Nine seniors play final game Saturday when Murray State visits

Golden Eagle game notes vs. Murray State (pdf)

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- Nine Golden Eagle seniors will run through the inflatable helmet Saturday afternoon and onto the turf in Tucker Stadium for the final time in their careers. They hope to lead Tennessee Tech in its quest for an overall winning season and an unbeaten home mark. The Golden Eagles can also finish tied for second in the Ohio Valley Conference by wrapping up with a victory over the Racers.

Tech is looking to avenge a 51-21 loss last year in Murray, Ky., and rebound from a 55-28 loss last week at Jacksonville State.

The senior class includes Brendon Fisher, Kelvin Quarles, Taron Ryce, Calvin Smith, Lee Sweeney, Cedric Wilkerson, Derek Dickerson, Brandon Harris and Derrian Waters.

Tech comes into the contest with a 5-5 overall record and looks to post a winning record for the first time in five years. A win over MSU would also leave Tech with just its fourth unbeaten record in Tucker Stadium since the venue opened in 1966.

Murray State is coming off a 49-13 loss at Southeast Missouri. The Racers will be under the direction of defensive coordinator Mark Lister, who took over the reins this week after head coach Matt Griffin was relieved of his duties.

Tickets for the game are available at the Athletics Ticket Office in Eblen Center or by calling (931) 372-3940. Ticket may also be ordered online by clicking here.

THE SENIOR CLASS -- Tennessee Tech’s 2009 roster includes only nine seniors. Three of them are fifth-year seniors and three more are in their fourth season as a Golden Eagle. One senior is in his second season at Tech, and two seniors are newcomers to the program. Tech’s
2009 seniors (and the number of years on the roster before 2009):
* Linebacker Derek Dickerson (0)
* Defensive end Brendon Fisher (4)
* Tight end Brandon Harris (3)
* Defensive end Kelvin Quarles (0)
* Cornerback Taron Ryce (3)
* Offensive tackle Calvin Smith (4)
* Quarterback Lee Sweeney (3)
* Linebacker Derrian Waters (4)
* Runningback Cedric Wilkerson (1)

HOLD ON TO THE BALL -- The Golden Eagles rank 11th in the nation and second in the OVC for fewest turnovers lost with 12. The Golden Eagles have not had a turnover in the last two-plus games, and have now gone nine consecutive quarters with a turnover. The last TO was a third quarter interception by Tennessee State.

TURNOVER TURNAROUND -- Last year Tech finished the year with a minus 20 turnover margin. Through 10 games this season, Tech is a plus six (+6) in turnover margin, which ranks second in the conference and 25th in the nation.

CHART WATCHING -- Several Golden Eagles can move up on the career charts this weekend:
* Henry Sailes needs 131 yards to break the school record for kickoff return yards
* Henry Sailes needs 97 yards to move to eight in all-purpose yards.
* Tim Benford needs three catches move to eighth place and four to reach seventh place in career receptions.
* Tim Benford needs 36 yards to reach 10th in career receiving yards.
* Taron Ryce needs four tackles to hit the 200-tackle mark.
* Richmond Tooley needs four tackles to hit the 100-tackle mark.

GIVE ME SIX -- The Golden Eagles are bidding for their sixth win of the season. It would be the most wins by a Golden Eagle team since the 2004 team went 6-5 under head coach Mike Hennigan.

A HAPPY HOME -- Tech is the only team in the OVC to be unbeaten at home in 2009, and the Golden Eagles have a chance to close the year with a perfect 5-0 mark on their home turf. It would be Tech’s first unbeaten home mark since going 5-0 in 2001 and only the fourth time in Tucker Stadium since it opened in 1966. The other two unblemished home records came in 1971 (5-0) and 1972 (6-0). Tech has posted home wins over Pikeville College, Austin Peay, Southeast Missouri and Tennessee State.

ODD QUARTER BLUES -- The Golden Eagles have outscored their opponents this year in the second (62-51) and fourth quarters (69-61). They have been outscored in the first quarter (81-72) and the third (79-19).

