BRENTWOOD, Tenn. - Ohio Valley Conference champion Eastern Kentucky won three of the four major awards and placed 14 total players on the 2007 All-OVC Football Team which was released on Tuesday. Junior quarterback Allan Holland was named Offensive Player of the Year, senior defensive back Derrick Huff earned Defensive Player of the Year honors and head coach Danny Hope was bestowed the Roy Kidd OVC Coach of the Year honor. Murray State redshirt freshman quarterback Jeff Ehrhardt was tabbed as the OVC Freshman of the Year.
EKU, which finished the season 9-2 overall and a perfect 8-0 in the OVC on its way to a Top 10 national ranking and Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoff berth, placed seven players on each the All-OVC first and second teams. Eastern Illinois, which finished the regular season 8-3 and 7-1 in the OVC and earned an at-large bid to the playoffs, was second with 13 All-OVC honorees (six first team, four second-team and three All-Newcomer picks).
In taking over the reigns of the Colonel program in the second contest of the year, the junior Holland finished the season by completing 173-of-284 passes for 1,962 yards and 14 touchdowns. He had a passing efficiency of 133.10 (30th nationally) and also carried the ball 70 times for 201 yards and four additional scores. The Hazard, Ky. native directed the EKU offense to 33.5 points per game, which led the OVC and ranked 19th nationally. He is the second Eastern Kentucky quarterback to earn Offensive Player of the Year honors in the last three years (Josh Greco, 2005) and 10th EKU player overall.
Huff led the nation in interceptions, picking off nine passes in 10 games this season (he missed the regular season finale due to injury). He returned one of those picks for a 68-yard touchdown in a win over Tennessee State. Huff had multiple interceptions in two games, including three against Murray State in a performance that earned him National Defensive Player of the Week honors. Huff, a native of Hamilton, Ohio, added 58 tackles (one tackle-for-loss), seven pass break-ups, a fumble recovery and a blocked kick. He is the first EKU player to earn Defensive Player of the Year honors since Justen Rivers in 2004 and the 11th overall since the awards were first handed out in 1963.
In his first collegiate season, the Racers’ Ehrhardt put up some impressive numbers as Murray State’s signal caller. He completed 236-of-393 (60.1%) passes for 2,567 yards and 21 touchdowns. He also rushed for 375 yards and five additional scores. Ehrhardt had three games of 300 or more yards, including 344 yards against Eastern Kentucky. He tossed multiple touchdown passes in six contests in 2007, including four in a win over Lambuth. Most impressively he was one of just five FCS quarterbacks this season to pass for more than 300 yards (330) and rush for more than 100 yards (104) in the same game. In that game he completed 36 passes (a Murray State record) and accounted for three touchdowns. His 21.45 completions/game ranked 10th nationally, while his total yards passing was 12th (second among freshmen) and he was also 12th nationally in points responsible for per game (14.55).
Now in his fifth season as head coach at his alma mater, Hope won his first Roy Kidd Coach of the Year award. The honor is named after legendary EKU coach Roy Kidd (who won the award 10 times), who coached Hope when he was a four-year starter as an offensive lineman for the Colonels. Hope led the Colonels to their 19th OVC Championship (most in Conference history and second most among all FCS schools) and first in 10 years (1997). He also secured the program’s first playoff appearance in a decade (1997) and 18th all-time (first among all FCS schools). The season marked the program’s 30th consecutive winning season, which is currently the second longest active streak (behind Florida State) at the Division I level. Hope is 35-21 all-time as a head coach and has a 32-18 OVC mark.
The All-OVC first-team featured at least one player from nine of the 10 OVC football-playing schools. Eastern Kentucky led the way with seven first-teamers, including Holland at quarterback. The running back selections included Austin Peay senior Chris Fletcher and Eastern Illinois senior Ademola Adeniji. Fletcher rushed for a league-best 1,343 yards in 2007, in the Governors first year back in the OVC after a 10-year absence to play non-scholarship football. His 122.09 yards/game was ranked 14th nationally. Adeniji got better as the season went along, including rushing for 150 or more yards in each of the final three games and five of his final six contests of 2007. Adeniji rushed for 1,178 yards and 15 touchdowns overall on the season and 1,052 yards in OVC-only games (which led the Conference). The first-team wide receiver tandem included Eastern Illinois senior Micah Rucker and Tennessee Tech senior Larry Shipp, both of whom were first-team selections in 2006. Rucker caught 52 balls for 765 yards and nine touchdowns. Shipp, despite struggling at times when Tennessee Tech lost three quarterbacks to injury, finished the year with 53 catches for 900 yards and 10 touchdowns. Murray State’s DeAngelo Nelson earned first-team tight end honors after recording 34 catches for 451 yards and three scores in 2007. The first-team All-OVC offensive lineman selections included three EKU and two EIU players. Eastern Kentucky’s selections included senior center Shawn Dedden, senior guard Bakahri Thornton and senior tackle Sean Dumford. The Eastern Illinois selections included sophomore guard Chaz Millard and senior tackle Anthony Rubican.
