By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE – To kick off the first of three days in the Big South-Ohio Valley Conference Media Days, the combined conference announced its first set of Preseason Players to Watch. In the first set of players announced among the offensive skill positions and kickers, the Tennessee Tech Football team claimed seven selections on the preseason list.
Included among the list are quarterback Dylan Laible, running back Obie Sanni, wide receiver Tremel Jones, tight end Hunter Barnhart, offensive lineman Logan Weedman, all-purpose pick Kyron Cumby and kicker Hayden Olsen.
Four of the seven selections on Monday will make their first appearances in the Purple and Gold this season with the season kicking off August 31 at Middle Tennessee.
Laible, who spent last season as a preferred walk-on at Missouri, put together strong numbers as the signal-caller at Hutchinson Junior College in Kansas. In his final season there, Laible completed 161 of his 281 passes for 2,182 yards and 22 touchdowns. Hutchinson went 11-1 and reached the 2022 NJCAA National Championship.
Sanni, an Old Dominion rusher last season, ran 57 times for 248 yards and a touchdown, while also catching six passes for 56 yards. He had a career-best 85 yards and a touchdown against Georgia State to help the Monarchs clinch a bowl berth.
Jones collected outstanding stats in his last season at Wingate, catching 48 passes for 855 yards and seven touchdowns. He had a career-best 163 receiving yards with a touchdown at Barton, caught a career-long pass of 62 yards against Albany State and had a career-best nine catches against Tusculum.
Barnhart caught 13 passes for 172 yards and a touchdown last season as a Tech tight end. He had a season-best 38 yards against New Mexico, while catching a crucial touchdown connection against UT Martin. He averaged 13 yards per catch.
Weedman played and started all 11 games last season on the offensive front, helping Tech's offense pull together 1,384 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns, while also throwing for 1,936 yards and 10 more scores. Tech quarterbacks were sacked 18 total times, averaging less than once per game.
Cumby played nine games last season at Delaware, rushing for 394 yards and three touchdowns, while also catching eight passes for 100 yards. He had a career-high 144 yards and two touchdowns against North Carolina A&T.
Olsen finished last season 7-for-11 on field goals, including a career-long 54-yard kick against UT Martin – tied with Haidar Zaidan and Nick Madonia for the second-longest made field goal in program history (Madonia's 57-yard make against Tennessee State in 2016 is the program benchmark). He also extended his extra-point streak to 90-for-90 in his career, standing just 10 away from tying the Ohio Valley Conference's record of 100 straight PATs made by Middle Tennessee's Garth Petrilli (1991-93).
The Big South-OVC Football Association will announce the defensive skill players, punters and return specialists on Tuesday, while they will announce the Preseason Coaches' Poll, Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and Preseason Defensive Player of the Year on Wednesday before the shared league's coaches take to the Zoom press conference to talk about their respective programs.
