Jim Jackson: 2012 OVC Football Media Day

• 2012 NCAA Football Rules Changes (PDF)

With the football season set to begin this week, there are several new rules changes for collegiate football.

At the recent OVC Football Media Day Jim Jackson, OVC Coordinator of Football Officiating, discussed some of those changes and the state of officiating in the Conference.

The below video discusses those changes. Also see the PDF at the top of the page that goes into more detail on the differences this season.

UT Martin: 2012 OVC Football Media Day

UT Martin was picked to finish sixth in the OVC this season in the league's preseason poll.

Now in his seventh season, head coach Jason Simpson has never had a losing season in Conference play; this season his squad returns seven offensive and eight defensive starters.

The offense is led by senior signal caller Derek Carr who threw for 2,482 yards and 25 touchdowns last year for the high-octane Skyhawk offense. The team also returns the running back tandem of Jason McNair and Tevin Barksdale who combined for 1,467 yards and 13 touchdowns last year. Returners on the defensive side of the ball for UTM include linebacker Ben Johnson, who had a team-best 96 tackles last season, and space-eater Montori Hughes, who had 30 tackles and 6.5 tackles-for-loss a year ago after transferring from the University of Tennessee.

BELOW VIDEOS
Head Coach Jason Simpson
RB Jason McNair
DL Montori Hughes

Tennessee Tech: 2012 OVC Football Media Day

Tennessee Tech was picked to finish fourth in the OVC this season in the league's preseason poll.

Entering last season not a lot of attention was on Tennessee Tech and head coach Watson Brown. But Brown, who enters his sixth season with the program in 2012 (and 28th year as a Division I head coach), led the Golden Eagles to a 6-2 OVC mark and a share of the program’s first OVC Championship since the 1975 season. The team also earned the league’s automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs, marking the first playoff appearance in Tennessee Tech history.

This season the Golden Eagles return seven offensive and seven defensive starters with senior quarterback Tre Lamb leading the way. Last season Lamb completed 65.2 percent of his passes for 2,342 yards and 17 touchdowns and also rushed for an additional six touchdowns. Defensively, Tech had three players selected to the Preseason All-OVC Team, including senior lineman Marcus Edwards, senior defensive back Will Johnson and sophomore defensive back Austin Tallant. Edwards had 9.5 tackles-for-loss and 5.0 sacks last year to go along with his 41 tackles. Johnson added 45 tackles and an interception in eight games, while Tallant led the team with 92 tackles in his freshman season.

BELOW VIDEOS
Head Coach Watson Brown
QB Tre Lamb
DB Will Johnson

Tennessee State: 2012 OVC Football Media Day

Tennessee State was picked to finish fifth in the OVC this season in the league's preseason poll.

After going winless in Conference play during his debut OVC in 2010, Tennessee State head coach Rod Reed got the Tigers on the right track last year, going 4-4 in the Conference, including an exciting 42-40 win over eventual OVC Champion Tennessee Tech.

This season Reed, a TSU alumnus, returns nine offensive and five defensive starters.

The offense will be led by sophomore quarterback Michael German who was a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award last season (the award is given to the top freshman in the FCS). After taking over the starter’s role German completed 140 passes for 1,889 yards and 12 touchdowns in helping TSU to a 4-2 record down the stretch. Junior defensive end Antonio Harper earned a spot on the Preseason All-OVC team this season after registering 44 tackles, 9.0 tackles-for-loss and 6.5 sacks a season ago. Sophomore return specialist Weldon Garlington is one of just two sophomores on the Preseason All-OVC Team; Garlington returned both a kickoff and a punt for a touchdown last season.

BELOW VIDEOS
Head Coach Rod Reed
RB Trabis Ward
LB Wilson Robinson

Southeast Missouri: 2012 OVC Football Media Day

Southeast Missouri was picked to finish seventh in the OVC this season in the league's preseason poll.

After winning the OVC Championship in 2010, Southeast Missouri finished 2-6 in OVC play last season under now seventh year head coach Tony Samuel, who won the Eddie Robinson Award as the National Coach of the Year in 2010.

Despite losing starting quarterback Matt Scheible, who became the first player in OVC history to having 4,000 passing and 2,000 rushing yards in a career, the Redhawks do return nine offensive and seven defensive starters. Among the returning starters on offense are four linemen, including All-American tackle Evan Conrad. The Southeast Missouri defensive unit will be keyed by senior linebacker Blake Peiffer who was named OVC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year and is on the Sports Network’s Buck Buchanan Award Watch List (the award is given to the top defensive player in the FCS). A season ago Peiffer ranked third nationally with 13.7 tackles/game, netting 151 total tackles, which set a Southeast Missouri single-season record.defensive unit; Majors finished last season with 88 tackles, ranking eighth in the OVC in stops (8.0/game).

