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EIU's Vincent Webb |
Eastern Illinois running back Vincent Webb and UT Martin running back Don Chapman were selected as OVC Co-Offensive Players of the Year in voting by the league’s head football coaches and sports information directors. EIU’s Donald Thomas was tabbed as the OVC Defensive Player of the Year while OVC Freshman of the Year honors went to Tennessee Tech’s Lee Sweeney. UT Martin skipper Jason Simpson earned the league’s Roy Kidd Coach of the Year award, presented by Schutt Sports.
Webb, a 5-foot-10, 206-pound senior, rushed for 1,405 yards in 2006, marking his third straight season with 1,000 or more rushing yards. He hit the century mark seven times this year, including rushing for a season-high 208 yards against Samford. He is third in the OVC and 21st in the nation with 108.1 yards per game. The St. Louis, Mo., native also racked up 122.1 all-purpose yards per game to rank fourth in the Conference this season. Webb ran for seven touchdowns while making three catches for scores this year. A first-team All-OVC selection, Webb is the fourth Panther to receive OVC Offensive Player of the Year accolades, joining former Panther standout Tony Romo, who earned the honor three times (2000-2002).
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UTM's Don Chapman |
Chapman, a 5-foot-10, 215-pound junior, leads the league and ranks ninth in the nation with 128.4 rushing yards per game. He also ranks second in the Conference in scoring (8.4 ppg) and all-purpose yards (131.7 ypg). He ran for over 100 yards six times this season while hitting the 200-yard mark three times. A native of Marietta, Ga., Chapman set a new school record with 1,412 rushing yards in 2006. Chapman, who was named the 2004 OVC Freshman of the Year, ran for 15 touchdowns this year one shy of his career-high of 16 set last year. A first-team All-OVC pick, Chapman is the first Skyhawk to earn OVC Offensive Player of the Year honors.
Thomas, a 5-foot-11, 222-pound junior, leads the OVC in total tackles with 127 while averaging 9.8 stops per game to rank third in the Conference and 29th in the nation. A native of St. Louis, Mo., Thomas also had a league-high four fumbles recovered. He recorded double-digit tackles in seven outings, including a season-high 16 stops against Jacksonville State. Thomas also made two interceptions this season which he returned for 33 yards. In addition, he recorded seven quarterback hurries, three pass break ups and two forced fumbles. A first-team All-OVC selection, Thomas is the third Panther linebacker to garner OVC Defensive Player of the Year accolades, joining Clint Sellers (2005) and Nick Ricks (2002).
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EIU's Donald Thomas |
Sweeney, a 6-foot-3, 220-pound freshman, leads the league in total passing yards (2,292), yards per game (208.4), total offense (206.1 ypg), and touchdowns (17) while also ranking fourth with a 113.4 pass efficiency rating. The Mt. Juliet, Tenn., native threw for over 200 yards five times this season, including a career-high 437 yards versus Southeast Missouri. He set school single-game records in yards (437), attempts (57), completions (46) and total offense (437) against the Redhawks. A second-team All-OVC selection, Sweeney is the first Golden Eagle to be named OVC Freshman of the Year.
In his first year at the helm of the UT Martin football team, Simpson earned the league’s Roy Kidd Coach of the Year award after leading the Skyhawks to a 6-1 OVC record en route to their first OVC title and first Top-25 ranking. The Skyhawks led the league and ranked sixth in the nation in total defense (255.5 ypg). In addition, UT Martin also topped the Conference in rushing offense (218.2 ypg), scoring defense (15.7 ppg), rushing defense (112.9 ypg), pass defense (142.6 ypg) and punt returns (11.6 ypr) while ranking second in scoring average (24.8 ppg). Simpson is the first Skyhawk skipper to receive Coach of the Year honors.
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TTU's Lee Sweeney |
Eastern Illinois had a Conference-high seven players selected to the 2006 All-OVC first team, while UT Martin and Tennessee State followed with five and four honorees, respectively.
