TSU's Bass, Eleven Others, Make All-OVC Teams

TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS

NASHVILLE, Tennessee  --  On Tuesday, 12 members of the Tennessee State football team were selected to All-Ohio Valley Conference Teams as announced by the league office. Junior defensive end Anthony Bass was also chosen as the league’s Defensive Player of the Year.

 

Kadeem Edwards, Bass, Antonio Harper, Nick Thrasher and Daniel Fitzpatrick made First Team while Ronald Butler, Tim Broughton, A.C. Leonard, Robert Myers, David Van Dyke and Jamin Godfrey were chosen to the Second Team. Butler and De’Ante Saunders were selected to the All-Newcomer Team.

 

Edwards, a senior left guard, was the only Tiger on the First-Team Offense and fellow offensive-lineman Myers represented the unit on the Second Team. Edwards and Myers played a pivotal role in TSU rushing for 2,096 yards and only allowing 28 sacks. Edwards started 11 games on the left side while Myers has started all 12.

 

Bass and Harper represent both defensive end spots on the First Team and Bass was selected as the conference’s best defensive player after leading the OVC with 10 sacks, which also ranks him tied for seventh, nationally. Harper is fourth on the team with 44 stops and tied for second with 11 tackles for loss.

 

Thrasher and Fitzpatrick round out the First Team selections and they currently rank first and second on the team tackle list, respectively. Thrasher is the team leader in stops with 94 and 10 of those has been for losses. He also has an uncanny ability to find the football, and has forced and recovered three fumbles on the campaign. Fitzpatrick has accounted for six picks on the year, tying him for the FCS lead. The junior is also second on the team with 63 tackles and has broken up eight passes.

 

Offensively, the Tigers got three more players on the Second Team in Butler, Broughton and Leonard. Butler has filled in admirably for Michael German this season, completing 130-of-223 passes for 1343 yards, 12 scores and only four picks. Broughton has rushed for 1,117 yards on 212 carries for 4.9 yards per carry. Broughton has five touchdowns and is the fifth TSU back to rush for over 1,000 yards in school history. Leonard is the team leader with 32 catches, has 404 yards and has recorded five touchdowns on the year.

 

The lone defensive player on the Second Team is Van Dyke who recorded an interception in each of TSU’s first four contests. Although the Miami, Fla. native doesn’t have once since then, he recorded 52 tackles in the meantime and forced a fumble.

 

The final player on the Second Team is Godfrey who has made 16-of-26 field goals during 2013 and 38-of-40 point after touchdowns. The senior has 300 career points and is six points away from tying Alfred Reese for first on the school’s all-time scoring list.

 

Butler and Saunders were selected to the All-Newcomer Team and Saunders has returned his two interceptions on the year for a total of 90 yards and scored a touchdown against UT Martin earlier this season on a blocked field goal.

 

The 12 Tigers on OVC Postseason Teams ties the school record set in 1999 - the last time that TSU made the Playoffs.

2013 All-OVC Football Team
Offensive Player of the Year: Jimmy Garoppolo (QB), Eastern Illinois
Defensive Player of the Year: Anthony Bass (DE), Tennessee State
Freshman of the Year: Devin Borders (WR), Eastern Kentucky
Roy Kidd Coach of the Year: Dino Babers, Eastern Illinois

FIRST-TEAM OFFENSE
QB - Jimmy Garoppolo, Eastern Illinois
RB - DaMarcus James, Jacksonville State  
RB - Shepard Little, Eastern Illinois    
WR - Erik Lora, Eastern Illinois
WR - Walter Powell, Murray State
TE - Jeff LePak, Eastern Illinois
C - Max Holcombe, Jacksonville State
OG - Collin Seibert, Eastern Illinois
OG - Kadeem Edwards, Tennessee State
OT - Dominic Pagliara, Eastern Illinois
OT - Wesley Sherrill, Tennessee Tech

FIRST-TEAM DEFENSE
Anthony Bass, Tennessee State        
Pat Wertz, Eastern Illinois
Antonio Harper, Tennessee State
DJ Roberts, UT Martin
Nick Thrasher, Tennessee State
Ben Johnson, UT Martin
Tony Bell, UT Martin
Daniel Fitzpatrick Tennessee State
Jourdan Wickliffe, Eastern Illinois
Pierre Warren, Jacksonville State
Nick Beard, Eastern Illinois

FIRST-TEAM SPECIALISTS
Griffin Thomas, Jacksonville State
Chad Zinchini, Tennessee Tech
Walter Powell, Murray State

SECOND-TEAM OFFENSE
Max Shortell, Jacksonville State        
Ronald Butler, Tennessee State         
Tim Broughton, Tennessee State
DJ McNeil, UT Martin
Taylor Duncan, Eastern Illinois
Jeremy Butler, UT Martin
Adam Drake, Eastern Illinois
A.C. Leonard, Tennessee State
Nick Borre, Eastern Illinois
Justin Meredith, Eastern Kentucky
Travon Carter, Eastern Kentucky
Charles Sweeton, UT Martin
Robert Myers, Tennessee State

SECOND-TEAM DEFENSE
Dino Fanti, Eastern Illinois                 
Anthony Brown, Eastern Kentucky
Caleb Lawrence, Jacksonville State
Malcolm Mitchell, Tennessee Tech
Ichiro Vance, Eastern Kentucky
Robert Haynes, Eastern Illinois
Tra'Darius Goff, Tennessee Tech
J'Vontez Blackmon, UT Martin
Brandon Wicks, Murray State
David Van Dyke, Tennessee State
Marty Jones, Tennessee Tech

SECOND-TEAM SPECIALISTS
Jamin Godfrey, Tennessee State
Jordan Berry, Eastern Kentucky
Shepard Little, Eastern Illinois

ALL-NEWCOMER TEAM
TE - Jeff LePak, Eastern Illinois         
RB/RS - Shepard Little, Eastern Illinois
OL - Jimmy Lowery, Eastern Illinois
WR - Devin Borders, Eastern Kentucky
WR - Josh Barge, Jacksonville State
QB - Max Shortell, Jacksonville State
DE - Chris Landrum, Jacksonville State
QB - Maikhail Miller, Murray State
DT - Austin Black, Southeast Missouri
CB/RS - De'Ante Saunders, Tennessee State
QB - Ronald Butler, Tennessee State                  
QB - Dylan Favre, UT Martin                 

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