Pryor honored by OVC

Nathan Hutchinson

T.J. Pryor didn’t begin the season as the Colonels’ starting quarterback.

However, once he stepped into the line-up full-time, the redshirt freshman provided solid, steady performances that helped EKU stay in the hunt for a conference title until the final game of the season.

After completing 58 percent of his pass attempts and throwing for 2,153 yards (the third-best single season total in school history), the Louisville native was named the Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year on Tuesday.

Pryor was one of one six Colonels honored by the league. Senior offensive lineman Derek Hardman, junior defensive lineman Andrew Soucy and sophomore cornerback Jeremy Caldwell were all First-Team All-OVC selections, while senior defensive end Chris Hall and junior linebacker Jordan Dalrymple were Second-Team All-OVC picks.

Pryor split time under center with Cody Watts for the first three games, then took over as the starter against Eastern Illinois.

The redshirt freshman finished the season ranked 36th nationally (FCS) in total offense (220 yards a game. He threw six touchdowns and rushed for 269 yards and four more TDs.

Pryor is just the sixth EKU quarterback to throw for more than 2,000 yards in a year. He was named OVC Newcomer of the Week twice this season and is the first Colonel to be named the OVC Freshman of the Year.

Pryor was also named the OVC All-Newcomer Team.

Jacksonville State’s Ryan Perrilloux was named the OVC Offensive Player of the Year, Murray State’s Austen Lane was named the OVC Defensive Player of the Year and Eastern Illinois’ Bob Spoo was named OVC Coach of the Year. Jacksonville State had 14 players named to the All-OVC teams, including six first-team selections. Eastern Illinois had 12 players honored and Austin Peay had seven selections.

Hardman was named a First Team selection for the second-straight year. The West Virginia native started the final 46 games of the career and graded out at more than 80 percent in every game this season.

Soucy led the Colonels with 9.5 tackles-for-loss and was second on the team with three sacks. The Canton, Ga., native also blocked a league-best five kicks.

Caldwell had seven interceptions and ranked fourth nationally (0.70/game) while also ranking 16th in passes defended (1.30/game).

Hall had 40 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and seven quarterback hurries. Dalrymple had 85 tackles, 8.0 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks.

Perrilloux, a finalist for the Walter Payton Award, is the first Jacksonville State player to earn one of the major year-end awards since the Gamecocks joined the OVC in 2003.

Perrilloux ranks first nationally in passing efficiency (172.58) and fourth nationally in points responsible for (18.6 points/game). The senior quarterback also set several other single-season school records, including touchdowns responsible for (31), total offense per game (279.3) and total offense per play (8.36).

Lane, a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award (given to the nation’s top FCS defensive player), is the second-straight Murray State player to be awarded the OVC Defensive Player of the Year award. Considered one of the top professional prospects at the FCS level, Lane ranks second nationally in sacks (11.0) and third in tackles-for-loss (19.5).

He recorded at least one tackle-for-loss in all 11 games this season and has recorded at least one tackle-for-loss in 16-straight games dating back to the 2008 season.

Now in his 23rd season as the Eastern Illinois head coach, Spoo led the Panthers to an 8-3 overall and 6-2 conference mark as the program won its fifth OVC title. The “Dean of OVC Coaches,” Spoo has won the OVC Roy Kidd Coach of the Year three times (he also won it in 2001 and 2005) which puts him tied for the third most awards in league history.

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