LEADING INDICATORS -- Want an early indication that the Golden Eagles will win the game? Check the score at halftime. Tech is 5-1 this season when leading at the half.

SGT YORK TROPHY -- The Golden Eagles clinched the 2009 Sgt. York Trophy with their 20-13 win over Tennessee State, giving Tech a 3-0 record against the three OVC schools within the state of Tennessee. The award, now in its third year, goes to the Tennessee OVC team with the top record in the series among the four -- Tech, Austin Peay, UT Martin and Tennessee State.

FROM KENTUCKY -- The Tech roster features only one player from the state of Kentucky - sophomore Dontey Gay from Lexington.

ALL-AMERICANS -- Two Golden Eagles have earned the distinction of All-America status. Junior Taylor Askew is an Academic All-American and junior Kelechi Ordu is a Strength All-American. Junior Henry Sailes has earned preseason honorable mention All-America honors.
YOUTH IN TWO-DEEP -- The two-deep lineup includes 15 freshmen and 20 first-year Golden Eagles.

CAPTAINS APLENTY -- Coach Watson Brown has decided to have his team elect captains prior to the 2009 season, and the Golden Eagles have chosen four defensive players. The team captains are Brendon Fisher, Kelvin Quarles, Taron Ryce and Derrian Waters.

ACADEMIC SUCCESS -- During last Spring semester, the Golden Eagle football team placed 26 players on the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll. This season, 14 of those players are back on the field.

STARTS WITH AN “A” -- Golden Eagle junior offensive guard Taylor Askew has been named first-team Academic All-District each of the past three years, and he’s currently on the ballot for national Academic All-America honors. The CoSIDA Academic-All-America team is sponsored by ESPN The Magazine. Askew owns a perfect 4.0 grade average, and last season received the OVC Academic Medal for posting the highest GPA among all football players in the league.

CAREER MARKS -- So far this season Lee Sweeney has established new Tech career records for most passes attempted, most passes completed, most touchdown passes, most touchdowns responsible for, most passing yards and most yards of total offense.
PRESEASON HONOR -- Junior Charlie Seivers was named to the preseason all-OVC team.

SHUTTLE PILOT -- Former Golden Eagle linebacker Barry Wilmore, a member of the TTU Sports Hall of Fame, is in currently in space as the pilot of NASA’s Space Shuttle Atlantis, which had a successful launch on Monday (Nov. 16). Wilmore is one of just four former college football players to become an astronaut. One of the others is John Glenn.

TO PROTECT AND SERVE -- Tech’s offensive line has done a solid job in pass protection this year, allowing just 16 total sacks through the first nine games. Georgia recorded six of those sacks. Through 10 games, Tech has yielded just 19 sacks.

LITTLE TIME OFF -- The starting five in Tech’s offensive line are seeing the majority of snaps. The workhorses up front include center Malcolm Jones, guards Taylor Askew and Slade Adams, and tackles Scott Schweitzer and Calvin Smith. Sophomores Andrew Higgins and Ryan St. John have seen some time in supporting roles.

DRIVING LICENSE -- Against Jacksonville State, Tech had three scoring drives of 65 yards or more, the most against any TTU opponent this year, and a fourth of 64 yards. So far this year, Tech has produced 11 long scoring drives of at least 65 yards.

LIGHT THE FUSE -- The Golden Eagle offense has produced 20 “explosions” this season, with 16 passing plays of 25 yards or more and four rushing plays of better than 20 yards.

SEEING RED -- Once Tech reaches the red zone, the Golden Eagle offense has been very efficient, scoring 23 out of 28 times for 82 percent. Tech has found the end zone for 21 of those 23 scores.

OVC HONOR -- Sophomore receiver Tim Benford was named co-Offensive Player of the Week after accounting for 122 of Tech’s 265 yards of total offense against Tennessee State (Oct. 31). Benford had five catches, including the game-winner with a 28-yard TD with three minutes remaining. It was Benford’s third career 100-yard receiving game, and second of this season.

