COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee Tech strong safety Austin Tallant
has been selected as the Ohio Valley Conference co-Defensive Player
of the Week for his role in Saturday's 27-26 Golden Eagle
Homecoming victory over Southeast Missouri.
A senior from Alcoa, Tenn., Tallant had 12 tackles and an
interception as Tech came from behind to knock off the Redhawks. He
made a key tackle on third-and-goal from the one-yard line late in
the game that forced the Redhawks to settle for a field goal and go
ahead by six points instead of 10; Tech would then take the ball
and score five plays later to grab the lead for good.
On Southeast’s final drive of the game, the 5-10, 205-pound
Tallant had a tackle on first down for no gain and then blitzed and
chased the quarterback out-of-the-pocket forcing an incomplete pass
and making the Redhawks settle for a 62-yard field goal which was
blocked.
In addition to his 12 tackles, Tallant got his hand on a pass
attempt in the first quarter and batted the ball in the air, then
caught it for his second interception of the season. It was his
14th career game with double figures for tackles.
The dozen tackles raised Tallant's career total to 336 tackles,
placing him in a tie for sixth all-time in total tackles in Tech
history. He has 85 tackles this season, placing him second on the
team and eighth in the OVC. He is third on the team in
tackles-for-loss.
Earlier in the week, Tallant was named the winner of Tech's
Unsung Leader Award for the month of October. With 42 career
starts, he can tie the school record for most career starts if he
is in the starting lineup for Tech's remaining two contests.
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OVC Football Players of the Week – November
9
OFFENSIVE
DaMarcus James, RB • Sr., 5-9, 220 • Demopolis, Ala.
• Jacksonville State
James carried the ball 21 times for a game-high 170 yards (8.1
ypc) as No. 4 Jacksonville State went to No. 15 Eastern Kentucky
and won 20-6 in picking up its eight-straight win overall. The
senior had a 13-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter to
put his team on top for good at 10-3. James also carried the ball
five-straight times on JSU’s final scoring drive of the game,
including picking up three first downs, as the Gamecocks ran out
the clock. It marked his third 100-yard rushing game of the season
and 16th of his career (extending his school record in that
category). James now has 3,233 career rushing yards, which ranks
second in school history. James currently ranks second in the OVC
in rushing (100.0 yards/game).
Others Nominated: Taylor Duncan, Eastern Illinois; DeMichael
Jackson, Southeast Missouri; Michael German, Tennessee State;
Jared Davis, Tennessee Tech; Abou Toure, UT
Martin.
CO-DEFENSIVE
Folo Johnson, SAF • Jr., 6-0, 193 • Dallas, Ga. •
Jacksonville State
Johnson had a career-high 14 tackles (including 12 solo stops) to
help No. 4 Jacksonville State to a 20-6 road victory over No. 15
Eastern Kentucky. The junior had a four-yard tackle-for-loss and
added a pass breakup as Jacksonville State won its eighth-straight
game. Johnson helped key a defensive unit that limited EKU to just
100 rushing yards and hold the Colonels to 1-for-14 on 3rd down.
The JSU defense has now gone 13-straight quarters without allowing
a touchdown and outscored its opponents 125-9 over its last three
games.
CO-DEFENSIVE
Austin Tallant, SS • Sr., 5-10, 205 • Alcoa, Tenn.
• Tennessee Tech
Tallant had 12 tackles and an interception as Tennessee Tech came
from behind to knock off Southeast Missouri 27-26 on Saturday.
Tallant made a tackle on third-and-goal from the one-yard line late
in the game that forced the Redhawks to settle for a field goal and
go ahead by six points instead of 10; Tech would then take the ball
and score five plays later to grab the lead for good. On
Southeast’s final drive of the game the senior had a tackle
on first down for no gain and then blitzed and chased the
quarterback out-of-the-pocket forcing an incomplete pass and making
the Redhawks settle for a 62-yard field goal which was blocked.
Others Nominated: Adam Gristrick, Eastern Illinois; Jonathan
Jackson, Murray State; Nick Thrasher, Tennessee State; Tony Bell,
UT Martin.
SPECIALIST
Pokey Harris, RS/RB • Jr., 5-10, 173 • Winchester, Ky.
• Murray State
Harris became just the 11th player in OVC history (and second this
season) to return a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown. The return
came early in the second quarter of Murray State’s game at
Eastern Illinois. Harris finished the game with 204 all-purpose
yards, netting 149 on kickoffs, 47 rushing and eight receiving.
Others Nominated: Connor Rouleau, Jacksonville State; Ryan McCrum,
Southeast Missouri; James Satterfield, UT Martin.
NEWCOMER
Jalen Whitlow, QB • Jr., 6-2, 220 • Montgomery, Ala.
• Eastern Illinois
Whitlow threw for a career-high 312 yards and three touchdowns and
rushed for another touchdown as Eastern Illinois won its
fourth-straight game, a 48-26 victory over Murray State, to keep
its OVC Championship hopes alive. The transfer from Kentucky
completed 27-of-37 passes and tossed touchdowns of 2, 46 and 16
yards during the game to go along with 20 rushing yards and a
1-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Overall he directed the
Panthers to 654 yards of total offense (the eighth-highest total in
school history); the team ran 104 plays in the game, the third-most
in school history. Whitlow ranks second in the OVC in total offense
(265.2 yards/game). This marks his sixth OVC Newcomer of the Week
award of the season for Whitlow.
Others Nominated: Debarriaus Miller, Jacksonville State;
Brock McCoin, Tennessee Tech; William Tanner, UT
Martin.
