CLARKSVILLE, Tenn.— Despite the presence of 27 seniors, Austin Peay State University could earn no better than a seventh place tie in the predicted order of finish in a vote of Ohio Valley Conference coaches and sports information directors.
In fact, the Governors tied with Southeast Missouri in the preseason prognostication for the nine-team league, announced Monday by the OVC office.
Defending champion Eastern Kentucky was picked to repeat as champions, garnering 10 first-place votes and 105 points total. UT Martin, with four first-place votes and 92 overall points, was selected second while Eastern Illinois (two first-place votes, 89 points) was a close third. Tennessee State (74 points) and Murray State (61) also each received a first place vote. Tennessee Tech (35) was picked followed by APSU and SEMO, each with 33 points.
“Until you win some key games, the respect factor is going to play a factor in all of this,” APSU Coach Rick Christophel said. “You have to keep gaining it. This is only our third year back in the league. The bar has been set high by some people but until we reach that bar I think we are going to be picked in lower echelon of the league.”
Christophel believes the slight will help motivate even more his seniors, 20 of them who have started multiple games in their respective APSU careers.
“We have a lot of seniors, quite a few of them, I think, had a chance to play at other places,” Christophel said. “I hope this helps motivate them even more — it gives them a chance to go out with a big bang. They have to play with a high degree of intensity and I think our offseason will help us do that.
“The key thing is staying away from injuries.”
Individually, the Governors had three players recognized with preseason All-OVC honors, two from the defense. Senior cornerback Kevin Buckley, a first-team All-OVC pick a year ago, earned preseason honors after picking off six passes, while senior linebacker Daniel Becker, the team's leading tackler a year ago with 102, also was named preseason first-team.
“Our staff was talking about our defense this morning, that we have eight senior starters,” Christophel said. “Of course, you win championships on defense. We have to play hard, play fast on defense and get the game into the fourth quarter where the defense can be a factor. With Daniel and Kevis, they help anchor it along with several other guys who have been around for quite awhile.
“We should be more mature on that side of the football. Not only do we have those eight senior starters, we have a lot of other guys who have lot played a lot of football for us who are going to be a big part of this.”
APSU's other preseason choice was kick returner Terrence Holt, who earned first-team All-OVC last fall after again breaking the OVC record for kickoff return yards (1285). In fact, Holt set the OVC single-game record with 250 yards in the season opener at North Dakota State.
The Governors had no players named to the offensive side.
“That is not surprising,” Christophel said. “We were near the bottom of the league at many offensive categories last year. We have some talented people on that side of the ball but until you put some points on the board and become a factor every week you are not going to get that kind of respect.”
-AP-
