NASHVILLE, TENN. - The Tennessee State football team landed 11 players and 12 total selections on the 2012 All-Ohio Valley Conference Football Team in voting conducted by league head coaches and sports information directors, the league announced on Tuesday.
Tennessee State led all OVC teams with six first-team selections, including five on the offensive side of the ball.
Running back Trabis Ward, tight end A.C. Leonard, Center Sherman Carter, Guard Kadeem Edwards and Tackle Rogers Gaines were selected to the first-team offense, while Defensive Back Steven Godbolt III represented TSU on first-team defense.
Second team All-OVC honors went to Defensive Lineman Antonio Harper, Linebacker Nick Thrasher, Defensive Back Daniel Fitzpatrick and Kicker Jamin Godfrey.
The Tigers also had a pair of tight ends make the All-Newcomer Team in Leonard and Joe Bowens.
"It's a great honor to have 11 players selected to the All-OVC Team," said TSU head coach Rod Reed. "A lot of those guys are underclassmen, which we are excited about. I am also happy for the seniors (Carter and Gaines) who deserve this honor. Overall, this shows where we are in our program and how bright the future is here at TSU."
No FCS back carried the ball more than Trabis Ward, who had 309 carries for 1,422 yards (8th nationally), 1,670 all purpose yards and 15 touchdowns in leading TSU to an 8-3 mark. The 1,422 rushing yards are the third-most in TSU history in a single season.
Leonard, in his first season with TSU after transferring from Florida, was the first-team tight end selection after catching 51 passes for 733 yards and six touchdowns. The 733 yards were the most by a tight end at the FCS level this year and was the fourth most throughout all four divisions (FBS, FCS, D-II and D-III) of college football.
The first-team offensive line was dominated by the Tigers who had three of the five selections, each of who moved up from the second-team a season ago, in Carter, Gaines and Edwards. TSU led the OVC in rushing at 175.7 yards per game.
Steven Godbolt, the lone sophomore on the defensive unit, picked off six passes in 10 games to rank second nationally in interceptions per game (0.60). He had two separate streaks during the 2012 season of three consecutive games with an interception.
Three of TSU's four second-team members are on the defensive side of the ball, including LB Nick Thrasher. Thrasher led the Tigers with 105 tackles and nine tackles for loss. The sophomore was tied for third in the FCS with 73 solo tackles.
Junior DL Antonio Harper recorded 36 tackles, including 3.5 sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss. Safety Daniel Fitzpatrick had a strong sophomore campaign totaling 61 tackles, second on the team, along with an interception and eight pass breakups.
Kicker Jamin Godfrey earned second-team honors as he handled kickoffs, place kicking and punting duties for the Tigers. The junior's 16 field goals are tied for the fourth most in the FCS. He was named National Placekicker of the Week on Oct. 29 after setting a school record by going a perfect 5-of-5 in field goals in a 22-21 win over Tennessee Tech. He also has the most field goals in school history.
Joe Bowens, along with fellow tight end Leonard, landed on the All-Newcomer Team. The freshman from Greenville, S.C. had 28 catches, 348 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Eastern Kentucky led the way with 13 total selections across the first-team, second-team and All-Newcomer squads. TSU and Eastern Illinois were second with 12 total selections apiece.
2012 All-OVC Football Team
OVC Offensive Player of the Year: Erik Lora (WR), Eastern Illinois
OVC Defensive Player of the Year: Blake Peiffer (LB), Southeast Missouri
OVC Freshman of the Year: Scott Lathrop (QB), Southeast Missouri
OVC Roy Kidd Coach of the Year: Dino Babers, Eastern Illinois
FIRST-TEAM OFFENSE
QB - Casey Brockman, Murray State
RB - Matt Denham, Eastern Kentucky
RB - Trabis Ward, Tennessee State
WR - Erik Lora, Eastern Illinois
WR - Quentin Sims, UT Martin
TE - A.C. Leonard, Tennessee State
C - Sherman Carter, Tennessee State
OG - Collin Seibert, Eastern Illinois
OG - Kadeem Edwards, Tennessee State
OT - Aaron Adams, Eastern Kentucky
OT - Rogers Gaines, Tennessee State
FIRST-TEAM DEFENSE
DL - Artavious Dowdelll, Eastern Illinois
DL - Robert Knowles, Eastern Kentucky
DL - DeMitrio Tyson, Jacksonville State
DL - Montori Hughes, UT Martin
LB - Anthony Brown, Eastern Kentucky
LB - Blake Peiffer, Southeast Missouri
LB - Ben Johnson, UT Martin
DB - Nick Beard, Eastern Illinois
DB - Brooklyn Fox, Eastern Kentucky
DB - Tylor Brock, Southeast Missouri
DB - Steven Godbolt III, Tennessee State
FIRST-TEAM SPECIALISTS
K - Cameron Berra, Eastern Illinois
P - Chad Zinchini, Tennessee Tech
RS - Walter Powell, Murray State
SECOND-TEAM OFFENSE
QB - Jimmy Garoppolo, Eastern Illinois
QB - Derek Carr, UT Martin
RB - Jake Walker, Eastern Illinois
RB - Levi Terrell, Southeast Missouri
WR - Tyrone Goard, Eastern Kentucky
WR - Walter Powell, Murray State
TE - Sam Hendricks, Eastern Illinois
C - Kevin Kapellas, Eastern Illinois
OG - Justin Meredith, Eastern Kentucky
OG - Tori Mobley, Jacksonville State
OT - Patrick Ford, Eastern Kentucky
OT - Roderick Tomlin, Murray State
SECOND-TEAM DEFENSE
DL - Roosevelt Holliday, Eastern Illinois
DL - Pat Wertz, Eastern Illinois
DL - Shawn Shupperd, Eastern Kentucky
DL - Antonio Harper, Tennessee State
DL - DJ Roberts, UT Martin
LB - Ichiro Vance, Eastern Kentucky
LB - Kevin Hamlin, Eastern Kentucky
LB - Nick Thrasher, Tennessee State
DB - Justin Bell, Eastern Kentucky
DB - Brandon Stanley, Eastern Kentucky
DB - Daniel Fitzpatrick, Tennessee State
DB - Thad Williams, UT Martin
SECOND-TEAM SPECIALISTS
K - Jamin Godfrey, Tennessee State
P - James Satterfield, UT Martin
RS - Ladarius Vanlier, Tennessee Tech
RS - Jason McNair, UT Martin
ALL-NEWCOMER TEAM
RB - Reco Williams, Austin Peay
LB - LeQuince McCall, Eastern Illinois
DB - Jermaine Hough, Jacksonville State
RB - Jaamal Berry, Murray State
QB - Scott Lathrop, Southeast Missouri
TE - A.C. Leonard, Tennessee State
TE - Joe Bowens, Tennessee State
WR - Da’Rick Rogers, Tennessee Tech
RS/RB - Ladarius Vanlier, Tennessee Tech
P - Chad Zinchini, Tennessee Tech
WR - Jeremy Butler, UT Martin
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. There were 14 players on the All-OVC second-team (2 QB’s, 5 DL’s, 2 RS’s) due to ties in voting.
Follow TSU Athletics on Facebook.com/TSUTigers, Twitter @TSU_Tigers and YouTube
-- TSU TIGERS --