ADDING UP -- Senior quarterback Lee Sweeney has passed for 1,615 yards and 11 touchdowns this season. Sweeney ranks third in the OVC in passing efficiency, fifth in passing yards and seventh in total offense. He has hit the 300-yard mark passing six times, including 318 at UT Martin (Oct. 17). Sweeney has 13 games of 200 yards or more passing. Tech is 7-6 in games when Sweeney hits the 200-yard mark. He is averaging 161.5 yards per game this season.

SENIOR GUNSLINGER -- Lee Sweeney entered his senior season as the starter at quarterback, something that hasn’t happened too often through the years. Since 1990, it is only the fifth time that a senior came into the year as the starting quarterback. The others have been Mike Jones (1994), Andre Cabalero (1997), Grant Swallows (2001) and Robert Craft (2004).

ON OVC LADDERS, TOO -- Lee Sweeney is climbing the charts among the all-time top quarterbacks in OVC history. He is third for career completions (608) and seventh in career passing yards with 7,004. He needs 60 to catch Kelly Holcomb in sixth place.

OVC CAREER COMPLETIONS
1. Chris Swartz, MOR (1987-90) 774
2. Stewart Childress, MUR (2000-03) 649
3. Lee Sweeney, TTU (2006-) 608
4. Tony Romo, EIU (1999-02) 584
Brady Wahlberg, UTM (2002-05) 584
6. Michael Proctor, MUR (1986-89) 578
7. Jefferson Adcock, SAM (2004-07) 505
8. Kelly Holcomb, MTSU (1991-94) 501
9. Ray Nelson, SAM (2003-04) 500
10. Josh Greco, EKU (2004-07) 478

OVC CAREER PASSING YARDS
1. Chris Swartz, MOR (1987-90) 9,028
2. Michael Proctor, MUR (1986-89) 8,682
3. Tony Romo, EIU (1999-02) 8,212
4. Stew Childress, MUR (2000-03) 7,581
5. Leon Murray, TSU (1997-99) 7,201
6. Kelly Holcomb, MTSU (1991-94) 7,064
7. Lee Sweeney, TTU (2006-) 7,004
8. James Wade, TSU (1989-92) 6,613
9. Justin Fuente, MUR (1998-99) 6,394
10. Brady Wahlberg, UTM (2002-05) 6,247

CAREER TD MARK TO LEE -- With two TD passes against UT Martin, Lee Sweeney broke the career record. He has now thrown 47 career touchdown passes. He passed the career record, which was originally set at 38 by Robert Craft (2001-2004).

LEE FOR THREE -- Lee Sweeney has thrown three touchdown passes five times in his career:
2009 - Austin Peay
2008 - Austin Peay
2007 - Samford
2006 - Murray State
2006 - Tennessee State

FINDING PAYDIRT -- Sweeney has thrown TD passes in 24 of his 39 career games and has thrown for at least two touchdowns in 16 games.

NATIONAL CHARTS -- Among all active quarterbacks, Lee Sweeney ranks in the Top 16 in four different career categories:
10th - attempts with1,007
12th - completions with 608
14th - yards with 7,004
16th - touchdown passes with 47

IN EVERY SINGLE GAME -- Tim Benford has caught passes in all 21 games of his Golden Eagle career. He has made four or more catches in 14 of those 21 contests. Benford enjoyed a sensational start to his career last year, leading Tech in receptions (school-record 68), receiving yards (782) and touchdowns (10) on his way to earning 2008 OVC Freshman of the Year honors. This season, Benford leads Tech with 31 catches for 554 yards. He ranks third in the OVC in receiving yards per game and seventh in receptions per game.

BENFORD IN TOP 10 -- Sophomore Tim Benford has climbed to ninth in career receptions. He comes into the game with 99 receptions, needing three to catch Anton Thomison and four to match Jack Kelley.

HE’S PASSED 1,000 -- Sophomore Tim Benford has raised his career total to 1,336 receiving yards.

