Familiar Faces On Preseason All-OVC Football Squad


Twenty players who earned either first or second-team All-OVC honors a year ago were among 27 selected to the 2001 Preseason All-OVC football squad in voting by the league's head football coaches and sports information directors. Murray State and Tennessee State led all schools with six players selected to the team, while Eastern Illinois had five.

Leading the offensive unit is junior quarterback Tony Romo of Eastern Illinois, who was selected as the OVC Offensive Player of the Year in 2000 after throwing for 2,583 yards and tying a league record with 27 TD passes. Also making the team were the conference’s top two rushers from a year ago, senior Travis Rogers of Tennessee Tech (137-809 yds, 11 TD’s) and senior Mario Riley of Murray State (113-852 yds, 11 TD’s). At wide receiver, Murray State senior Michael Slater (43-819 yds, 7 TD’s), Tennessee State sophomore C.J. Johnson (42-853 yds, 7 TD’s) and Eastern Illinois senior Frank Cutolo (33-710 yds, 4 TD’s) all had over 700 receiving yards last season. All five offensive linemen received All-OVC recognition last year, led by first-team pick Joey Bishop of Tennessee Tech.

There is considerable talent back on defense with all 12 players having received All-OVC accolades last season. Defensive linemen D.J. Bleisath of Tennessee Tech (23 TFL, 7 sacks) and Nick Hill of Eastern Kentucky (74 tackles, 8 TFL) were first-team All-OVC selections in 2000, as was Tennessee State senior linebacker Walter Reese (69 tackles, 7 sacks). A pair of first-team All-OVC picks is also back in the secondary with Eastern Kentucky junior safety Yeremiah Bell (110 tackles) and Eastern Illinois senior cornerback Kourtney Young, who was 13th in I-AA with seven interceptions last season. Also making the team were Southeast Missouri senior linebacker Corey Mathis, who was among OVC leaders in tackles (97), sacks (7) and tackles for loss (19), and Tennessee-Martin senior safety Vincent Thomas, who is the conference’s top returning tackler (133).

The OVC returns several of the nation’s top specialists. Senior kicker David Collett of Tennessee Tech is on pace to break the OVC record for career field goals, while junior punter Brian Bivens of Murray State has averaged better than 40 yards per kick over his first two seasons. Tennessee State sophomore Carlos Wright ranked 7th in I-AA in punt returns (13.8 avg) last year.

OFFENSE

Player/School Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr. Hometown
Tony Romo, Eastern Illinois* QB 6’3 215 Jr. Burlington, Wisc.
Travis Rogers, Tennessee Tech RB 5’11 205 Sr. Morristown, Tenn.
Mario Riley, Murray State# RB 5’7 170 Sr. Colorado Springs, Colo.
Michael Slater, Murray State* WR 6’1 180 Sr. Vicksburg, Miss.
Frank Cutolo, Eastern Illinois# WR 5’11 177 Sr. Boca Raton, Fla.
C.J. Johnson, Tennessee State% WR 5’10 175 So. Nashville, Tenn.
Josh McKeel, Murray State# TE 6’4 235 Sr. Murray, Ky.
Joey Bishop, Tennessee Tech* OL 6’4 260 Sr. Columbia, Tenn.
Lawrence Smith, Tennessee State# OL 6’4 310 Sr. Atlanta, Ga.
Josh Foster, Murray State# OL 6’2 280 Jr. Lawton, Okla.
Benedict Ibisi, Tennessee State% OL 6’3 260 Sr. Miami, Fla.
Clint Parker, Murray State% OL 6’4 295 Jr. Cedar Grove, Tenn.
David Collett, Tennessee Tech# PK 6’1 190 Sr. Soddy-Daisy, Tenn.
Carlos Wright, Tennessee State* RET 6’2 200 So. Middleburg, Fla.

DEFENSE

Player/School Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr. Hometown
D.J. Bleisath, Tennessee Tech* DL 6’5 255 Jr. Canton, Ga.
Nick Hill, Eastern Kentucky* DL 6’0 250 Jr. Miami, Fla.
Nick Stamper, Tennessee-Martin# DL 6’4 245 Sr. Chattanooga, Tenn.
Curley Grayson, Tennessee State# DL 6’2 260 Sr. Memphis, Tenn.
Marcus Adams, Eastern Kentucky# DL 5’11 278 Sr. Indianapolis, Ind.
Corey Mathis, Southeast Missouri# LB 6’0 205 Sr. Lawton, Okla.
Walter Reese, Tennessee State* LB 6’1 220 Sr. Fort Wayne, Ind.
Nick Ricks, Eastern Illinois# LB 6’0 200 So. Deerfield Beach, Fla.
Yeremiah Bell, Eastern Kentucky* DB 6’0 188 Jr. Winchester, Ky.
Kourtney Young, Eastern Illinois* DB 6’2 190 Sr. Chicago, Ill.
Vincent Thomas, Tennessee-Martin% DB 6’0 180 Sr. Dyersburg, Tenn.
John Williams, Eastern Illinois% DB 6’0 203 Sr. Lombard, Ill.
Brian Bivens, Murray State% P 6’2 190 Jr. Henderson, Ky.

Honorable Mention: Stewart Childress, So., QB, Murray State; J.R. Taylor, Jr., RB, Eastern Illinois; Garner Byars, Jr., RB, Murray State; Eugene Amano, Sr., OL, Southeast Missouri; Ramiro Avina, Sr., OL, Eastern Illinois; Jacob Johnson, Sr., OL, Eastern Kentucky; Gonzalo Segovia, Sr., DL, Eastern Illinois; Eric Allen, Sr., DL, Tennessee Tech; Jermaine Motley, Jr., DL, Southeast Missouri; Nick Sullivan, Sr., LB, Eastern Kentucky; Jameel Brown, Jr., DB, Tennessee Tech; Marquis Stephens, Sr., DB, Tennessee State; Bill Besenhofer, Sr., K/P, Eastern Illinois; Curtis Cooper, Sr., RET, Southeast Missouri

* - 1st team All-OVC in 2000 # - 2nd team All-OVC in 2000 % - Honorable mention All-OVC in 2000