Gamecocks Sweep OVC Football Awards, Place 17 on All-OVC
11/22/2016 10:58:00 AM | Football
COMPLETE RELEASE & ALL-OVC TEAMS FROM OVC
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Jacksonville State became the first team to sweep all four of the Ohio Valley Conference's major football awards on Tuesday, when the Gamecocks also placed 17 players on the All-OVC Teams.
With an unprecedented third-straight unbeaten conference season now in their pockets, the No. 2 Gamecocks (10-1, 7-0 OVC) dominated the all-conference squads for the third-straight year. It marks the second-straight year JSU has had 17 All-OVC players after placing a record 18 on the squads in 2014.
John Grass earned his third-straight Roy Kidd OVC Coach of the Year Award, while senior quarterback Eli Jenkins was named the OVC Offensive Player of the Year for the second-straight season. Junior defensive end Darius Jackson was named the OVC Defensive Player of the Year, and safety Marlon Bridges was named the OVC Freshman of the Year. It is the first time all four awards have gone to the same program since the inception of the Freshman of the Year Award in 2004.
Jenkins, Jackson and Bridges were all named to the All-OVC First Team, where they joined running back Roc Thomas, center Casey Dunn, offensive guard Justin Lea and offensive tackle Nick Johnson on offense. The first team defense also included defensive lineman Randy Robinson, nickel back Siran Neal, linebacker Joel McCandless and cornerback Jaylen Hill.
The All-OVC Second Team offense featured running back Josh Clemons, wide receiver Josh Barge, offensive guard Kyron Samuels and offensive tackle Dylan Cline. Defensive lineman Desmond Owino and cornerback Reggie Hall were named to the second team defense. Bridges and Thomas were also named to the OVC's All-Newcomer Team.
In just his third season at the helm of the Gamecocks, Grass continues to add to what has already been an historic head coaching tenure at JSU. He is the first coach in NCAA history to go unbeaten in league play through his first three seasons and becomes the first coach in OVC history to win three-straight outright coach of the Year honors. The reigning AFCA National Coach of the Year is now 33-5 as the Gamecocks' head coach, the second-best start to a career in FCS history.
Grass led JSU to its third-straight outright OVC crown, the first time the league had seen the feat since Eastern Kentucky did it four years in a row from 1981-84. Grass and the Gamecocks have won 24 consecutive OVC games, the longest active conference win streak in all of Division I and the second longest in OVC history. They also have won 31-straight regular-season games against non-FBS foes, with Grass' only regular season losses as a head coach coming at Michigan State, Auburn and LSU.
Jenkins, a 6-foot-2 senior from Birmingham, becomes the first back-to-back winner of the OVC Offensive Player of the Year Award since Tony Romo in 2002. He is also the OVC's first three-time first-team quarterback since Romo did it from 2000-02. In 11 games this season he accounted for 2,762 yards and 22 touchdowns, throwing for 1,967 yards and 10 scores while running for 12 touchdowns and 795 yards. He was an All-American in 2015 after leading JSU to the FCS National Championship Game. He finishes his four-year career as JSU's starting quarterback without ever losing a regular-season game to a non-FBS foe.
He is already JSU's career leader in total offense with 11,119, second-most in OVC history and 3,431 more than any other player in JSU history. His 3,607 career rushing yards are second in school history and the 10th-most by a quarterback in FCS history. He has accounted for 87 career touchdowns, also a school record, and became the first Gamecock to be named the OVC's Male Athlete of the Year last year.
Jackson is a 6-foot-3 junior from Bessemer that has already had a record-breaking career at JSU. Through just three seasons, he is the school's career sacks leader with 20.5 and recently tied Chris Landrum for the school's career record for tackles for a loss with 39.5. He was an all-conference pick last year and, like Jenkins, was picked by the league's coaches to win his respective award in the preseason.
The cog in the Gamecocks' pass rushing wheel, Jackson racked up 44 tackles, 15.0 for a loss and 10.0 sacks, while also netting an interception, recovering two fumbles, forcing one fumble and tallying 11 quarterback hurries. He ranks ninth nationally in sacks and 31st in tackles for a loss. He leads a JSU defense that is ranked second nationally in total defense, allowing just 252.6 yards per game.