SAILING ON -- Henry Sailes has climbed into ninth place in career all-purpose yards. He had 179 yards at Jacksonville State, and now has 2,703. He jumped ahead of Lorenza “Chicken” Rivers and needs 97 more to catch Gerald Bentley in eighth place.

HITTING 1,000 -- Henry Sailes has surpassed the 1,000-yard mark in kickoff returns for his career. He has 1,288 yards to rank second in school history. He is 130 yards from Gerald Bentley’s record of 1,418 KO return yards.

MAN WITH A PURPOSE -- Last year, Dontey Gay finished third on the team in all-purpose yardage with 776 yards. This season, he is tops on the squad with 708 all-purpose yards. He has a team-best 454 yards rushing, along with 87 receiving and 167 on kickoff returns. In 21 games, Gay has accounted for 1,484 all-purpose yards with 643 rushing, 112 receiving and 729 in kickoff returns

PAYDAY FOR NO. 24 -- Senior Cedric Wilkerson has carried the ball 25 times this season and five have been for touchdowns. At JSU, Ced had four carries for eight yards and another score.

NUMERO UNO -- Antonio Robinson had the biggest game of his career against Austin Peay (Oct. 3), posting career-high numbers with nine catches for 130 yards and two touchdowns. He ranks second behind Tim Benford in number of receptions with 15 for 217 yards and two touchdowns. For his career, Robinson has 39 catches for 532 yards.

CALLING COLIN -- Junior Colin Allen earned a start at wide receiver against Eastern Illinois and responded with a team-leading six catches for 80 yards and a touchdown. He caught his third TD of the year in the first quarter against Tennessee State. Allen has 12 catches for 226 yards and three touchdowns. For his career, Allen has 35 receptions for 621 yards.

TWO FOR ALDEN -- Sophomore Alden Olverson has caught eight passes for 137 yards, with two going for touchdowns.

SPREADING THE WEALTH -- Fifteen different receivers have caught passes, two more than all of last season. Six of the 15 are wide receivers, two are tight ends, two are fullbacks and six are backs.

GRIN AND BLAIR IT -- Sophomore Jimmie Blair made his Golden Eagle debut against Pikeville and took Tech on a four-play, 53-yard fourth quarter scoring drive. Blair had all four carries in the drive, including a 35-yard run and a 15-yard touchdown. He finished with seven carries for 62 yards. He had six carries for 38 yards against Tennessee State. Blair ranks fourth on the team in rushing with 102 yards.

A NICE CHANGE -- Sophomore Jamere Hogue moved from outside linebacker to tight end following his freshman season and has been a solid contributor as the starter in 2009. At Kansas State he made his first career reception, a 19-yard touchdown for the Golden Eagles’ only score, finishing the game with two catches for 26 yards. Against UT Martin, Hogue had his third reception of the year, a five-yard TD pass from Lee Sweeney. He has seven catches for 58 yards and two are for touchdowns.

NO PASSING ZONE - The Golden Eagles rank 36th nationally and second in the Ohio Valley Conference in passing defense, allowing 176.4 yards per game through the air.

PICKING UP PICKS -- After getting six interceptions all of last season, the Golden Eagles have 14 interceptions this year. Tech ranks first in the OVC and 16th nationally in interceptions per game.

CAREER LEADERS - Senior Taron Ryce is tops on the team in career tackles with 196. Ryce, Dustin Dillehay, Brendon Fisher and Jake McIntosh have each topped 100 in career tackles. Here is how the returnees rank in total tackles:
Active Player (yr) Tackles GP
Taron Ryce (Sr.) 196 44
Dustin Dillehay (Jr.) 128 32
Brendon Fisher (Sr.) 108 41
Jake McIntosh (So.) 104 19
Richmond Tooley (So.) 96 22
Kelechi Ordu (Jr.) 94 28
Charlie Seivers (Jr.) 83 31
Dedrick Miley (Jr.) 83 32
Howard Griffin (So.) 70 15
Caleb Mitchell (Fr.) 68 12
Justin Vann (So.) 66 18 Corbin Miles (Jr.) 65 30
Justin Hilliard (Jr.) 60 29
Dwight Evans (So.) 46 21
Travis Adkins (So.) 43 22
Kedrick Towles (So.) 37 12
Brandon Harris (Sr.) 26 28

MUCH IMPROVED - In his first two seasons combined, Dustin Dillehay had 35 total tackles. So far this year, he has 73 to lead Tech.