BELOW VIDEOS
Head Coach Tony Samuel
LB Blake Peiffer
RB Levi Terrell

Murray State: 2012 OVC Football Media Day

Murray State was picked to finish third in the OVC this season in the league's preseason poll.

Murray State head coach Chris Hatcher has seen his program break numerous school and OVC records in the first two years of his “Hatch Attack” offense. The gaudy numbers have also led the team to wins, as the squad won six games in 2010 and seven games a season ago, marking the first back-to-back winning seasons for the program since 1999-2000.

The Racers return eight offensive and eight defensive starters this season including senior All-American quarterback Casey Brockman. Brockman has put together two outstanding seasons under Hatcher, including passing for 3,276 yards and 25 touchdowns last season (he also rushed for four touchdowns and caught two touchdown passes during the year); those numbers have earned him the nod as OVC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and landed him on the Walter Payton Award Watch List. Brockman has a chance to set the OVC’s all-time passing yards and total offense marks this year. The Racers will look at Preseason All-OVC selection Qua Huzzie to anchor the defense from the linebacker position. Huzzie transferred to Murray State prior to last season and led the OVC in tackles-for-loss (14.0) while also adding 80 tackles and 3.0 sacks.

BELOW VIDEOS
Head Coach Chris Hatcher
QB Casey Brockman
LB Qua Huzzie

Jacksonville State: 2012 OVC Football Media Day

Jacksonville State was picked to finish second in the OVC this season in the league's preseason poll.

Following the retirement of Eastern Illinois Hall of Famer Bob Spoo, JSU head coach Jack Crowe takes over as the “Dean” of OVC coaches, entering his 13th year overall with the Gamecocks. Crowe has compiled a 67-34 record since his program joined the OVC in 2003; the 67 wins rank him eighth in OVC history.

Crowe has the advantage of having not one but two returning starting quarterbacks this year, as redshirt senior Marques Ivory and junior Coty Blanchard both return this season. The duo split time in 2010, including pulling off a double overtime win at Ole Miss, but Ivory suffered a season-ending injury in the 2011 opener, leaving Blanchard to start the remainder of the schedule. During the 2010 season Ivory passed for 2,248 yards and 18 touchdowns, including throwing for a school record 444 yards against Eastern Kentucky. No matter which quarterback is under center they will have the luxury of handing the ball off to senior All-American Washaun Ealey who rushed for 1,082 yards and eight touchdowns in his debut season with the team last year. Ealey, who was the leading rusher at the University of Georgia for two seasons before coming to Jax State, was named a Preseason All-American this season. The Gamecocks have a challenging non-conference schedule this year that is bookended by a pair of SEC teams: Arkansas in Week 1 and Florida in Week 12..

BELOW VIDEOS
Head Coach Jack Crowe
QB Marques Ivory
RB Washaun Ealey

Eastern Kentucky: 2012 OVC Football Media Day

Eastern Kentucky was picked the preseason favorite this season, marking the 12th time in the last 25 years the Colonels have been picked the preseason favorite in the OVC race.

Last season Eastern Kentucky finished in a three-way tie for the OVC Championship, winning its 21st league title, which is the most conference championships by one team in Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) history. The Colonels also received an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs, marking its 20th appearance in the event, which is the second most in NCAA history. This season the Colonels return 10 offensive and seven defensive starters from that team that lost to James Madison by three points in the playoffs.

Among the returning starters for head coach Dean Hood is senior running back Matt Denham, who is one of 20 players on the Walter Payton Award Watch List. Despite not starting until the fifth game of the season, Denham rushed for 1,570 yards and nine touchdowns in earning All-American honors. Over the final eight games of the season Denham ran for 100 or more yards in each contest (the only player nationally to do so) and averaged 184.5 yards/game (the most nationally over that stretch). Senior quarterback T.J. Pryor is poised to become EKU’s all-time passing leader this season; Pryor needs just 622 yards to set the all-time record. Among the team’s defensive returning stars is junior Anthony Brown who is making the switch from defensive line to linebacker in 2012. As a lineman last year Brown had 72 tackles, 10.5 tackles-for-loss and 3.5 sacks. Overall EKU had 10 of the 26 total players selected to the Preseason All-OVC squad.

BELOW VIDEOS
Head Coach Dean Hood
RB Matt Denham
DB Justin Bell