After finishing 8-3 last season, their first eight-win season since 2008, UTM was projected to finish fifth in the Ohio Valley Conference this season at OVC Media Day.
Seniors Ben Johnson, linebacker, and Tyler Eady, center, accompanied head coach Jason Simpson to the event. While many people put a lot of stock into preseason projections it was made clear by Simpson that they are nothing to be taken too seriously.
“I’ve been doing this for eight years now, we’ve won the second most games in this league behind Eastern Kentucky. The only year we’ve been picked in the top two was 2007,” said Simpson.
“People don’t understand the junior college transfers you got in January, the transfers in the summer and the development of your players … I hope our players use it as motivations … That’s kind of who we are. We play with a chip on our shoulder and we’ll continue doing that this year.”
Simpson’s words were echoed by his players also.
“It is what it is,” said Eady. “You know, it’s preseason. It’s prediction for a reason. Last year EIU was picked eighth and they won the conference. So it’s just a prediction it doesn’t mean anything.”
Both Eady and Johnson will be playing with a lot of new faces this season. The Skyhawks are replacing 10 total starters, five on each side of the ball. The one position group that won’t see much change is the offensive line, which returns four of its five starters from the 2012 season.
Eady has started all 33 games at center during his time with the Skyhawks. During his first three years anchoring the offensive line the Skyhawks scored 118 touchdowns while only allowing 39 sacks.
Last season, Johnson recorded an OVC-best 131 tackles and five sacks and over the past two seasons has totaled 228 tackles. Johnson, who had already been named to three other 2013 Preseason All-American teams, was named to the Preseason All-OVC team.
Defensive lineman D.J. Roberts was also named to the Preseason All-OVC team.
