Jim Fuller Named Jax State Athletic Director
7/24/2003 5:51:00 AM
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Jacksonville State two-time All-American punter Richie Rhodes has been named to the Ohio Valley Conference pre-season All-Conference squad and senior co-captain Levet Jones was named to the offensive line, the conference office released on Monday.
Southeast Missouri led all schools with seven players selected to the 2003 Preseason All-OVC football team in voting by the league’s head football coaches and sports information directors. Twenty-one players who earned either first or second-team All-OVC honors a year ago were among 26 selected to the squad. Eastern Illinois placed five players on the preseason all-conference team, while Eastern Kentucky and Tennessee State each put four on the list.
Leading the offensive unit is senior quarterback Jack Tomco of Southeast Missouri, who led the league and finished fifth in the nation with a 152.9 quarterback rating in
2002. Making the team at running back were Southeast’s Corey Kinsey, who ran for 1,067 yards last year, and Andre Raymond, who has been an All-OVC selection at three different positions in his career at EIU. At wide receiver, Murray State senior Willie Ponder (69-1,005 yds, 6 TD’s) and Tennessee State senior C.J. Johnson (45-1,034 yards, 9 TD’s) were near-unanimous choices. On the offensive line, Jones of Jacksonville State joins four players who earned all-league honors a year ago.
Ten of the 12 players on the defensive side received All-OVC accolades last season. Senior linebacker Nick Ricks of Eastern Illinois, who was the 2002 OVC Defensive
Player of the Year, was a first-team selection last season as were Eastern Kentucky junior linebacker Justen Rivers and Tennessee State senior defensive backs Scott
Cunningham and Deon Giddens.
Including Rivers, Eastern Kentucky placed three of its front seven on the squad, including defensive linemen Mike Dunn, a senior, and junior Chad Dewberry, who was an All-OVC second-teamer last season. Southeast Missouri also had three players on the defensive unit, including senior defensive lineman Ryan Roth and senior defensive backs Dimitri Patterson and Marco Tipton, both all-conference players in 2002.
Tennessee State junior placekicker Joey Hudak earns a spot on the team after being named second-team All-OVC last year. A pair of newcomers to the league take the
other two special teams spots in Jacksonville State junior punter Rhodes, a two-time All-American, and Samford sophomore kick returner Cortland Finnegan, who was
an All-American with the Bulldogs last season.
Southeast Missouri led all schools with seven players selected to the 2003 Preseason All-OVC football team in voting by the league’s head football coaches and sports information directors. Twenty-one players who earned either first or second-team All-OVC honors a year ago were among 26 selected to the squad. Eastern Illinois placed five players on the preseason all-conference team, while Eastern Kentucky and Tennessee State each put four on the list.
Leading the offensive unit is senior quarterback Jack Tomco of Southeast Missouri, who led the league and finished fifth in the nation with a 152.9 quarterback rating in
2002. Making the team at running back were Southeast’s Corey Kinsey, who ran for 1,067 yards last year, and Andre Raymond, who has been an All-OVC selection at three different positions in his career at EIU. At wide receiver, Murray State senior Willie Ponder (69-1,005 yds, 6 TD’s) and Tennessee State senior C.J. Johnson (45-1,034 yards, 9 TD’s) were near-unanimous choices. On the offensive line, Jones of Jacksonville State joins four players who earned all-league honors a year ago.
Ten of the 12 players on the defensive side received All-OVC accolades last season. Senior linebacker Nick Ricks of Eastern Illinois, who was the 2002 OVC Defensive
Player of the Year, was a first-team selection last season as were Eastern Kentucky junior linebacker Justen Rivers and Tennessee State senior defensive backs Scott
Cunningham and Deon Giddens.
Including Rivers, Eastern Kentucky placed three of its front seven on the squad, including defensive linemen Mike Dunn, a senior, and junior Chad Dewberry, who was an All-OVC second-teamer last season. Southeast Missouri also had three players on the defensive unit, including senior defensive lineman Ryan Roth and senior defensive backs Dimitri Patterson and Marco Tipton, both all-conference players in 2002.
Tennessee State junior placekicker Joey Hudak earns a spot on the team after being named second-team All-OVC last year. A pair of newcomers to the league take the
other two special teams spots in Jacksonville State junior punter Rhodes, a two-time All-American, and Samford sophomore kick returner Cortland Finnegan, who was
an All-American with the Bulldogs last season.
Sunday, May 17
Saturday, May 16
Wednesday, May 13
Sunday, May 10