The first-team defensive lineman selections included Eastern Illinois junior Pierre Walters (46 tackles, two sacks), Eastern Kentucky junior Chris Coy (44 tackles, 16 tackles-for-loss, 7.0 sacks), Jacksonville State senior John Scott (53 tackles, 7.0 tackles-for-loss) and Tennessee State senior Shaun Richardson (46 tackles, 13.5 tackles-for-loss, 7.0 sacks). Three players were tabbed first-team All-OVC linebackers, including Eastern Illinois senior Donald Thomas, Southeast Missouri senior Adam Casper and UT Martin senior Josh Yarbrough. Thomas, a 2007 Buck Buchanan Award Finalist, was the 2006 OVC Defensive Player of the Year; he followed that up with 76 tackles in 2007. Casper, also a first-team All-OVC pick last year, finished the season with an OVC-best 112 tackles in just 10 games (12th nationally). Yarbrough made his first appearance on the All-OVC team after making 91 tackles during his senior campaign. Eastern Kentucky had two of the four defensive back selections on the first-team, including Huff, who was named OVC Defensive Player of the Year. Joining Huff was junior Brandon Gathof, who had 78 tackles and five interceptions during the season. Joining the Colonel duo was Tennessee State senior Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie who did a little of everything for the Tigers in 2007. On defense "DRC" made 37 tackles, had two interceptions (both of which he returned for touchdowns), 11 pass break-ups, two fumble recoveries and four blocked kicks. The final selection was Tennessee Tech junior Maurice Smith, who made 102 tackles and two interceptions during the year.
The first-team All-OVC specialist selections included Jacksonville State junior kicker Gavin Hallford, Southeast Missouri sophomore punter Doug Spada and Tennessee Tech’s Shipp, who also earned first-team honors as a wide receiver. Hallford tied the OVC record for field goals in a season (22) by making 22-of-29 attempts and converting 33-of-34 point after attempts during the season. Spada, who also performed place kicking for the Redhawks, was outstanding with his punting leg as well. He punted 59 times for an average of 42.5 yards/punt with a long of 73 yards. Most impressively he placed 27 of his 59 punts (46 percent) inside the opponent’s 20-yard line. Shipp, who was the only player to be named on the All-OVC team twice, also found his niche as a kick returner in 2007. He returned 32 kickoffs for 914 yards, which was an average of 28.6 yards/return (a mark that was seventh nationally). He returned three of the kickoffs for touchdowns, which set the OVC single-season record. Two of those kickoffs came in back-to-back games, as he took the opening kickoff of each contest the distance, including a 97-yarder against Concordia College.
The second-team offensive unit included Ehrhardt at quarterback, EKU senior running back Bobby Washington (1,002 yards, 10 TD’s), UT Martin senior running back Don Chapman (1,125 yards, 11 TD’s, 14th Division I RB to top 1,000 yards in four straight seasons), Murray State junior wide receiver Rod Harper (57 catches, 779 yards, 10 TD’s), Samford senior wide receiver Jeff Moore (61 catches, 996 yards, 6 TD’s) and Eastern Kentucky junior tight end Steven Sizemore (20 catches, 151 yards) at the skill positions. The second-team All-OVC offensive lineman included Eastern Illinois senior center Drew Cairo-Gross, Jacksonville State senior guard Devon May, UT Martin junior guard Kevin Bannon, Austin Peay junior tackle Cage Major, Tennessee State junior tackle Cornelius Lewis and UT Martin senior tackle Adam Hansen.
The second-team defensive unit included four defensive linemen, Eastern Kentucky senior Cardius Dowell (40 tackles, 6.0 sacks), Tennessee Tech senior John Jackson (47 tackles, 3 sacks), Tennessee Tech senior Geoffrey Woods (51 tackles, 8.5 tackles-for-loss) and UT Martin junior Ray Williams (40 tackles, 3.5 sacks). The linebackers included two Eastern Kentucky players - senior George Anderson (78 tackles, 12 tackles-for-loss) and senior Justin Curry (90 tackles) - and Jacksonville State senior Devin Phillips (60 tackles, 16.5 tackles-for-loss, 7.0 sacks, 2 forced fumbles). Eastern Illinois placed two players at defensive back - freshman Rashad Haynes (47 tackles, 5 interceptions) and junior Ke’Andre Sams (60 tackles, 2 interceptions) - while Eastern Kentucky placed junior Zach Denton (61 tackles, 5 interceptions) and Murray State placed senior Derrick Parrott (62 tackles, two interceptions) on the team.
The second-team specialists included Eastern Kentucky junior kicker Taylor Long (13-of-14 field goals, 42-of-44 PAT’s), Eastern Illinois freshman punter Kevin Cook (44.6 yards/punt) and Jacksonville State junior return specialist Maurice Dupree (29.4 yards/kick off return which was fourth nationally and 13.9 yards/punt return which was eighth nationally).
