Sports
Four Bobcats Earn Athlon Preseason All-MAC Honors
By: Seth Austin
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Athlon Sports Magazine named four Bobcat football players to its 2013 Preseason All-Mid-American Conference Team. Offensive lineman Ryan McGrath pulled in first-team honors with Beau Blankenship, Keith Moore and John Prior all named to the second-team.
McGrath saw action in 12-of-13 games for the ‘Cats in 2012 amassing 78 pancakes and 95 knockdowns. His companion along the line, Prior, recorded 51 pancakes and a team-high 24 decleaters. McGrath and Prior manned an offensive line that allowed Ohio to rush for 2,643 yards in 2012, good for third in the MAC.
Blankenship benefitted from the play of his line in 2012, racking up a school single-season record 1,604 yards on the ground. His efforts last season helped him earn Second Team All-MAC in 2012.
Moore led the Green and White with 98 tackles in 2012, starting in every game for Ohio. He finished out his season on a strong note with nine tackles against Louisiana-Monroe in the Independence Bowl.
One apparent snub on the All-Conference team is quarterback Tyler Tettleton, who threw for 2,844 yards and 18 touchdowns. Athlon selected Northern Illinois’ Jordan Lynch and Ball State’s Keith Wenning to represent the conference at quarterback.
Only one player from the MAC was given a spot on Athlon’s All-America team. Kent State’s Dri Archer earned Third-Team honors as an All-Purpose player after a season where he accumulated 2,581 all-purpose yards with a school record 23 touchdowns.
Athlon Sports predicts that Ohio will finish second in the MAC East in 2013 behind Bowling Green, with an overall record of 9-3. The ‘Cats kick off their season on Sept. 1 when they travel to Louisville to take on the Cardinals in Papa John's Stadium on ESPN.