TSU Football Voted To Finish Fifth In Big South-OVC Poll

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The Big South-OVC Football Association preseason poll is out and Tennessee State University was voted to finish fifth, while a handful of players were named to the Preseason Watch List.

TSU players named to the watch list include quarter back Draylen Ellis, defensive lineman Terrell Allen, linebackers James Green and K’Vaughan Pope, and defensive backs Josh Green and Bryce Phillips. Allen was named to the First Team All-OVC last season after having 36 total tackles and 4.5 sacks in 10 games. Quarterback Ellis played 10 games in 2022 and had a 54.84 passing percent with 1,807 yards and eight touchdowns.

Southeast Missouri State University was voted the favorite in the inaugural Big South-OVC Football Association preseason football poll for the 2023 campaign by the league’s head coaches.

The Redhawks, the Ohio Valley Conference co-champion in 2022 and FCS Playoff participant, received six of the 10 first-place votes and 96 points to claim the top spot in the first year of the Association. Gardner-Webb, last season’s Big South Champion, finished second in the polling with 86 points and collected two first-place votes.  UT Martin, co-champion of the OVC last year, was third with 85 points and earned one first-place vote.  All three members have been ranked in at least one preseason poll ahead of the 2023 campaign, with SEMO ranked as high as No. 9 in two polls.

Tennessee Tech received the remaining first-place vote and was fourth in the voting with 58 points – just ahead of Tennessee State (57 points).  Bryant was predicted sixth with 48 points, followed by Lindenwood in seventh-place with 45 points.  Eastern Illinois (eighth – 33 points), Charleston Southern (ninth – 30 points) and Robert Morris (10th – 12 points) round out the inaugural poll.

As the joint OVC-Big South Association conference debuts, TSU will play six conference games. Matchups include Gardner-Webb, UT Martin, Lindenwood, Charleston Southern, Eastern Illinois, and Tennessee Tech.

TSU will kick off its season against Notre Dame on Sept. 2 in South Bend, Ind. The game will kick off at 2:30 p.m. CT and will be televised on NBC and streamed on Peacock.

Steven Boero
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