• Complete 2024 Big South-OVC Football Award Winners (PDF)
The 2024 Big South-OVC Football Association All-Conference and Annual Award winners have been announced following the conclusion of the regular season. The awards were voted on by head coaches and communications directors.
Southeast Missouri senior quarterback
Paxton DeLaurent was voted the Offensive Player of the Year while Redhawks’ senior linebacker
Bryce Norman claimed Defensive Player of the Year honors. Tennessee State fourth-year coach
Eddie George earned the Coach of the Year award while his linebacker
Sanders Ellis picked up Defensive Freshman of the Year honors. Lindenwood running back
Steve Hall was the Offensive Freshman of the Year honoree, while Charleston Southern junior punter
Gilbert Brown was voted the Special Teams Player of Year.
The Association also announced the Big South-OVC first and second teams which honored 72 players. UT Martin led the way with 15 selections across the two teams, followed closely by Southeast Missouri (14) and Tennessee Tech (11).
DeLaurent, a Walter Payton Award candidate, led SEMO to a share of the Big South-OVC Association championship and the automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs in 2024. He is among the national leaders with 29 touchdowns (tied for 4th), 26.67 completions per game (1st), 3,520 passing yards (5th) and 293.3 passing yards per game (5th). DeLaurent set the Big South-OVC Association single-season records for passing yards, completions (320) and touchdowns this season, and became the first quarterback in Association history to throw for 400 yards in a game when he netted a then-record 418 passing yards in Week 8 against Tennessee Tech. He is also just the second quarterback in league history to throw 10 TD passes in a 2-game span, and tied the conference mark for touchdown passes in a game with six in Week 2 vs. UT Martin. A five-time Big South-OVC Offensive Player of the Week selection in 2024, DeLaurent also had an Association-record seven games with 300-plus passing yards and had seven multi-TD pass games -- including four games with at least four.
Norman, a candidate for the Buck Buchanan Award, finished the regular-season with a conference-record 126 total tackles (54 solo, 72 assisted), which ranks sixth in FCS, and is the only Association player to average double-digit stops this season with his 10.50. He tied for the league-high with six games with 10-or-more tackles – including a career-high 19 along with 3.0 tackles-for-loss and 2.0 sacks against Lindenwood. He registered 13.5 TFL this season with 5.5 sacks, had six quarterback hurries, four pass breakups and two forced fumbles. Norman was named Big South-OVC Defensive Player of the Week three times in 2024.
George, a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award, led the Tigers to a 9-3 overall record and their first conference championship since 1999, as well as the program’s first FCS Playoff berth since 2013. TSU won nine games for the first time since 2013. Recognized as the Stats Perform HBCU Team of the Week twice this season, George’s squad enters the postseason ranked in both National Top 25 polls. The Tigers scored 40 points in a game four times this season, had a four-game win streak from Sept. 28-Oct. 19, and did not lose consecutive games all season. Tennessee State ranks ninth in the country with 7.3 tackles-for-loss, had three defensive touchdowns, recovered 10 fumbles, owns the Association’s top kickoff return average (26.79), has thrown the fewest interceptions (7), ranks first in the conference in passing defense (195.8) and pass efficiency defense (116.15) and lost the fewest turnovers (15).
Ellis, a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award as the nation’s top freshman, was named Big South-OVC Freshman of the Week five times during his rookie campaign. In 12 regular season games, he had 72 tackles (42 solo) to go along with 11.5 tackles-for-loss, 1.5 sacks, three pass breakups, a quarterback hurry and a fumble recovery. Ellis enters the postseason averaging 6.0 tackles/game, which ranks 11th in the Association, while his 0.96 TFL/game is seventh. Among freshmen he ranks sixth nationally in tackles.
Hall, also a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award, rushed for 808 yards and five touchdowns on 111 carries during his redshirt-freshman campaign, good for 7.3 yards per carry. He also caught 14 passes for 83 yards during the 2024 season. The St. Louis, Mo., native was tabbed Big South-OVC Freshman of the Week four times during the year and earned FCS National Freshman of the Week once after rushing for 259 yards and four touchdowns on just 13 carries in a win over Western Illinois. The 259 yards were second-most in a game in Association history, while his 19.92 yards per carry set the league standard. Hall also reeled off the longest rush from scrimmage in the Association record book with a 93-yard scoring run that sealed the victory over the Leathernecks. He also had a 75-yard dash for a touchdown, becoming the first player in Big South-OVC annals with two TD runs of 75-yards or longer in a game.