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UTM's Jason Simpson |
2006
ALL-OHIO VALLEY CONFERENCE FOOTBALL TEAM
(Selected by OVC Head Football Coaches and Sports Information Directors)
First Team
OFFENSE
Player, School Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown
Antonio Heffner, Tennessee State QB 6-2 195 Jr. Memphis, Tennessee
Don Chapman, UT Martin* RB 5-10 215 Jr. Marietta, Georgia
Vincent Webb, Eastern Illinois# RB 5-10 206 Sr. Saint Louis, Missouri
Micah Rucker, Eastern Illinois WR 6-6 230 Jr. Estero, Florida
Larry Shipp, Tennessee Tech* WR 5-9 183 Jr. Memphis, Tennessee
Patrick Bugg, Eastern Kentucky* TE 6-5 215 Sr. Harrodsburg, Kentucky
Billy Krause, UT Martin C 6-2 285 So. Crossville, Tennessee
Jon Rueter, Eastern Illinois* OG 6-5 281 Sr. Springfield, Illinois
Alex Atkins, UT Martin# OG 6-2 310 Sr. Memphis, Tennessee
Adam Hansen, UT Martin OT 6-4 285 Jr. Brentwood, Tennessee
Anthony Rubican, Eastern Illinois OT 6-6 300 Jr. Schaumburg, Illinois
Shannon Flemming, Samford K 5-10 165 Jr. Waycross, Georgia
Jessie Burton, UT Martin RS 5-10 185 Jr. McComb, Mississippi
DEFENSE
Player, School Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown
Edgar Jones, Southeast Missouri DL 6-5 250 Jr. Rayville, Louisiana
Mark Cristiani, Eastern Kentucky* DL 5-11 272 Sr. Venice, Florida
Geoffrey Woods, Tennessee Tech DL 5-11 282 Jr. Stone Mountain, Georgia
Leonard Davis, Tennessee State DL 6-3 290 Sr. Birmingham, Alabama
Donald Thomas, Eastern Illinois LB 5-10 222 Jr. St. Louis, Missouri
Lucius Seymour, Eastern Illinois# LB 5-9 208 Sr. Delray Beach, Florida
Adam Casper, Southeast Missouri LB 6-1 230 Jr. Anna, Illinois
Tristan Burge, Eastern Illinois* DB 6-0 200 Sr. Romeoville, Illinois
Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Tennessee State DB 6-2 170 Jr. Bradenton, Florida
Brandon Gathof, Eastern Kentucky DB 6-1 205 So. LaGrange, Kentucky
Nikkieda Rutland, Tennessee State DB 5-10 200 Sr. Bradenton, Florida
David Simonhoff, Southeast Missouri* P 6-2 200 Sr. Coral Gables, Florida
OVC CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE YEAR: Vincent Webb, Eastern Illinois; Don Chapman, UT Martin
OVC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Donald Thomas, Eastern Illinois
OVC FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Lee Sweeney, Tennessee Tech
OVC COACH OF THE YEAR: Jason Simpson, UT Martin
* - denotes All-OVC first team in 2005 # - denotes All-OVC second team in 2005
Second Team
OFFENSE
Player, School Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown
Lee Sweeney, Tennessee Tech QB 6-3 220 Fr. Mt. Juliet, Tennessee
Javarris Williams, Tennessee State# RB 5-11 215 So. Richmond, Texas
Clay Green, Jacksonville State* RB 6-0 205 Sr. Birmingham, Alabama
Tauren Rhetta, Jacksonville State WR 6-1 180 Jr. Birmingham, Alabama
Jeff Moore, Samford WR 5-11 187 Jr. Jackson, Mississippi
Adam Parsill, Eastern Illinois TE 6-4 250 Sr. Skokie, Illinois
Graham Lemmond, Samford C 6-2 275 Sr. Hayden, Alabama
Keith Gergel, Jacksonville State OG 6-4 315 So. Roswell, Georgia
Cecil Newton, Tennessee State OG 6-2 305 Jr. Atlanta, Georgia
Eric Johnson, Eastern Illinois* OT 6-4 295 Sr. Bloomington, Illinois
Sean Dumford, Eastern Kentucky* OT 6-5 297 Jr. Washington Court House, Ohio
Taylor Brown, UT Martin K 6-2 205 Sr. Panama City, Florida
Davin Walker, Eastern Kentucky RS 5-10 162 So. Miami, Florida
DEFENSE
Player, School Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown
Greg Green, Jacksonville State DL 6-4 253 Sr. Wedowee, Alabama
Pierre Walters, Eastern Illinois DL 6-5 230 So. Forest Park, Illinois
Nate Wilson, UT Martin DL 6-3 245 So. Clarksville, Tennessee
Joel Kilpatrick, UT Martin DL 5-11 275 Sr. Memphis, Tennessee
Markeseo Jackson, UT Martin LB 6-0 220 Sr. Memphis, Tennessee
LeMarcus Rowell, Jacksonville State LB 6-2 225 Sr. Opelika, Alabama
Brandon Rosser, Eastern Kentucky LB 6-0 246 Sr. Marietta, Georgia
Kenny Brown, Jacksonville State* DB 6-0 185 Sr. Cartersville, Georgia
Craig Agee, Jacksonville State DB 5-9 170 Sr. Taylorsville, Mississippi
Kevin Rondo, UT Martin DB 5-10 180 Jr. Columbus, Ohio
Aaron Strong, Tennessee State DB 5-11 185 Sr. Atlanta, Georgia
Chris Hicks, Samford P 5-10 160 Sr. Calhoun, Georgia
2006 OVC ALL-NEWCOMER TEAM
Player, School Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown
Micah Rucker, Eastern Illinois WR 6-6 230 Jr. Estero, Florida
Dontrelle Miller, UT Martin DB 5-10 180 Fr. Demopolis, Alabama
Antonio Heffner, Tennessee State QB 6-2 195 Jr. Memphis, Tennessee
Lee Sweeney, Tennessee Tech QB 6-3 220 Fr. Mt. Juliet, Tennessee
Shaun Richardson, Tennessee State DL 6’3 250 Jr. St. Louis, Missouri
Bobby Washington, Eastern Kentucky RB 6-0 219 Jr. Miami, Florida
Tamar Butler, Murray State LB 6-0 205 Fr. Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Cole Stinson, Eastern Illinois QB 6-5 240 Jr. Estero, Florida
E.J. Daniel, UT Martin WR 5-11 191 So. Brundige, Alabama
Jeff Sobol, Eastern Illinois DT 6-3 260 So. Pevely, Missouri
Montae Pitts, Jacksonville State DB 6-1 201 Sr. Loachapoka, Alabama
Derek Hardman, Eastern Kentucky OT 6-5 273 rs-Fr. Spencer, West Virginia
Devon May, Jacksonville State OL 6-4 290 So. Columbus, Ohio
(13 players appear on the All-Newcomer team due to a tie)