• 2020-21 All-OVC Football Teams (PDF)
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. - Four different schools took home the four major 2020-21 Ohio Valley Conference football awards in voting conducted by league head coaches and communication directors and announced on Thursday.
The awards were announced following the first-ever spring football regular season in league history after Conference play was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Austin Peay senior wide receiver
DeAngelo Wilson was named Offensive Player of the Year, while his quarterback
Draylen Ellis was one of two players honored as Freshman of the Year, joining Tennessee State running back
Devon Starling. Jacksonville State sophomore safety
Nicario Harper was tabbed Defensive Player of the Year while Murray State head coach
Dean Hood earned the Roy Kidd OVC Coach of the Year honor.
Jacksonville State, which won its sixth OVC Championship in the past seven years, led the way with 19 picks across the three teams, including eight first-team picks, eight second-team picks and three All-Newcomer selections. Murray State was second with 15 selections, including seven first-team picks. The All-OVC first-team included one graduate student, 10 seniors, 12 juniors, seven sophomore and four freshmen while the second-team included seven seniors, 14 juniors, seven sophomores and two freshmen.
This year’s All-OVC team included expanded selections (five additional offensive selections, three additional defensive selections and one additional special teams pick) in addition to more specifically defining some of the positions. The recommendations came from the OVC Football Coaches Group during their February 2020 meeting.
Wilson, the OVC Preseason Player of the Year after earning numerous All-American honors during the 2019 campaign, played in five of six games this spring, making 37 catches for 562 yards (15.2 yards per catch) and three touchdowns. He also played in two games during the fall (both against FBS opponents) and currently ranks sixth nationally among all FCS players in total receiving yards (619), 28th in receiving yards/game (77.4 yards/game) and 30th in receptions/game (5.5). Wilson closed out the regular season with back-to-back 10 reception games in victories over nationally-ranked opponents. That included 10 catches for 118 yards and a score at Jacksonville State and 10 catches for 99 yards against Murray State. He opened the spring with a season-best 124 receiving yards at Tennessee Tech. Wilson is the third Austin Peay player to be named OVC Offensive Player of the Year, joining quarterbacks Carlton Flatt (1964) and Sonny Defilippis (1980).
Ellis made an immediate impact in taking over the Austin Peay starting quarterback role in the spring as a true freshman. He was named OVC Newcomer of the Week after his first start (where he had 214 yards of total offense and two touchdowns at Tennessee Tech) and would go on to win that award four times (in six total weeks he played) in addition to being named OVC Offensive Player of the Week twice. He was also named the Stats Perform National Freshman of the Week on March 16 after he threw for 262 yards and six touchdowns in a double overtime victory over Southeast Missouri. Ellis passed for a season-best 305 yards and four touchdowns against UT Martin and capped the regular season by throwing for two and running for another touchdown in a win over nationally-ranked Murray State. Overall he tossed multiple touchdowns in three of his six starts. Entering this week he ranks seventh nationally in points responsible for (108) and eighth in passing touchdowns (14).Among OVC players in Conference play, he ranked second in passing yards/game (211.7), third in total offense (225.7 yards/game) and fourth in passing efficiency (123.8). Since the award was first bestowed in 2004, Ellis is the second Austin Peay player to be named OVC Freshman of the Year, joining Jeremiah Oatsvall (2017).
Starling led all freshmen nationally in rushing, gaining 648 yards on 124 rushes in seven games. That was over 100 yards more than the next closest freshman nationally. He averaged 5.2 yards per carry and scored three touchdowns while also adding three catches. His 92.6 yards/game on the ground led all OVC rushers and ranked 16th nationally (and once again first among all freshmen). He had a season-best 149 yards at Murray State and a week later added 134 yards in a victory over UT Martin. He capped his rookie campaign with his third 100-yard rushing game of the season, finishing with 104 yards and a touchdown against Southeast Missouri. Starling is the third Tennessee State player to be named OVC Freshman of the Year, joining running back Javarris Williams (2005) and quarterback Michael German (2011).
