By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – With the 2020-21 Ohio Valley Conference football season drawing to a close, the league announced its postseason award winners on Thursday.
Tennessee Tech came away with four awards as senior defensive end Chris Tucker made his second consecutive appearance on the All-OVC first-team roster, senior offensive guard Mike Rhoades made a back-to-back appearance on the second-team squad, redshirt junior safety Josh Reliford made his first all-OVC appearance on the second team, and freshman cornerback Jyron Gilmore was selected to the conference's All-Newcomer team.
The awards were voted on by the conference's head football coaches and sports information contacts.
"The common thread between all of these guys is they are all outstanding young men," said Tech head coach Dewayne Alexander. "They're outstanding football players and these are guys who show up every day and practice and prepare the way you want them to. I'm super excited to have Chris, Josh and Jyron coming back for the Fall of 2021."
With a big improvement across the board on defense, it wasn't surprising to see three of Tech's four selections come from the defensive side of the ball. The Golden Eagles finished second in the league in total defense, allowing 322.6 yards per game, eclipsed only by league champion Jacksonville State at 276.5. The Golden Eagles were second in rush defense (129.7) and third in pass defense (192.9), a stark contrast from the 2019 season – Tech was eighth in total defense (425.1), eighth in rush defense (167.2) and ninth in pass defense (257.9) that year.
Tucker ended the year with 34 tackles, including seven for-loss for 31 yards and 3.5 sacks for 18 yards. He also recorded two quarterback hurries and forced a fumble. He was part of a Tech front line that held opponents to an average of 129.7 yards per game on the ground, while also holding opponents to a 37-percent completion rate on third down and 43 percent on fourth down.
"He's definitely deserving," said Alexander. "He's worked extremely hard and played in all seven games – which hasn't been easy to do this spring for anybody. He was very productive and made a lot of big plays, tackles for loss, sacks. The best thing about Chris is he practices that way, he's a tremendous leader for our team. He comes in every day, works hard and has a great attitude. He has really matured as a person since he's been here."
While there were a lot of position shifts on offense due to injuries and illness, Rhoades was one of the biggest constants for the Tech offense. With his protection, Willie Miller was able to come in at quarterback and put up some impressive numbers, while the team also extended its depth on the running game as Kurt Taylor Jr. and Jordan Brown were able to establish themselves on offense. Rhoades was also selected on Wednesday to the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame's Hampshire Honor Society.
"I don't mind saying this on record, he's one of my favorite players that I have coached in my 33 years," Alexander said. "He's easily in my top five. He brought it to practice every day, was always excited to practice. He'd get excited when the pre-game meal came in. He's that guy – just a ton of energy. Over the years, he's persevered through different adversity early on in his career. He has just hung in there.
"He's worked hard as a student. He is the total package. He truly embodies the Golden Eagle Way that we talk about so much – how he handles himself on the field, off the field. The people in the College of Education love Mike so much and has done just a great job with his student teaching. He's just going to go do great things and continue to represent Tennessee Tech for many years to come in a positive way. I couldn't be more excited to see him recognized by the coaches in this league."
Reliford, in his second season with the Golden Eagles, built on his already strong performance from 2019 as he collected 41 tackles, including one for-loss. He broke up four passes and intercepted two passes for 24 yards. One of those interceptions also set up a touchdown score against Tennessee State.
"Josh missed a half of a couple games with a knee injury," Alexander said, "and had some limited practice time. He was a very productive player, and that's the best thing you can say about him – he shows up. He intercepted passes, he broke up passes. He always seemed to be around the football. He's very active and that's what you want your safeties to be. They have to get to the ball in the run game, they have to defend in the secondary. He's a very productive young man and a first-class one as well."
Gilmore had an impressive freshman campaign at Tech. He finished the shortened season with 29 tackles, including one for-loss for four yards. He also had an interception and four pass breakups. His most impressive play was a 39-yard punt return for a touchdown against Murray State.
When Alexander signed Gilmore, he indicated how special he could be for Tech and Gilmore definitely proved it.
"He did – and I still feel like he's the best freshman in the league," Alexander said. "You look that the All-Newcomer team and there's only four true freshmen. Everyone else is some other kind of newcomer that came in as a transfer or was redshirted. Playing at corner, it's probably tough to get that recognition as the Freshman of the Year, but our defense was much improved. We were second in the conference in total defense. The biggest reason for that improvement was the play from our secondary, especially Jyron Gilmore as a freshman and Cameron Hudson, a true sophomore who started every game as a freshman last year."
Alexander continued, "I'm very proud of Jy. He's very competitive, he's one of those guys who competes hard in practice every day. He earned the respect of his teammates with how hard he practices."
Austin Peay wide receiver DeAngelo Wilson (37 catches for 562 yards and three touchdowns) was named the league's Offensive Player of the Year, while Jacksonville State safety Nicario Harper (51 tackles, two interceptions and three pass breakups) took home to Defensive Player of the Year. APSU quarterback Draylen Ellis (104-for-201, 1,270 yards, 14 passing touchdowns, two rushing touchdowns) and Tennessee State running back Devon Starling (648 yards, three touchdowns) split the Freshman of the Year honor, while Dean Hood in his first year at the helm of the Murray State program – and leading the Racers to a championship battle between MSU and Jacksonville State – was named the league's Coach of the Year.
Photos | Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information