2019 OVC Postseason Awards

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Eastern Kentucky defensive end Aaron Patrick was chosen as the 2019 Ohio Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year, and a total of seven players earned all-conference recognition.
 
Patrick is the 15th OVC Defensive Player of the Year selection from EKU (one player was chosen twice), and the first since Noah Spence in 2015.  The list of past EKU players chosen as the top defensive player in the league include seven who went on to play in the NFL – George Floyd (1980 & 1981), Aaron Jones (1987), David Wilkins (1991), Chad Bratzke (1993), Tony McCombs (1996), Yeremiah Bell (2001) and Spence (2015).
 
Running back Daryl McCleskey Jr. and kicker Samuel Hayworth joined Patrick on the All-OVC first team.  Running back Alonzo Booth, offensive guard Tucker Schroeder, offensive tackle Graham Ashkettle and defensive lineman Taquan Evans were second team All-OVC selections.
 
Patrick finished the season with 52 tackles, 16.5 tackles for a loss, 10 sacks, three forced fumbles and one interception.  The redshirt senior led the OVC in sacks per game (0.83) and was second in tackles for a loss (1.38 per game).  He ranks 11th nationally in sacks per game, 22nd in forced fumbles and 29th in tackles for a loss per game).  He is a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, given to the top defensive player in FCS football.
 
The Dayton, Ohio native had a season-best eight tackles, including two sacks, in a win over Tennessee State.  He had a season-high 3.5 tackles for a loss against nationally-ranked Southeast Missouri.  Patrick also recorded two sacks in the season-ending win at Jacksonville State.  He concluded his career with 27.5 sacks, the second-most in program history.
 
McCleskey was the only player in the conference to rush for 1,000 yards this season, finishing with 454 more yards than any other.  The senior totaled 1,238 yards on 214 carries for an average of 5.8 yards per touch.  He scored eight touchdowns on the ground and caught one.  He finished the season with 28 receptions, the second-most on the team, for 197 yards.
 
In addition to leading the OVC in rushing, McCleskey was fourth in rushing touchdowns and third in all-purpose yards (119.6 per game).  He is ninth in the country in rushing yards, 13th in yards per game, 23rd in yards per carry and 57th in rushing touchdowns.  The Dayton native ran for a career-best, and eclipsed the 2,000-yard career rushing mark, with 202 yards against Tennessee State. 
 
Hayworth finished the 2019 season 18-for-22 on field goal attempts with three of his misses coming from 40 yards or more away.  He went 17-for-18 on attempts from inside the 40 yard line.  The redshirt senior also made all 37 of his extra-point attempts.
 
The Ormond Beach, Florida native led the OVC in scoring this season with 7.6 points per game.  He was second in the conference in field goal percentage (81.8 percent) and field goals per game (1.50 per game).  He ranks ninth in the nation in field goals per game and 16th in field goal percentage.  Hayworth was chosen as the OVC Specialist of the Week twice and the national special teams player of the week once this season.
 
Booth finished the season with 673 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns.  The redshirt sophomore from Columbus, Ohio led the conference and is 14th in the nation in rushing touchdowns.
 
Schroeder, a redshirt sophomore from St. Cloud, Florida, started all 12 games at left guard.  Ashkettle, a redshirt sophomore from Crestwood, Kentucky, started 10 times at right tackle.  The two were part for an offensive line that helped EKU rush for 2,468 yards.  They helped the Colonels lead the OVC and rank 22nd in FCS football with 205.5 rushing yards per game.  Over the final six games of the season, the offensive line allowed only three sacks.  Both started against Tennessee State and aided a running attach that churned out 379 yards, averaging nine yards per rush.
 
Evans played in all 12 games.  He totaled 29 tackles, 12.5 tackles for a loss, eight sacks, two forced fumbles and two pass break-ups.  The redshirt senior from Douglasville, Georgia, was second in the OVC with 0.67 sacks per game and sixth with 1.04 tackles for a loss per game.  He ranks 33rd in the nation in sacks per game and 85th in tackles for a loss per game.  Evans had three sacks in Eastern's win over Tennessee Tech.