Bridges stormed onto the scene in his first year in a Gamecock uniform, becoming the second Gamecock to win the OVC Freshman of the Year Award in the last three years (Lea in 2014). A 6-foot-1 redshirt freshman from Lanett, Bridges is not only the leading tackler on the No. 2 defense in FCS, but he is also one of the nation's best at creating turnovers.
He is tied for first in the nation with five forced fumbles and has intercepted four passes, the third-most by a freshman in all of the FCS. Bridges has 79 tackles in 11 games in his first collegiate season, tops among all OVC freshmen. He is a key component in a defensive secondary that ranks fifth in FCS in interceptions, 13th nationally in passing yards allowed and 13th in turnovers gained.
That defense dominated the 2016 All-OVC defensive units, placing six on the first team and two on the second team. Sophomore Randy Robinson, a 6-foot-2 lineman from Lovejoy, Ga., joined Jackson on the first team defensive line, Robinson's first career all-conference mention. He notched 30 tackles in the middle of JSU's defensive front, including 7.5 for a loss and 4.5 sacks.
Siran Neal, a 6-foot-1 junior from Eufaula that moved from safety to the nickel position prior to the 2016 season, also earned his first All-OVC honor. He had a breakout season in 2016, grabbing 75 tackles, second on the team, while also intercepting a pass and forcing a fumble. He was second on the team in tackles for a loss with 11.5.
McCandless, an OVC All-Newcomer in 2015 in his first season after transferring from Hinds Community College, earned a spot on the All-OVC First Team as a junior. The 6-foot Birmingham native recorded 56 tackles, seven for a loss, while also picking up 1.5 sacks and an interception.
Joining Bridges in the first team defensive backfield is senior cornerback Jaylen Hill, who also grabbed first team honors for the first time. He led the OVC in interceptions with six and also had a league-best 181 yards from interception returns. The 6-foot Marietta, Ga., native's 0.5 interceptions per game ranks sixth nationally. He also had 26 tackles and 12 pass break ups.
Owino was an OVC All-Newcomer pick a year ago after transferring from Navarro College in Texas. The 6-foot-5 senior from Nairobi, Kenya, helped Robinson fill the middle of JSU's defensive front and notched 18 tackles, 4.5 for a loss, 4.0 sacks and three quarterback hurries.
Hall rounds out the All-OVC mentions for the league's top defense, grabbing his first all-conference honor. The 6-foot-3 cornerback from Opelika notched 26 tackles, two interceptions, eight pass break ups and returned one pick 88 yards for a score in the fourth quarter of a win at Eastern Kentucky.
Thomas, a 5-foot-11 junior from Oxford, dazzled in his first season at JSU after transferring from Auburn during the summer. Rejoining his former high school coach from Oxford High School in Grass, he fit right into JSU's offense. Thomas ran for 782 yards and seven touchdowns in nine games, finishing second in the OVC with 86.9 rushing yards per game. He also had 16 catches for 173 yards and a score.
All five of JSU's starting offensive linemen grabbed All-OVC honors in 2016, with Dunn, Lea and Johnson accounting for three of the five first-team All-OVC offensive line spots. The unit, which featured the same five starters in every game, paved the way for the top offense and the No. 1 rushing offense in the OVC in 2016. Dunn, an All-American from Trussville in 2015, earns his second-straight first team honor, while Henagar native Lea grabbed his third All-OVC nod in three years. Johnson, a native of Dadeville, grabbed his first all-conference nod in his senior campaign.
Samuels, a senior from Fairhope that earned a fifth year just before the start of the season because of an injury that sidelined him in his freshman year of junior college, grabbed his first All-OVC nod. Cline, a native from McCalla, also appeared on the All-OVC squad for the first time after starting every game at right tackle.
Clemons, a 5-foot-10 native of Fayetteville, Ga., also earned a medical hardship waiver before the season that extended his collegiate career. The Kentucky transfer made the most of it, running for 731 yards and nine touchdowns, ranking fifth in the OVC with 66.5 rushing yards per game. It marks Clemons' first all-conference honors.
Barge claimed his fourth All-OVC mention in his four-year JSU career, even after an early injury sidelined him for the first few games of the season. The 6-foot-1 native of Carrollton, Ga., fought through injuries to catch 39 passes for 600 yards and two touchdowns and extending his school records in receptions to 245 and receiving yards to 3,549. He is now second in OVC history in receptions and third in receiving yards.
