
Marcus Adams, Eastern Kentucky, DL, 6'1, 285, Jr., Indianapolis, Ind.
Phillip Wasson, Murray State, DL, 6'4, 278, Jr., Greenville, Miss.
Curley Grayson, Tennessee State, DL, 6'2, 260, Sr., Memphis, Tenn.
Nick Stamper, Tennessee-Martin, DL, 6'4, 245, Jr., Chattanooga, Tenn.
Sherrod Coates, Western Kentucky, LB, 6'2, 210, Jr., Boynton Beach, Fla.
Corey Mathis, Southeast Missouri, LB, 6'0, 200, Jr., Toledo, Ohio
Nick Ricks, Eastern Illinois, LB, 6'0, 215, Fr., Deerfield Beach, Fla.
Joseph Jefferson, Western Kentucky, DB, 6'0, 195, Jr., Adairville, Ky.
Joe Williams, Southeast Missouri, DB, 5'10, 180, Sr., Camilla, Ga.
Mel Mitchell, Western Kentucky#, DB, 6'1, 205, Jr., Rockledge, Fla.
Ligarius Jennings, Tennessee State#, DB, 5'10, 195, Sr., Birmingham, Ala.
Andy Dorsey, Tennessee Tech, P, 6'0, 205, Sr., Powder Springs, Ga.

Honorable Mention: Jason Johnson, QB, Western Kentucky; Roland Ogletree, RB, Tennessee-Martin; Terrence Tillman, WR, Murray State; C.J. Johnson, WR, Tennessee State; Leslie Weaver, WR, Southeast Missouri; Benedict Ibisi, C, Tennessee State; Clint Parker, OT, Murray State; Bill Besenhofer, PK, Eastern Illinois; Shorty Combs, DL, Eastern Kentucky; Paul Marshall, DL, Western Kentucky; Desmond Scantling, DL, Tennessee State; Gonzalo Segovia, DL, Eastern Illinois; Nick Sullivan, LB, Eastern Kentucky; Hayes Thomas, LB, Western Kentucky; Jilon Van Over, LB, Murray State; Jahi Henley, DB, Tennessee Tech; Vincent Thomas, DB, Tennessee-Martin; John Williams, DB, Eastern Illinois; Brian Bivens, P, Murray State; Alan Ogletree, P, Western Kentucky

* - denotes All-OVC first team in 1999 # - denotes All-OVC second team in 1999