DILLIGENT DILLEHAY - Dustin Dillehay leads the Golden Eagles with 73 tackles, ranking him 10th in the OVC. He picked off his third pass of the season against SEMO (Oct. 24), returning it 29 yards. Against Tennessee State (Oct. 31), he tied for team honors with 13 total tackles. Dillehay made a career-high 14 tackles at UT Martin (Oct. 10). The former walk-on stepped forward to see extended playing time in the secondary last year and is the starter at rover this fall. Against Pikeville, Dillehay had his first career interception and returned a punt 27 yards. He then added a 41-yard INT return for touchdown at UT Martin on his way to...

NATIONAL HONORS -- Junior defensive back Dustin Dillehay was named National Defensive Player of the Week by the Sports Network and a National All-Star by College Sporting News on Oct. 12 after his outing against UT Martin. Dillehay had 14 tackles (10 solo) and intercepted a pass that he returned 41 yards for what proved to be the game-winning touchdown in the Golden Eagles 35-28 road victory. With his team leading 28-21, Dillehay picked off UTM quarterback Cade Thompson and returned the ball 41 yards for a score to put the Golden Eagles up 35-21 with 8:11 to play.

IT’S TOOLEY TIME -- Sophomore Richmond Tooley has emerged as a leader in the Tech secondary and ranks as one of the most effective defensive backs in the OVC. He ranks third in the OVC and 22nd in the nation in passes defended with 12 including three interceptions. He had his first career interception at Eastern Kentucky, halting an early Colonel drive with a pick in the end zone. Tooley also broke up three passes in the EKU contest. Against Austin Peay, Tooley had 12 total tackles and broke up three passes. His second pick of the year came against Southeast Missouri and turned the momentum in Tech’s favor. Against Tennessee State, he got his third interception of the year. He started eight games last year as a true freshman and ranked fifth on the team with 56 total tackles with three passes defended.

QUITE NICE, RYCE -- Senior Taron Ryce ranks fifth on the team with 51 total tackles, second on the squad with seven passes defended, and third in interceptions with two. Ryce had eight tackles, including a tackle-for-loss, broke up three passes and claimed his fifth career interception in the game at Eastern Illinois (Oct. 17). Ryce has 196 career tackles and six career interceptions, both tops among active players.

WELCOME BACK, CALEB - Redshirt freshman Caleb Mitchell, Tech’s second-leading tackler, had a sensational game against Tennessee State (Oct. 31) and was named the OVC Defensive Player of the Week, as well as the Newcomer of the Week. He forced a pair of first quarter turnovers that led to Tech’s first two touchdowns, and finished the game with 13 total tackles, 2.5 tackles-for-loss, two passes defended, an interception, a fumble caused, a fumble recovered and two quarterback sacks. Mitchell had eight tackles against Southeast Missouri. He currently ranks second on the team with 60 tackles, and is 18th in the OVC. He is third on the team with 4.5 tackles for loss, and third in interceptions with two. He played the first couple of games last year as a true freshman before suffering an injury at Louisville and missed the rest of the year, earning medical redshirt status.

HOWARD’S RETURN -- After missing several games, sophomore linebacker Howard Griffin returned to the lineup against Southeast Missouri in a reserve role and made five tackles. Griffin had eight stops against Tennessee State and seven at Georgia. Griffin was leading the team with 29 tackles when he was sidelined with the injury. He missed most of the Austin Peay game and the entire UT Martin and EIU games. Griffin had a career-best 11 tackles against Eastern Kentucky and also caused a fumble. He made eight stops at K-State. He currently ranks fourth on the team with 53 total tackles. One of the team’s most improved players in the spring, last season he made a total of 17 tackles (with a career-high of six).