Harper helped key a JSU defense that set a school record by limiting nine-straight opponents to under 100 rushing yards (including holding nationally-ranked Murray State to just 28 yards in the regular season finale). Entering the postseason Jacksonville State ranks 10th nationally in rushing defense (80.8 yards/game) and 13th in total defense (276.3 yards/game). In the seven-game spring season he tallied 51 tackles (29 solo), had two interceptions and a trio of pass breakups. He had 28 additional tackles in four fall contests and a 64-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown against Mercer. In OVC play he ranks seventh in tackles per game (7.1) including having a season-best 13 against Tennessee Tech. Harper is the third JSU player to be named OVC Defensive Player of the Year, joining Devaunte Sigler (2014) and Darius Jackson (2016 and 2017). He is the first defensive back to earn the honor since Eastern Kentucky’s Derrick Huff in 2007.
Hood earned the second OVC Coach of the Year award of his career, joining the award he earned in 2008 when he was the head coach at Eastern Kentucky and led the Colonels to the OVC Championship. He is only the second OVC coach to win the award at multiple schools, joining Boots Donnelly who earned the honor at Austin Peay and Middle Tennessee. Hood was named MSU head coach in December 2019, and before he got to officially practice with his new team, had to endure the COVID-19 pandemic which delayed his first game with the Racers to the spring. Hood led the Racers to five-straight wins to start the year (the best start to a season for the Racers since 1995) and finished the year 5-2 in the OVC’s spring conference season. It marked the first winning season for the team since 2011 (and only the third winning season since 2005) and first above .500 OVC mark since 2011. Along the way the team also earned its first national Top 25 ranking since 2011. Overall he is the first Murray State coach to earn the OVC Coach of the Year honor since 1996 when Houston Nutt won the award for the second-straight season. Other MSU coaches to take home the honor include Bill Furgerson (1968) and Mike Gottfred (1979). The OVC Coach of the Year award is named after Eastern Kentucky legend Roy Kidd, a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, who won the award a record 10 times during his career (1964-2002) and retired with 314 victories, the second-most in I-AA/FCS history.
The All-OVC first-team offense was highlighted by Wilson, the Offensive Player of the Year, who earned the second All-OVC honor of his career (he was a second-team pick last year). Wilson was joined at the wide receiver position by UT Martin junior
Colton Dowell (40 catches, 459 yards, 4 TDs), Murray State junior
LaMartez Brooks (37 catches, 429 yards, 4 TDs) and Southeast Missouri senior
Zack Smith (37 catches, 399 yards, 4 TDs). Jacksonville State junior
Zion Webb earned first-team quarterback honors after moving into the starter’s role this spring. In Conference play he had 1409 passing yards and 11 touchdowns while rushing for four other scores. Starling, the OVC Co-Freshman of the Year, was one of two running back picks, joining Southeast Missouri sophomore
Geno Hess. Hess had 11 rushing touchdowns this year, the most of any FCS player, while tallying 529 rushing yards. Tennessee State junior
Benjamin Johnson was the pick at fullback while Jacksonville State senior
Trae Barry grabbed tight end honors. Barry (14 catches, 220 yards, 1 TD) was also a first-team pick in 2018. This season the offensive line position was not voted on by specific position and included seven individuals. The selections included Jacksonville State sophomore
Tylan Grable and junior
Cam Hill, Murray State junior
Levi Nesler and senior
Jacob Vance, Southeast Missouri senior
Jaden Rosenthall, Austin Peay sophomore
Bucky Williams and Tennessee State senior
Cam Durley.
The first-team defense was headlined by Harper, the OVC Defensive Player of the Year. He was joined at the safety position by UT Martin junior
Deven Sims (59 tackles, 4 PBU) as well as by two cornerbacks in Murray State sophomore
Marcis Floyd (32 tackles, 3 INT) and UTM graduate student
Jay Woods (23 tackles, 9 PBU). The defensive backs were rounded out by Austin Peay senior
Kordell Jackson (36 tackles, 1 INT, QBH) last year’s FCS ADA National Defensive Back of the Year. The defensive line included Jacksonville State junior end
DJ Coleman (25 tackles, 4.0 sacks, 7 QBH), Tennessee Tech senior end
Chris Tucker (34 tackles, 3.5 sacks), Southeast Missouri senior tackle
Bryson Donnell (36 tackles, 4 QBH) and Tennessee State sophomore tackle
Davoan Hawkins (32 tackles, 9.0 TFL, 5.0 sacks). The linebacker grouping included Jacksonville State freshman
Jaylen Swain (32 tackles, 7.0 TFL) and Murray State junior
Scotty Humpich (24 tackles, 2.0 sacks) at the outside spots, and Murray State junior
Eric Samuta (64 tackles, 1 INT), Eastern Illinois sophomore
Jason Johnson (66 tackles, 6.0 TFL) and Austin Peay junior
Jack McDonald (52 tackles, 8.5 TFL) at the inside positions.
