BRENTWOOD, Tenn. - Eastern Kentucky quarterback Josh Greco and Eastern Illinois linebacker Clint Sellers have been selected for top honors on the 2005 All-Ohio Valley Conference football team in voting by the league's head football coaches and sports information directors. Greco edged out Jacksonville State tailback Clay Green for the OVC Offensive Player of the Year award while Sellers was the overwhelming pick for OVC Defensive Player of the Year. Tennessee State running back Javarris Williams captured OVC Freshman of the Year accolades, while Eastern Illinois head coach Bob Spoo earned the Roy Kidd OVC Coach of the Year award, presented by Schutt Sports.

Greco, a 6-1, 200-pound sophomore, turned in a record-setting performance in his first full season as the Colonels’ starting signal-caller. He led the league in nearly every passing category while rewriting the Colonels’ record books, topping the conference and establishing new school single-season marks for pass completions (222), attempts (387), yardage (2,861 yds.) and touchdowns (25) as well as for total offense (3,044 yds.). He also led the league with a 131.0 pass efficiency rating, completing 57.4 percent of his attempts while throwing 19 interceptions. A native of Naples, Fla., Greco became the ninth OVC player to top the 3,000-yard mark in total yardage, while his 2,861 passing yards ranks as the seventh-best single-season effort in league history. He also set school records for a single-game performance with Colonel highs of 398 passing yards, 39 completions and an OVC-record 71 attempts in EKU’s regular-season meeting with league champion Eastern Illinois. In addition, Greco matched a school record for touchdowns in a game, throwing four scoring strikes on three different occasions this season. A first-team All-OVC pick, Greco is the third EKU quarterback to earn OVC Offensive Player of the Year honors, following former Colonel standouts Ernie House (1976) and Simon Fuentes (1997).

Sellers, a 6-1, 220-pound junior, quickly established himself as one of the OVC’s top defenders in his first season as a Panther, leading the conference in both solo (79) and total tackles (111) while averaging a league-high 10.1 stops per game. A native of Chariton, Iowa, Sellers also had 3.0 sacks and ranked fourth in the OVC in tackles-for-loss (11.5).

Williams, a 5-11, 215-pound redshirt freshman, had an immediate impact in his first season of competition, ranking fifth in the OVC in rushing (79.3 ypg). He also registered 93 receiving yards to finish ninth in the conference in all-purpose yardage (87.7 ypg). Williams’ 872 yards on the ground ranks as fifth-best on the school’s single-season chart and is the most ever for a TSU freshman, shattering the former record of 728 yards, established by Tiger all-time rushing leader and two-time Walter Payton Award finalist Charles Anthony during the 2001 campaign.

Spoo earned the league’s Roy Kidd Coach of the Year award after leading Eastern Illinois to an undefeated conference record (8-0) en route to its third OVC football title and first top 25 ranking since the start of the 2003 season. The No. 19 Panthers (9-2) boast a four-week run in the national rankings and have won eight straight games heading into their 10th NCAA Divison I-AA Playoff appearance. They led the league in both rushing (122.6 ypg) and scoring defense (19.0 ppg) this season while also boasting the OVC’s best numbers for turnover margin (+18) and net punting (34.45).

League runner-up Eastern Kentucky had a conference-high six players selected to the 2005 All-OVC first team, while league champion Eastern Illinois and third-place Jacksonville State followed with five and four honorees, respectively.

ALL-OVC FIRST TEAM OFFENSE
QB - Josh Greco, So., Eastern Kentucky
RB - Clay Green, Jr., Jacksonville State
RB - Don Chapman, So., UT Martin
WR - Andre Ralston, Sr., Eastern Kentucky
WR - Larry Shipp, So., Tennessee Tech
TE - Patrick Bugg, Jr., Eastern Kentucky
C - Rod Olds, Sr., Jacksonville State
OG - Jon Rueter, Jr., Eastern Illinois
OG - Kimani Brown, Sr., Jacksonville State
OT - Eric Johnson, Jr., Eastern Illinois
OT - Sean Dumford, So., Eastern Kentucky
K - Colin Schermann, Fr., Southeast Missouri
RS - Cortland Finnegan, Sr., Samford

ALL-OVC FIRST TEAM DEFENSE
DL - Mark Cristiani, Jr., Eastern Kentucky
DL - Justin Komondoreas, Sr., Southeast Missouri
DL - Kory Lothe, Sr., Eastern Illinois
DL - Andre Plummer, Sr., UT Martin
LB - Clint Sellers, Jr., Eastern Illinois
LB - Brandon Rosser, Jr., Eastern Kentucky
LB - Wesley Holmes, Sr., Tennessee State
DB - Tristan Burge, Jr., Eastern Illinois
DB - Jamar Landrom, Sr., Tennessee State
DB - Kenny Brown, Jr., Jacksonville State
DB - Cortland Finnegan, Sr., Samford
P - David Simonhoff, Jr., Southeast Missouri

ALL-OVC SECOND TEAM OFFENSE
QB - Brady Wahlberg, Sr., UT Martin
RB - Vincent Webb, Jr., Eastern Illinois
RB - Javarris Williams, Fr., Tennessee State
WR - Taurean Stephens, Jr., UT Martin
WR - T.J. Milcic, Sr., Southeast Missouri
TE - Joseph Tuineau, So., Southeast Missouri
C - Pascal Matla, Sr., Eastern Illinois
OG - Alex Atkins, Jr., UT Martin
OG - Shaun Sherrill, Sr., Tennessee Tech
OT - Anthony Rubican, So., Eastern Illinois
OT - Kevin Pughsley, Sr., Samford
K - Josh Foster, Sr., Tennessee Tech
RS - Nick Turner, Sr., Murray State

ALL-OVC SECOND TEAM DEFENSE
DL - Ernest Jones, Sr., Tennessee State
DL - Cardius Dowell, So., Eastern Kentucky
DL - Edgar Jones, Jr., Southeast Missouri
DL - John Jackson, So., Tennessee Tech
LB - Lucius Seymour, Jr., Eastern Illinois
LB - David Gilmore, Jr., UT Martin
LB - Marcus Mayes, Jr., Eastern Kentucky
DB - Brandon Fields, Sr., Tennessee Tech
DB - Tremayne Perkins, Sr., Eastern Kentucky
DB - Mike Miller, Sr., Southeast Missouri
DB - Haneef Haqq, Sr., Jacksonville State
P - Tom Schofield, Sr., Eastern Illinois

2005 OVC ALL-NEWCOMER TEAM
RB - Tim Holloman, Fr., Southeast Missouri
RB - Javarris Williams, Fr., Tennessee State
RB - Cameron Kirnes, Fr., Tennessee Tech
WR - Maurice Marchman, So., Murray State
OL - Keith Gergel, Fr., Jacksonville State
K - Zach Yates, Fr., Eastern Illinois
K - Colin Schermann, Fr., Southeast Missouri
LB - Clint Sellers, Jr., Eastern Illinois
LB - Greg Rolfes, Fr., Tennessee Tech
DB - Darren Williams, Sr., Jacksonville State
DB - Maurice Smith, Fr., Tennessee Tech

OVC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
Josh Greco, Eastern Kentucky
OVC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
Clint Sellers, Eastern Illinois
OVC FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR:
Javarris Williams, Tennessee State
OVC COACH OF THE YEAR:
Bob Spoo, Eastern Illinois