PLENTY OF POLISH -- Jake McIntosh made eight tackles in the win over Tennessee State and added seven tackles at Georgia. The sophomore currently ranks third on the team and 19th in the OVC in tackles, making 59 stops. Last year he finished with 45 total tackles in eight games. Earlier this year he tied his career-high with nine tackles to lead Tech in the game at Kansas State. He started eight games and ranked among the top tacklers in the OVC last year, and was second in tackles among all OVC freshmen. He set his career-high last year with nine tackles against both Eastern Kentucky and UT Martin.

JUSTIN TIME - Sophomore Justin Vann moved into the starting spot at BANDIT linebacker when Derrian Waters suffered a knee injury earlier in the year, and has become a stalwart performer. Vann had four tackles against both Pikeville and Eastern Kentucky, then made a career-best eight stops at K-State. He was in on five stops against Austin Peay, UT Martin and Southeast Missouri. He ranks seventh on the team with 45 total tackles, including 4.0 tackles-for-loss.

HE’S A FORCE - Junior Dedrick Miley tops Tech’s defensive linemen with 35 total tackles to rank 10th on the team. He is tied for third on the squad with 5.0 tackles-for-loss and leads the Golden Eagles with four quarterback sacks. The junior from Valdosta, Ga., had a strong game against Austin Peay (Oct. 3) with six total tackles including a tackle-for-loss and one quarterback sack, and he also blocked a fourth quarter PAT attempt that preserved a 24-23 Golden Eagle lead.

FILLING IN JUST FINE - Junior linebacker Kelechi Ordu filled in well for injured starter Howard Griffin for four contests. He made six tackles including one tackle-for-loss against Austin Peay and two tackles with a half tackle-for-loss against UT Martin. At Eastern Illinois (Oct. 17), Ordu led the Golden Eagles with 12 tackles, one less than his career-best (13 against Concordia in 2007) and equal to his entire 2008 tackle total of 12. He notched his second consecutive double-digit game with 10 tackles against Southeast Missouri (Oct. 24), including two tackles-for-loss and a quarterback sack, while also causing a fumble. He had six stops against the Georgia Bulldogs and five at JSU. For the season, Ordu has 51 total tackles to rank sixth on the team. He is second on the team in tackles-for-loss with 5.5.

DEEP UP FRONT -- The Golden Eagle defensive front boasts loads of depth. At BEAR, Charlie Seivers and Brendon Fisher are both listed as co-starters. Justin Hilliard and Dedrick Miley are sharing time in the middle at the ANCHOR spot, and each has started. On the other end, at the ROCK position, sophomore Travis Adkins is back and is joined by freshman LaDarrius Verge. That group combined for 175 total tackles last year, led by Seivers (65), Miley (33), Fisher and Hilliard (32 each). So far this season, those six players have combined to make 163 total tackles, led by Miley with 35, Fisher with 32 and Adkins with 29.

KEEPING UP WITH JONES -- True freshman Marty Jones saw extended playing time at Georgia and had his top game of the year. He led Tech with nine total tackles and intercepted a pass in the end zone to halt a first half UGA scoring chance. It was his second interception of the year. Jones has made 15 tackles in the last two games and ranks ninth on the team with 38 tackles.

NEW FACES -- Several first-year players are having an impact on the defense, led by freshman Marty Jones with 38 tackles and senior Kelvin Quarles with 34 tackles. Also showing up among team leaders in tackles among the newcomers are LeDarrius Verge (24) and Matt Moran (23). Jerry King had 21 tackles in five games, but is lost for the season with a knee injury.

THREE OF TOP FIVE -- Three of Tech’s top five tacklers at Jacksonville State were rookies (or first-year in their position players), led by safety Josh Paz with a career-high six. Freshman Marty Jones had six and freshman Barry Lenon had five.