The first-team specialists included Tennessee State junior kicker
Antonio Zita (14 made FGs), Southeast Missouri freshman punter
Zach Haynes (41.9 yards/punt) Jacksonville State freshman kick returner
Michael Pettway (27.2 yards/return) and Murray State senior punt returner
Malik Honeycutt (11.2 yards/return). Zita kicked five field goals of 50 yards or longer this season including tying the OVC record with a 62-yarder against Eastern Illinois.
The All-OVC second-team offensive unit included Murray State’s junior quarterback
Preston Rice (1294 yards, 15 combined touchdowns) and freshman running back
Damonta Witherspoon (513 yards, 5 TDs) in addition to Jacksonville State junior running back
Josh Samuel (456 yards, 5 TDs) in the backfield. The wide receiver picks included Tennessee State junior
Cam Wyche (22 catches, 456 yards, 2 TDs), UT Martin senior
Donnell Williams (29 catches, 445 yards, 3 TDs), Murray State sophomore
Jacob Bell (21 catches, 305 yards, 1 TD) and Jacksonville State sophomore
Ahmad Edwards (11 catches, 195 yards, 3 TDs). UT Martin senior
Rodney Williams (30 catches, 327 yards, 4 TD’s) earned the nod at tight end. The offensive line included a trio of Austin Peay juniors in
Colby McKee,
Robert Holmes and
Seth Johnson, UT Martin junior
Matthan Hatchie, Jacksonville State junior
Zach Cangelosi, Southeast Missouri junior
Shyron Rodgers and Tennessee Tech senior
Mike Rhoades.
The second-team defense included Jacksonville State senior
Umstead Sanders (14 tackles, 10 QBH) and freshman
Lamuel Gordon (12 tackles, 1.5 sacks) and Murray State’s
Izaiah Reed (23 tackles, 4.5 TFL, 3.0 sacks) and
Ethan Edmondson (26 tackles, 5.0 TFL) on the defensive line. JSU also had two linebacker picks in sophomore
Marshall Clark (49 tackles, 6.5 TFL) and junior
Markail Benton (32 tackles, 2.0 sacks); that duo was joined by Murray State sophomore
Alec Long (61 tackles), Southeast Missouri senior
Omardrick Douglas (20 tackles, 2.5 TFL) and Tennessee State junior
James Green (28 tackles, 5.0 TFL). Green’s brother, sophomore defensive back
Josh Green (39 tackles, 3 INT) earned second-team honors as a safety and was joined at the defensive back spot by Eastern Illinois senior
Mark Williams (22 tackles, 2 INT), Tennessee Tech junior
Josh Reliford (41 tackles, 2 INT), Jacksonville State junior
Jacquez Payton (17 tackles, 2 INT) and UT Martin senior
JaQuez Akins (38 tackles, 4 PBU).
The second-team specialists included UT Martin freshman kicker
Tyler Larco (10-of-12 FGs), Tennessee State junior punter
Kaleb Mosley (40.1 yards/punt), Eastern Illinois redshirt freshman kick returner
Matt Judd (24.8 yards/kick return) and Southeast Missouri senior punt returner
Shabari Davis (10.3 yards/punt return).
Eleven (11) 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 undergraduate transfer) in the OVC. Nine of the 11 selections were either first or second-team selections. The two other individuals were Austin Peay sophomore running back
Brian Snead (434 yards, 4 TDs) and Tennessee Tech freshman cornerback
Jyron Gilmore (29 tackles, 4 PBU).