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Jacksonville State became the first team to sweep all four of the Ohio Valley Conference's major football awards on Tuesday, when the Gamecocks also placed 17 players on the All-OVC Teams.
With an unprecedented third-straight unbeaten conference season now in their pockets, the No. 2 Gamecocks (10-1, 7-0 OVC) dominated the all-conference squads for the third-straight year. It marks the second-straight year JSU has had 17 All-OVC players after placing a record 18 on the squads in 2014.
John Grass earned his third-straight Roy Kidd OVC Coach of the Year Award, while senior quarterback Eli Jenkins was named the OVC Offensive Player of the Year for the second-straight season. Junior defensive end Darius Jackson was named the OVC Defensive Player of the Year, and safety Marlon Bridges was named the OVC Freshman of the Year. It is the first time all four awards have gone to the same program since the inception of the Freshman of the Year Award in 2004.
Jenkins, Jackson and Bridges were all named to the All-OVC First Team, where they joined running back Roc Thomas, center Casey Dunn, offensive guard Justin Lea and offensive tackle Nick Johnson on offense. The first team defense also included defensive lineman Randy Robinson, nickel back Siran Neal, linebacker Joel McCandless and cornerback Jaylen Hill.
The All-OVC Second Team offense featured running back Josh Clemons, wide receiver Josh Barge, offensive guard Kyron Samuels and offensive tackle Dylan Cline. Defensive lineman Desmond Owino and cornerback Reggie Hall were named to the second team defense. Bridges and Thomas were also named to the OVC's All-Newcomer Team.
In just his third season at the helm of the Gamecocks, Grass continues to add to what has already been an historic head coaching tenure at JSU. He is the first coach in NCAA history to go unbeaten in league play through his first three seasons and becomes the first coach in OVC history to win three-straight outright coach of the Year honors. The reigning AFCA National Coach of the Year is now 33-5 as the Gamecocks' head coach, the second-best start to a career in FCS history.
Grass led JSU to its third-straight outright OVC crown, the first time the league had seen the feat since Eastern Kentucky did it four years in a row from 1981-84. Grass and the Gamecocks have won 24 consecutive OVC games, the longest active conference win streak in all of Division I and the second longest in OVC history. They also have won 31-straight regular-season games against non-FBS foes, with Grass' only regular season losses as a head coach coming at Michigan State, Auburn and LSU.
Jenkins, a 6-foot-2 senior from Birmingham, becomes the first back-to-back winner of the OVC Offensive Player of the Year Award since Tony Romo in 2002. He is also the OVC's first three-time first-team quarterback since Romo did it from 2000-02. In 11 games this season he accounted for 2,762 yards and 22 touchdowns, throwing for 1,967 yards and 10 scores while running for 12 touchdowns and 795 yards. He was an All-American in 2015 after leading JSU to the FCS National Championship Game. He finishes his four-year career as JSU's starting quarterback without ever losing a regular-season game to a non-FBS foe.
He is already JSU's career leader in total offense with 11,119, second-most in OVC history and 3,431 more than any other player in JSU history. His 3,607 career rushing yards are second in school history and the 10th-most by a quarterback in FCS history. He has accounted for 87 career touchdowns, also a school record, and became the first Gamecock to be named the OVC's Male Athlete of the Year last year.
Jackson is a 6-foot-3 junior from Bessemer that has already had a record-breaking career at JSU. Through just three seasons, he is the school's career sacks leader with 20.5 and recently tied Chris Landrum for the school's career record for tackles for a loss with 39.5. He was an all-conference pick last year and, like Jenkins, was picked by the league's coaches to win his respective award in the preseason.
The cog in the Gamecocks' pass rushing wheel, Jackson racked up 44 tackles, 15.0 for a loss and 10.0 sacks, while also netting an interception, recovering two fumbles, forcing one fumble and tallying 11 quarterback hurries. He ranks ninth nationally in sacks and 31st in tackles for a loss. He leads a JSU defense that is ranked second nationally in total defense, allowing just 252.6 yards per game.
