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November 20th, 2007, 12:04 PM
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2007 All-OVC Football Teams Release: Eastern Kentucky's Holland, Huff and Hope Highlight 2007 All-OVC Football Teams
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. - Ohio Valley Conference champion Eastern Kentucky won three of the four major awards and placed 14 total players on the 2007 All-OVC Football Team which was released on Tuesday. Junior quarterback Allan Holland was named Offensive Player of the Year, senior defensive back Derrick Huff earned Defensive Player of the Year honors and head coach Danny Hope was bestowed the Roy Kidd OVC Coach of the Year honor. Murray State redshirt freshman quarterback Jeff Ehrhardt was tabbed as the OVC Freshman of the Year.
EKU, which finished the season 9-2 overall and a perfect 8-0 in the OVC on its way to a Top 10 national ranking and Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoff berth, placed seven players on each the All-OVC first and second teams. Eastern Illinois, which finished the regular season 8-3 and 7-1 in the OVC and earned an at-large bid to the playoffs, was second with 13 All-OVC honorees (six first team, four second-team and three All-Newcomer picks).
In taking over the reigns of the Colonel program in the second contest of the year, the junior Holland finished the season by completing 173-of-284 passes for 1,962 yards and 14 touchdowns. He had a passing efficiency of 133.10 (30th nationally) and also carried the ball 70 times for 201 yards and four additional scores. The Hazard, Ky. native directed the EKU offense to 33.5 points per game, which led the OVC and ranked 19th nationally. He is the second Eastern Kentucky quarterback to earn Offensive Player of the Year honors in the last three years (Josh Greco, 2005) and 10th EKU player overall.
Huff led the nation in interceptions, picking off nine passes in 10 games this season (he missed the regular season finale due to injury). He returned one of those picks for a 68-yard touchdown in a win over Tennessee State. Huff had multiple interceptions in two games, including three against Murray State in a performance that earned him National Defensive Player of the Week honors. Huff, a native of Hamilton, Ohio, added 58 tackles (one tackle-for-loss), seven pass break-ups, a fumble recovery and a blocked kick. He is the first EKU player to earn Defensive Player of the Year honors since Justen Rivers in 2004 and the 11th overall since the awards were first handed out in 1963.
In his first collegiate season, the Racers’ Ehrhardt put up some impressive numbers as Murray State’s signal caller. He completed 236-of-393 (60.1%) passes for 2,567 yards and 21 touchdowns. He also rushed for 375 yards and five additional scores. Ehrhardt had three games of 300 or more yards, including 344 yards against Eastern Kentucky. He tossed multiple touchdown passes in six contests in 2007, including four in a win over Lambuth. Most impressively he was one of just five FCS quarterbacks this season to pass for more than 300 yards (330) and rush for more than 100 yards (104) in the same game. In that game he completed 36 passes (a Murray State record) and accounted for three touchdowns. His 21.45 completions/game ranked 10th nationally, while his total yards passing was 12th (second among freshmen) and he was also 12th nationally in points responsible for per game (14.55).
Now in his fifth season as head coach at his alma mater, Hope won his first Roy Kidd Coach of the Year award. The honor is named after legendary EKU coach Roy Kidd (who won the award 10 times), who coached Hope when he was a four-year starter as an offensive lineman for the Colonels. Hope led the Colonels to their 19th OVC Championship (most in Conference history and second most among all FCS schools) and first in 10 years (1997). He also secured the program’s first playoff appearance in a decade (1997) and 18th all-time (first among all FCS schools). The season marked the program’s 30th consecutive winning season, which is currently the second longest active streak (behind Florida State) at the Division I level. Hope is 35-21 all-time as a head coach and has a 32-18 OVC mark.
2007 All-OVC Football Teams Release: Eastern Kentucky's Holland, Huff and Hope Highlight 2007 All-OVC Football Teams
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. - Ohio Valley Conference champion Eastern Kentucky won three of the four major awards and placed 14 total players on the 2007 All-OVC Football Team which was released on Tuesday. Junior quarterback Allan Holland was named Offensive Player of the Year, senior defensive back Derrick Huff earned Defensive Player of the Year honors and head coach Danny Hope was bestowed the Roy Kidd OVC Coach of the Year honor. Murray State redshirt freshman quarterback Jeff Ehrhardt was tabbed as the OVC Freshman of the Year.
EKU, which finished the season 9-2 overall and a perfect 8-0 in the OVC on its way to a Top 10 national ranking and Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoff berth, placed seven players on each the All-OVC first and second teams. Eastern Illinois, which finished the regular season 8-3 and 7-1 in the OVC and earned an at-large bid to the playoffs, was second with 13 All-OVC honorees (six first team, four second-team and three All-Newcomer picks).
In taking over the reigns of the Colonel program in the second contest of the year, the junior Holland finished the season by completing 173-of-284 passes for 1,962 yards and 14 touchdowns. He had a passing efficiency of 133.10 (30th nationally) and also carried the ball 70 times for 201 yards and four additional scores. The Hazard, Ky. native directed the EKU offense to 33.5 points per game, which led the OVC and ranked 19th nationally. He is the second Eastern Kentucky quarterback to earn Offensive Player of the Year honors in the last three years (Josh Greco, 2005) and 10th EKU player overall.
Huff led the nation in interceptions, picking off nine passes in 10 games this season (he missed the regular season finale due to injury). He returned one of those picks for a 68-yard touchdown in a win over Tennessee State. Huff had multiple interceptions in two games, including three against Murray State in a performance that earned him National Defensive Player of the Week honors. Huff, a native of Hamilton, Ohio, added 58 tackles (one tackle-for-loss), seven pass break-ups, a fumble recovery and a blocked kick. He is the first EKU player to earn Defensive Player of the Year honors since Justen Rivers in 2004 and the 11th overall since the awards were first handed out in 1963.
In his first collegiate season, the Racers’ Ehrhardt put up some impressive numbers as Murray State’s signal caller. He completed 236-of-393 (60.1%) passes for 2,567 yards and 21 touchdowns. He also rushed for 375 yards and five additional scores. Ehrhardt had three games of 300 or more yards, including 344 yards against Eastern Kentucky. He tossed multiple touchdown passes in six contests in 2007, including four in a win over Lambuth. Most impressively he was one of just five FCS quarterbacks this season to pass for more than 300 yards (330) and rush for more than 100 yards (104) in the same game. In that game he completed 36 passes (a Murray State record) and accounted for three touchdowns. His 21.45 completions/game ranked 10th nationally, while his total yards passing was 12th (second among freshmen) and he was also 12th nationally in points responsible for per game (14.55).
Now in his fifth season as head coach at his alma mater, Hope won his first Roy Kidd Coach of the Year award. The honor is named after legendary EKU coach Roy Kidd (who won the award 10 times), who coached Hope when he was a four-year starter as an offensive lineman for the Colonels. Hope led the Colonels to their 19th OVC Championship (most in Conference history and second most among all FCS schools) and first in 10 years (1997). He also secured the program’s first playoff appearance in a decade (1997) and 18th all-time (first among all FCS schools). The season marked the program’s 30th consecutive winning season, which is currently the second longest active streak (behind Florida State) at the Division I level. Hope is 35-21 all-time as a head coach and has a 32-18 OVC mark.