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RICHMOND, Ky. – Ten Eastern Kentucky football players earned spots on the Phil Steele 2019 All-Ohio Valley Conference Team.
 
Running back Daryl McCleskey Jr., defensive linemen Aaron Patrick and Taquan Evans, and kicker Samuel Hayworth were chosen first team all-conference by Phil Steele.  Running back Alonzo Booth, offensive lineman Graham Ashkettle, and kick returner Quentin Pringle picked up second team honors.  Offensive lineman Tucker Schroeder, linebacker Steven Crowder and long snapper Alex Shelton were named to Phil Steele's All-OVC third team. 
 
McCleskey was the only player in the conference to rush for 1,000 yards this season, finishing with 343 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 fifth in rushing touchdowns and third in all-purpose yards (119.6 per game).  He was 10th in the country in rushing yards, 12th in yards per game, 24th in yards per carry and 61st 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.
 
Patrick was selected as an All-American by the Associated Press, the Walter Camp Foundation, STATS, the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and HERO Sports.  The Dayton native was the 2019 OVC Defensive Player of the Year and a finalist for the 2019 STATS Buck Buchanan Award, the FCS national defensive player of the year award.
 
Patrick concluded the season with 52 tackles, including 16.5 tackles for a loss and 10.0 sacks, forced three fumbles and had one interception.  He led the OVC and ranked 11th in the nation with 0.83 sacks per game.  He led the conference, and was 26th in the country, in tackles for a loss (1.4/game).  The 6-foot-4, 245-pound defensive end was third in the league, and 21st in FCS football, in forced fumbles (0.25/game).
 
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 34th in the nation in sacks per game and 81st in tackles for a loss per game.  Evans had three sacks in Eastern's win over Tennessee Tech. 
 
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 ranked ninth in the nation in field goals per game and 12th 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 was 16th in the nation in rushing touchdowns.
 
Ashkettle, a redshirt sophomore from Crestwood, Kentucky, started 10 times at right tackle.  Schroeder, a redshirt sophomore from St. Cloud, Florida, started all 12 games at left guard.  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 20th 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.
 
Pringle returned 15 kicks for an average of 27.1 yards per attempt.  The true freshman from Bolingbrook, Illinois ranked first in the OVC and eighth in the nation in yards per kickoff return.  He had a season-best 46-yard kickoff return at Eastern Illinois.
 
Crowder totaled 63 tackles, including 9.5 tackles for a loss and 2.0 sacks.  The junior from Mount Olive, Alabama forced one fumble, recovered one fumble and had one pass break-up.  He tied for 29th in the OVC in tackles (5.2/game) and tied for ninth in tackles for a loss (9.5/game).  Crowder had a season-high 11 tackles at Louisville.
 
Shelton appeared in all 12 games.  The junior from Fort Wright, Kentucky was the snapper on every extra-point, field goal and punt attempt.  He recovered a fumble in the season-opener against Valparaiso.  Shelton was part of the special teams units that helped Hayworth set a new program record with 17 kicking points at Jacksonville State. 
 
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