Eleven players were selected to the All-OVC Newcomer squad. To be selected to the team an individual had to be a first-year player (freshman or transfer) in the OVC. Three players on the team - EIU’s Cook and Haynes and Murray State’s Ehrhardt - were multiple selections, having each also appeared on the All-OVC second-team. Others on the All-Newcomer team included Austin Peay freshman kick returner Terrence Holt (24.5 yards/kick return, 2 kick return touchdowns, 1 punt return touchdown), Eastern Illinois sophomore offensive lineman Kevin Mahoney, Jacksonville State junior quarterback Cedric Johnson (1434 yards, 6 throwing/10 rushing TD’s), Samford freshman running back Chris Evans (1033 yards, 5 touchdowns, national freshman rushing leader), Samford freshman offensive lineman Thomas Gray, Southeast Missouri freshman wide receiver Miles Edwards (34 catches, 480 yards, 7 TD’s), Tennessee Tech freshman running back/kick returner Henry Sailes (222 rushing yards, 26.4 yards/kick return) and UT Martin sophomore quarterback Cade Thompson (1034 yards, 8 TD’s).
Awards were voted on my OVC head football coaches and sports information directors.
2007 ALL-OVC FOOTBALL TEAM AND AWARD WINNERS
OVC Offensive Player of the Year: Allan Holland, Eastern Kentucky
OVC Defensive Player of the Year: Derrick Huff, Eastern Kentucky
OVC Freshman of the Year: Jeff Ehrhardt, Murray State
OVC Roy Kidd Coach of the Year: Danny Hope, Eastern Kentucky
FIRST-TEAM OFFENSE
QB - Allan Holland, Eastern Kentucky
RB - Chris Fletcher, Austin Peay
RB - Ademola Adeniji, Eastern Illinois
WR - *%Micah Rucker, Eastern Illinois
WR - *Larry Shipp, Tennessee Tech
TE - DeAngelo Nelson, Murray State
C - Shawn Dedden, Eastern Kentucky
G - Chaz Millard, Eastern Illinois
G - Bakahri Thornton, Eastern Kentucky
T - *Anthony Rubican, Eastern Illinois
T - #Sean Dumford, Eastern Kentucky
FIRST-TEAM DEFENSE
DL - #Pierre Walters, Eastern Illinois
DL - Chris Coy, Eastern Kentucky
DL - John Scott, Jacksonville State
DL - %Shaun Richardson, Tennessee State
LB - *Donald Thomas, Eastern Illinois
LB - *Adam Casper, Southeast Missouri
LB - Josh Yarbrough, UT Martin
DB - Derrick Huff, Eastern Kentucky
DB - *Brandon Gathof, Eastern Kentucky
DB - *Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Tennessee State
DB - Maurice Smith, Tennessee Tech
FIRST-TEAM SPECIALISTS
K - Gavin Hallford, Jacksonville State
P - Doug Spada, Southeast Missouri
RS - Larry Shipp, Tennessee Tech
* - 1st team All-OVC team in 2006 # - 2nd team All-OVC team in 2006 % - OVC All-Newcomer team in 2006
SECOND-TEAM OFFENSE
QB - Jeff Ehrhardt, Murray State
RB - %Bobby Washington, Eastern Kentucky
RB - Don Chapman, UT Martin
WR - Rod Harper, Murray State
WR - #Jeff Moore, Samford
TE - Stephen Sizemore, Eastern Kentucky
C - Drew Cairo-Gross, Eastern Illinois
G - %Devon May, Jacksonville State
G - Kevin Bannon, UT Martin
T - Cage Major, Austin Peay
T - Cornelius Lewis, Tennessee State
T - *Adam Hansen, UT Martin
SECOND-TEAM DEFENSE
DL - Cardius Dowell, Eastern Kentucky
DL - John Jackson, Tennessee Tech
DL - *Geoffrey Woods, Tennessee Tech
DL - Ray Williams, UT Martin
LB - George Anderson, Eastern Kentucky
LB - Justin Curry, Eastern Kentucky
LB - Devin Phillips, Jacksonville State
DB - Rashad Haynes, Eastern Illinois
DB - Ke’Andre Sams, Eastern Illinois
DB - Zach Denton, Eastern Kentucky
DB - Derrick Parrott, Murray State
SECOND-TEAM SPECIALISTS
K - Taylor Long, Eastern Kentucky
P - Kevin Cook, Eastern Illinois
RS - Maurice Dupree, Jacksonville State
Note: There are three offensive tackles on the second-team All-OVC squad due to a tie in voting.
* - 1st team All-OVC team in 2006 # - 2nd team All-OVC team in 2006 % - OVC All-Newcomer team in 2006
ALL-NEWCOMER TEAM
Terrence Holt, Austin Peay (RS/RB)
Kevin Cook, Eastern Illinois (P)
Rashad Haynes, Eastern Illinois (DB)
Kevin Mahoney, Eastern Illinois (OG)
Cedric Johnson, Jacksonville State (QB)
Jeff Ehrhardt, Murray State (QB)
Chris Evans, Samford (RB)
Thomas Gray, Samford (OL)
Miles Edwards, Southeast Missouri (WR)
Henry Sailes, Tennessee Tech (RB/RS)
Cade Thompson, UT Martin (QB)
Note: The All-Newcomer team is comprised of first-year players in the OVC - that can be either true freshmen, redshirt freshmen or first-year transfers. The team consists of 11 total players and is not voted on by position.