JSU-OVC Preseason favorite

[Cocky]

http://www.jsugamecocksports.com/article.asp?articleid=71152

This our first time to be the preseason favorite.

[tsutiger]

2005 PRESEASON ALL-OHIO VALLEY CONFERENCE FOOTBALL TEAM

OFFENSE
QB - Maurice Mullins, Sr., Jacksonville State
RB - Donald Chapman, So., Tennessee-Martin
RB - Vincent Webb, Jr., Eastern Illinois
WR - Ryan Voss, Jr., Eastern Illinois
WR - Taurean Stephens, Jr., Tennessee-Martin
TE - Patrick Bugg, Jr., Eastern Kentucky
OL - Sean Dumford, So., Eastern Kentucky
OL - Pascal Matla, Sr., Eastern Illinois
OL - Rod Olds, Sr., Jacksonville State
OL - Steve Sobolewski, Jr., Eastern Illinois
OL - Eugene Russell, Murray State
PK - Josh Foster, Sr., Tennessee Tech
RS - Craig Agee, Jr., Jacksonville State

DEFENSE
DL - Almonte Duncan, Jr., Tennessee State
DL - Kory Lothe, Sr., Eastern Illinois
DL - Yusuf Sharif, Sr., Tennessee Tech
DL - Andre Plummer, Jr., Tennessee-Martin
LB - Jerome Jones, Sr. Eastern Kentucky
LB - Markeseo Jackson, Jr., Tennessee-Martin
LB - Rick Schultz, Sr., Murray State
LB - Craig Simonton, Jr., Tennessee Tech
DB - Onsha Whittaker, Sr., Murray State
DB - Cortland Finnegan, Sr., Samford
DB - Ben Brown, Jr., Eastern Illinois
DB - Jason Coleman, Sr., Tennessee-Martin
P - David Simonhoff, Jr., Southeast Missouri

2005 OVC FOOTBALL PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH

1 - Jacksonville State (15 first-place votes) - 127 points
2 - Eastern Kentucky (1 first-place vote) - 108 points
3 - Murray State (2 first-place votes) - 94 points
4 - Eastern Illinois - 81 points
5 - Tennessee Tech - 72 points
6 - Samford - 49 points
7 - Tennessee State - 47 points
8 - Southeast Missouri - 45 points
9 - Tennessee-Martin - 25 points

How does a team have 5 first team players (2nd most), yet are picked to finish last?

[Golden Eagle]

Lack of fan support? Poor coaches? Tough schedule?

[Cocky]

2005 PRESEASON ALL-OHIO VALLEY CONFERENCE FOOTBALL TEAM

OFFENSE
QB - Maurice Mullins, Sr., Jacksonville State
RB - Donald Chapman, So., Tennessee-Martin
RB - Vincent Webb, Jr., Eastern Illinois
WR - Ryan Voss, Jr., Eastern Illinois
WR - Taurean Stephens, Jr., Tennessee-Martin
TE - Patrick Bugg, Jr., Eastern Kentucky
OL - Sean Dumford, So., Eastern Kentucky
OL - Pascal Matla, Sr., Eastern Illinois
OL - Rod Olds, Sr., Jacksonville State
OL - Steve Sobolewski, Jr., Eastern Illinois
OL - Eugene Russell, Murray State
PK - Josh Foster, Sr., Tennessee Tech
RS - Craig Agee, Jr., Jacksonville State

DEFENSE
DL - Almonte Duncan, Jr., Tennessee State
DL - Kory Lothe, Sr., Eastern Illinois
DL - Yusuf Sharif, Sr., Tennessee Tech
DL - Andre Plummer, Jr., Tennessee-Martin
LB - Jerome Jones, Sr. Eastern Kentucky
LB - Markeseo Jackson, Jr., Tennessee-Martin
LB - Rick Schultz, Sr., Murray State
LB - Craig Simonton, Jr., Tennessee Tech
DB - Onsha Whittaker, Sr., Murray State
DB - Cortland Finnegan, Sr., Samford
DB - Ben Brown, Jr., Eastern Illinois
DB - Jason Coleman, Sr., Tennessee-Martin
P - David Simonhoff, Jr., Southeast Missouri

2005 OVC FOOTBALL PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH

1 - Jacksonville State (15 first-place votes) - 127 points
2 - Eastern Kentucky (1 first-place vote) - 108 points
3 - Murray State (2 first-place votes) - 94 points
4 - Eastern Illinois - 81 points
5 - Tennessee Tech - 72 points
6 - Samford - 49 points
7 - Tennessee State - 47 points
8 - Southeast Missouri - 45 points
9 - Tennessee-Martin - 25 points

How does a team have 5 first team players (2nd most), yet are picked to finish last?


The top 2 teams combined only have 1 more (6).

[Cocky]

Is there an "I" in team?


Good point, but have you seen UTM play? There are not 5 first teamers on that team. I'm not sure there are 5 that could start for EKU or JSU.

[blukeys]

Conference awards are notorious for honoring career achievements. That's not a bad thing but it is what it is.

As someone who has voted for all conference awards at the high school level, I know that the best athletes don't always get the awards. Conference coaches develop relationships and over time one becomes close to most of your competitors, the other conference coaches (unless they are complete assholes and then they are usually gone after a season.) You spend most of your time working on your own players and you really don't have time to pay attention to the competition with the exception of a few truly overwhelmingly dominant players. Once you eliminate the truly dominant players, the real competition begins. Coaches talk to each other about their own players and accept the opinion of the respective coach about their own players. If a coach does not want one of their own players to receive the all conference honor they are dead. I don't care if they are Michael Vick, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning roled up into one. All a coach has to say about his own player is that they don't have a good attitude and that player is sunk.

There are a lot of politics that go into the all conference selection and as a coach you work on all kinds of statistics to make your case for your own player. However, you usually have to make tough decisions. Which of your players do you promote. Sometimes a deserving player at one position is sacrificed for a player in another postition. I'll give you a scenario. Let's assume you have a player who has all-state potential and another who should be all conference but has competition from other teams in your conference. Your opposing conference coaches also vote for All-State. You may choose to sacrifice your own deserving player to assure an all state vote from your other conference coaches on your player who you want to make all - state. Sad to say but it is true. I don't know how much of this goes on at the colleigate level but I can't imagine it being hugely different.

The good news is that kids who are total idiots don't get the honor even if they are athletically superior. (of course with the right coach these kids are kicked off the team before the season starts). The bad news is that many deserving kids get left off for reasons that have nothing to do with their accomplishments. In short some players are in the wrong place at the wrong time. Actually this is a lot like life.

[colonelblitz]

Jones of EKU is legit..

[Cocky]

Jones of EKU is legit..

He is more than legit. He may THE best in the league. He is the Hammer (time).