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.

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