2020-21 All-OVC Football Teams and Award Winners
OVC Offensive Player of the Year: DeAngelo Wilson (WR), Austin Peay
OVC Defensive Player of the Year: Nicario Harper (SAF), Jacksonville State
OVC Co-Freshman of the Year: Draylen Ellis (QB), Austin Peay
OVC Co-Freshman of the Year: Devon Starling (RB), Tennessee State
Roy Kidd OVC Coach of the Year: Dean Hood, Murray State
FIRST-TEAM OFFENSE
QB - Zion Webb, Jacksonville State
RB - Devon Starling, Tennessee State
RB - Geno Hess, Southeast Missouri
FB - Ben Johnson, Tennessee State
WR - DeAngelo Wilson, Austin Peay
WR - Colton Dowell, UT Martin
WR - LaMartez Brooks, Murray State
WR - Zack Smith, Southeast Missouri
TE - Trae Barry, Jacksonville State
OT - Tylan Grable, Jacksonville State
OG - Jaden Rosenthall, Southeast Missouri
OC - Levi Nesler, Murray State
OG - Cam Hill, Jacksonville State
OT - Bucky Williams, Austin Peay
OT - Cam Durley, Tennessee State
OT - Jacob Vance, Murray State
FIRST-TEAM DEFENSE
DE - DJ Coleman, Jacksonville State
DT - Davoan Hawkins, Tennessee State
DT - Bryson Donnell, Southeast Missouri
DE - Chris Tucker, Tennessee Tech
OLB - Jaylen Swain, Jacksonville State
ILB - Eric Samuta, Murray State
ILB - Jason Johnson, Eastern Illinois
ILB - Jack McDonald, Austin Peay
OLB - Scotty Humpich, Murray State
CB - Marcis Floyd, Murray State
SAF - Nicario Harper, Jacksonville State
SAF - Deven Sims, UT Martin
CB - Jay Woods, UT Martin
NICKEL - Kordell Jackson, Austin Peay
FIRST-TEAM SPECIALISTS
K - Antonio Zita, Tennessee State
P - Zach Haynes, Southeast Missouri
KR - Michael Pettway, Jacksonville State
PR - Malik Honeycutt, Murray State
SECOND-TEAM OFFENSE
QB - Preston Rice, Murray State
RB - Damonta Witherspoon, Murray State
RB - Josh Samuel, Jacksonville State
WR - Cam Wyche, Tennessee State
WR - Donnell Williams, UT Martin
WR - Jacob Bell, Murray State
WR - Ahmad Edwards, Jacksonville State
TE - Rodney Williams II, UT Martin
OC - Shyron Rodgers, Southeast Missouri
OC - Matthan Hatchie, UT Martin
OC - Zack Cangelosi, Jacksonville State
OG - Colby McKee, Austin Peay
OT - Robert Holmes, Austin Peay
OG - Mike Rhoades, Tennessee Tech
OG - Seth Johnson, Austin Peay
SECOND-TEAM DEFENSE
DE - Umstead Sanders, Jacksonville State
DT - Izaiah Reed, Murray State
DT - Lemuel Gordon, Jacksonville State
DE - Ethan Edmondson, Murray State
OLB - James Green, Tennessee State
ILB - Marshall Clark, Jacksonville State
ILB - Alec Long, Murray State
ILB - Markail Benton, Jacksonville State
OLB - Omardrick Douglas, Southeast Missouri
CB - Mark Williams, Eastern Illinois
SAF - Josh Green, Tennessee State
SAF - Josh Reliford, Tennessee Tech
CB - Jacquez Payton, Jacksonville State
NICKEL - JaQuez Akins, UT Martin
SECOND-TEAM SPECIALISTS
K - Tyler Larco, UT Martin
P - Kaleb Mosley, Tennessee State
KR - Matt Judd, Eastern Illinois
PR - Shabari Davis, Southeast Missouri
ALL-NEWCOMER TEAM
QB - Draylen Ellis, Austin Peay
RB - Brian Snead, Austin Peay
SAF - Nicario Harper, Jacksonville State
OLB - Jaylen Swain, Jacksonville State
RB - Josh Samuel, Jacksonville State
RB - Damonta Witherspoon, Murray State
DE - Ethan Edmondson, Murray State
DT - Davoan Hawkins, Tennessee State
RB - Devon Starling, Tennessee State
WR - Cam Wyche, Tennessee State
CB - Jyron Gilmore, Tennessee Tech
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.
NOTE: First and Second-Team Offensive Line was not voted on by specific position.