BLOCK PARTY -- Sophomore Justin Vann blocked a punt against Tennessee State, Tech’s fifth blocked kick of the year and the 13th in three seasons under Watson Brown. Senior Dedrick Miley has blocked three kicks this season. The Golden Eagles blocked a pair of field goals at Eastern Illinois. Miley has blocked field goals against both Eastern Illinois and Eastern Kentucky, and a PAT attempt against Austin Peay that possibly turned the game in Tech’s favor in the fourth quarter. Tech blocked three kicks in 2008, two on PAT attempts and one on a field goal try. The six current players who have blocked kicks are:
2009
Justin Vann (Punt vs. Tennessee State)
Dedrick Miley (FG at Eastern Illinois)
Dedrick Miley (FG at Eastern Kentucky)
Dedrick Miley (PAT vs. Austin Peay)
2008
Travis Adkins (PAT at Louisville)
Justin Hilliard (PAT at Austin Peay)
Kedrick Towles (field goal vs. EIU)
2007
Taron Ryce (PAT against Austin Peay)

ANOTHER RETURN MAN -- As if Tech doesn’t already have a handful of dangerous kick returners, sophomore Mauricio Wallace has emerged as yet another weapon. He had an 81-yard return against Eastern Illinois, and is averaging 29.2 yards in 11 returns, which ranks second in the nation.

MANY HAPPY RETURNS -- Henry Sailes has two kickoff returns for touchdowns.
Tech’s Kickoff Return TDs since 1960:
Player Year Opponent Yds
Henry Sailes 2008 UT Martin 87
Larry Shipp 2007 Samford 88
Henry Sailes 2007 Murray State 76
Larry Shipp 2007 Concordia 97
Larry Shipp 2007 Cumberland 87
Lorenza Rivers 1987 Youngstown 99
Billy Blaylock 1982 NE Missouri 83
Mike Vise 1977 UN-Omaha 90
Lamar Mike 1977 East Tennessee 93
Lamar Mike 1976 East Tennessee 96
Dickie Fulton 1973 East Tennessee 100
Larry Schreiber 1967 Middle Tenn. 90
Jim Schaeffer 1961 Eastern Kentucky 95

WHO WILL PUNT -- Just when it appeared that junior Jason Lennartz had taken over the punting duties, he ran into trouble at Georgia and was replaced by sophomore Nick Campbell. For the year, the two are fairly even. Campbell has 30 punts and a 36.5 average. Lennartz has 32 punts and a 37.9 average. Lennartz stepped in as a mid-game replacement at Eastern Illinois (Oct. 17) and averaged 50.8 yards in five kicks, including two bombs of 69 yards each.

WORKING OVERTIME — Of the 13 games in which Tech has gone to overtime, three have been against Murray State and the Golden Eagles have won all three times. The most recent was a 20-14 victory in Murray in 2006. The Golden Eagles are 8-5 all-time in overtime games.

GOLDEN EAGLES IN OVERTIME
The Golden Eagles are 8-5 in games that reached extra periods:
W - Tech 16, Murray State 13 (1 OT) - 10/1/88
W - Tech 20, Austin Peay 14 (1 OT) - 11/10/90
W - Tech 21, UT Martin 14 (2 OT) - 10/5/96
W - Tech 16, Murray State 13 (1 OT) -11/1/97
W - Tech 31, UT Martin 24 (1 OT) - 10/17/98
W - Tech 31, Eastern Ky. 29 (3OT) - 10/24/98
L - Eastern Ky. 23, Tech 20 (2OT) - 11/13/99
L - UT Martin 30, Tech 23 (1 OT) - 10/4/03
W - Tech 40, Eastern Ill. 37 (2 OT) - 11/6/04
L - SE Missouri 31, Tech 28 (1 OT) - 11/13/04
L - Chattanooga 30, Tech 23 (1 OT) - 9/3/05
W - Tech 20, Murray State 14 (1 OT) - 9/30/06
L - Jax State 17, Tech 10 (1 OT) - 10/28/06

COMING UP:
The 2009 season is finished for Tech after the MSU game. Up next is the signing of another outstanding recruting class.