Tennessee State football was predicted to finish fourth heading into coach Eddie George’s fourth season Wednesday at the Big South-Ohio Valley Conference Football Media Day, which took place virtually.
TSU posted its first winning record since 2017 in 2023. The Tigers went 6-5 in the first year of the Big South-OVC alignment.
TSU finished in a four-way tie for sixth with a 2-4 league record. The Tigers ended the season on a three-game league losing streak.
George, a former Tennessee Titans All-Pro running back, is 14-18 at TSU.
Tennessee Tech, which finished tied with TSU, Robert Morris and Charleston Southern at sixth in 2023, was picked to finish seventh.
The Golden Eagles, who were 4-7 overall, have a new coach. Bobby Wilder replaced Dewayne Alexander at the end of last season.
UT Martin was picked first. The Skyhawks, who received five first-place votes, shared the league championship with Gardner-Webb last season. Gardner-Webb earned the league’s automatic bid to the FCS playoffs by virtue of a 38-34 win over UT Martin.
Eastern Illinois was picked second with two first-place votes, Southeast Missouri was third with two first-place votes followed by Gardner-Webb at fifth, Charleston Southern at sixth, Lindenwood a eighth and Western Illinois at ninth.
The preseason offensive player of the year was EIU quarterback Pierce Holley and the defensive player of the year was SEMO linebacker Bryce Norman.
TSU players on the players to watch list including quarterback Draylen Ellis, running back Jordan Gant, wide receiver Jalal Dean, tight end Jason Hoath, offensive lineman Connor Meadows, all-purpose player Dayron Johnson, defensive end Eriq George, linebacker Ahmad Nelson, defensive back Jalen McClendon, kicker James Lowery, punter Jackson Foster and long snapper Carson Buchanan.
Tech players on the watch list were quarterback…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/where-tennessee-state-football-picked-140051878.html
Author : The Tennessean
Publish date : 2024-07-17 14:00:51
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