Preseason All-OVC Team  |  Media Day Photo Gallery

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Three football players were chosen to the Preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference Team on Monday, the league announced from its annual media day event in Nashville.
 
Senior tight end Dan Paul, redshirt junior defensive lineman Aaron Patrick and senior return specialist LJ Scott earned preseason All-OVC honors.
 
The 2018 season begins for the Colonels on August 30 when Morehead State visits Roy Kidd Stadium.  For season ticket information, contact the EKU Athletics Ticket Office at 859-622-2122.
 
Paul was a first team All-OVC pick by coaches and communications directors, and by Phil Steele in 2017.  The 6-foot-3, 253 pound Naples, Florida native finished the season second on the team with 41 receptions, third with 407 yards and caught one touchdown pass.  He had more catches and more yards than any other tight end in the conference.  Paul ranked eighth overall in the OVC with 3.7 receptions per game.
 
Patrick played in three games in 2017 before missing the rest of the season with an injury.  The 6-foot-4, 236-pound Dayton, Ohio native was a first team All-OVC selection in 2016 and was selected to the 2016 Hero Sports Sophomore All-America first team.  He had 53 tackles, led the team with 10 tackles for a loss and led the team with seven sacks.  Patrick was second in the OVC, and 42nd in the nation, with an average of 0.64 sacks per game.  He was eighth in the OVC with an average of 0.91 tackles for a loss per game.
 
Scott was a second team All-OVC kick returner by coaches and communications directors in 2017.  He was also chosen to the OVC All-Newcomer Team as a running back and kick returner.  The 6-foot, 222-pound Marion, Ohio native compiled 629 kickoff return yards on 21 returns, an average of 30 yards per return.  He led the league and finished fourth in the country in kickoff return average.  Scott also rushed for 294 yards and scored a team-best six rushing touchdowns.  He finished fourth in the conference in rushing touchdowns.
 
Eastern Kentucky has won two national championships, 21 conference titles and has made 21 playoff appearances.  No other FCS team has won at least two FCS national titles and 20 or more conference championships.  EKU has had 66 All-America selections and 33 NFL draft picks.
 
Eastern's 2018 recruiting class was ranked 11th in FCS by 247Sports.  This class was EKU's third straight top-25 rated recruiting class under head coach Mark Elder.  Despite having less than two months to put together his first class, Eastern Kentucky's 2016 class was ranked as the 23rd best in the nation.  Elder's second recruiting class was rated as the 14th best.
 
The Colonels were picked to finish fifth in the conference in a preseason poll of head coaches and communications directors.  Jacksonville State received 14 of a possible 16 first-place votes and is the preseason favorite with 126 points in the poll.  Austin Peay (112) was picked second.  Tennessee-Martin (95) was chosen third.  Eastern Illinois (73) totaled just four more points than EKU (69) to edge the Colonels for fourth.
 
Tennessee State (64) was sixth and Southeast Missouri (62) was seventh.  Murray State (24) and Tennessee Tech (23) rounded out the poll in eighth and ninth respectively.