Bridges stormed onto the scene in his first year in a Gamecock uniform, becoming the second Gamecock to win the OVC Freshman of the Year Award in the last three years (Lea in 2014). A 6-foot-1 redshirt freshman from Lanett, Bridges is not only the leading tackler on the No. 2 defense in FCS, but he is also one of the nation's best at creating turnovers.
He is tied for first in the nation with five forced fumbles and has intercepted four passes, the third-most by a freshman in all of the FCS. Bridges has 79 tackles in 11 games in his first collegiate season, tops among all OVC freshmen. He is a key component in a defensive secondary that ranks fifth in FCS in interceptions, 13th nationally in passing yards allowed and 13th in turnovers gained.
That defense dominated the 2016 All-OVC defensive units, placing six on the first team and two on the second team. Sophomore Randy Robinson, a 6-foot-2 lineman from Lovejoy, Ga., joined Jackson on the first team defensive line, Robinson's first career all-conference mention. He notched 30 tackles in the middle of JSU's defensive front, including 7.5 for a loss and 4.5 sacks.
Siran Neal, a 6-foot-1 junior from Eufaula that moved from safety to the nickel position prior to the 2016 season, also earned his first All-OVC honor. He had a breakout season in 2016, grabbing 75 tackles, second on the team, while also intercepting a pass and forcing a fumble. He was second on the team in tackles for a loss with 11.5.
McCandless, an OVC All-Newcomer in 2015 in his first season after transferring from Hinds Community College, earned a spot on the All-OVC First Team as a junior. The 6-foot Birmingham native recorded 56 tackles, seven for a loss, while also picking up 1.5 sacks and an interception.
Joining Bridges in the first team defensive backfield is senior cornerback Jaylen Hill, who also grabbed first team honors for the first time. He led the OVC in interceptions with six and also had a league-best 181 yards from interception returns. The 6-foot Marietta, Ga., native's 0.5 interceptions per game ranks sixth nationally. He also had 26 tackles and 12 pass break ups.
Owino was an OVC All-Newcomer pick a year ago after transferring from Navarro College in Texas. The 6-foot-5 senior from Nairobi, Kenya, helped Robinson fill the middle of JSU's defensive front and notched 18 tackles, 4.5 for a loss, 4.0 sacks and three quarterback hurries.
Hall rounds out the All-OVC mentions for the league's top defense, grabbing his first all-conference honor. The 6-foot-3 cornerback from Opelika notched 26 tackles, two interceptions, eight pass break ups and returned one pick 88 yards for a score in the fourth quarter of a win at Eastern Kentucky.
Thomas, a 5-foot-11 junior from Oxford, dazzled in his first season at JSU after transferring from Auburn during the summer. Rejoining his former high school coach from Oxford High School in Grass, he fit right into JSU's offense. Thomas ran for 782 yards and seven touchdowns in nine games, finishing second in the OVC with 86.9 rushing yards per game. He also had 16 catches for 173 yards and a score.
All five of JSU's starting offensive linemen grabbed All-OVC honors in 2016, with Dunn, Lea and Johnson accounting for three of the five first-team All-OVC offensive line spots. The unit, which featured the same five starters in every game, paved the way for the top offense and the No. 1 rushing offense in the OVC in 2016. Dunn, an All-American from Trussville in 2015, earns his second-straight first team honor, while Henagar native Lea grabbed his third All-OVC nod in three years. Johnson, a native of Dadeville, grabbed his first all-conference nod in his senior campaign.
Samuels, a senior from Fairhope that earned a fifth year just before the start of the season because of an injury that sidelined him in his freshman year of junior college, grabbed his first All-OVC nod. Cline, a native from McCalla, also appeared on the All-OVC squad for the first time after starting every game at right tackle.
Clemons, a 5-foot-10 native of Fayetteville, Ga., also earned a medical hardship waiver before the season that extended his collegiate career. The Kentucky transfer made the most of it, running for 731 yards and nine touchdowns, ranking fifth in the OVC with 66.5 rushing yards per game. It marks Clemons' first all-conference honors.
Barge claimed his fourth All-OVC mention in his four-year JSU career, even after an early injury sidelined him for the first few games of the season. The 6-foot-1 native of Carrollton, Ga., fought through injuries to catch 39 passes for 600 yards and two touchdowns and extending his school records in receptions to 245 and receiving yards to 3,549. He is now second in OVC history in receptions and third in receiving yards.
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