Brown led the Association and ranks sixth in FCS with a 45.95 punting average, the second-highest single-season average in the two-year history of the Big South-OVC. He punted 65 times for 2,987 yards, had 23 punts of 50-yards or longer, seven of 60-plus yards – including a 74-yarder vs. Gardner-Webb on Nov. 2, and placed 20 punts inside the opponents’ 20-yard line. The opposition managed just 7.5 yards on 22 punt returns, as Charleston Southern was 12th in the nation in net punting at 40.42. In Week 5 against Tennessee State, Brown posted an Association single-game record 61.0 punting average, based on 3-4 punts, as he booted kicks of 72, 68, 51 and 53 against the Tigers.
2024 BIG SOUTH-OVC FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS AND ANNUAL AWARD WINNERS
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Paxton DeLaurent, QB, Southeast Missouri
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Bryce Norman, LB, Southeast Missouri
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Gilbert Brown, P, Charleston Southern
OFFENSIVE FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Steve Hall, RB, Lindenwood
DEFENSIVE FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Sanders Ellis, LB, Tennessee State
COACH OF THE YEAR
Eddie George, Tennessee State
FIRST-TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
OFFENSE
QB – Paxton DeLaurent, Southeast Missouri
RB – Patrick Smith, UT Martin
RB – Steve Hall, Lindenwood
RB – MJ Flowers, Eastern Illinois
WR – Jeff Caldwell, Lindenwood
WR – Matthew Henry, Western Illinois
WR – Dorian Anderson, Southeast Missouri
WR – Cooper Willman, Eastern Illinois
TE – Camden Overton, Gardner-Webb
OL – Vance Van Every, UT Martin
OL – Drake Carroll, UT Martin
OL – Donnell Wilson, Tennessee Tech
OL – Gareth Warren, Lindenwood
OL – Kobe Sixkiller, Southeast Missouri
OL – Connor Meadows, Tennessee State
DEFENSE
DL – Daniel Rickert, Tennessee Tech
DL – Charles Perkins, UT Martin
DL – Darrius Bell, Charleston Southern
DL – Christian Dowell, UT Martin
DL – Nicholas Oliveira-Chace, Eastern Illinois
LB – Bryce Norman, Southeast Missouri
LB – Jaylon Sharpe, UT Martin
LB – Tevin Shipp, UT Martin
LB – Vincent King, Lindenwood
LB – Cayman Spaulding, Tennessee Tech
DB – Oshae Baker, UT Martin
DB – Boogie Trotter, Tennessee State
DB – Khalani Riddick, Southeast Missouri
DB – Tim Coutras, Tennessee Tech
DB – JaMichael McGoy Jr., UT Martin
SPECIALISTS
PK – DC Pippin, Southeast Missouri
P – Gilbert Brown, Charleston Southern
LS – Turner McLaughlin, Tennessee Tech
KR – CJ Evans, Tennessee State
PR – Oshae Baker, UT Martin
AP – Cooper Willman, Eastern Illinois
SECOND-TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
OFFENSE
QB – Nathan Lamb, Western Illinois
RB – Autavius Ison, Charleston Southern
RB – Jalen Mitchell, Tennessee Tech
RB – Cameren Smith, Western Illinois
WR – Karate Brenson, Tennessee State
WR – Tristan Smith, Southeast Missouri
WR – Cam Pedro, Southeast Missouri
WR – Trevonte Rucker, UT Martin
TE – Max Dowling, UT Martin
OL – Josiah Tingley, UT Martin
OL – Drew Wilder, Eastern Illinois
OL – Isaiah Foote, Western Illinois
OL – Cameron Cooper, Lindenwood
OL – Ryan Merklinger, Western Illinois
OL – Carter Guillaume, Southeast Missouri
DEFENSE
DL – Eriq George, Tennessee State
DL – McCoy Casey, Southeast Missouri
DL – Theron Gaines, Tennessee Tech
DL – Myles Parker, Tennessee Tech
DL – Nasim Cairo, Southeast Missouri
LB – Anthony Shockey, Eastern Illinois
LB – Trevor Moffitt, Gardner-Webb
LB – Ahmad Nelson, Tennessee State
LB – Chris Hunter Jr., UT Martin
LB – Aaron Swafford, Tennessee Tech
DB – Jalen McClendon, Tennessee State
DB – Caldra Williford, Tennessee Tech
DB – Justus Johnson, Southeast Missouri
DB – Ja’Kobe North, Charleston Southern
DB – Ty Leonard, Southeast Missouri
SPECIALISTS
PK – Logan Seibert, Lindenwood
P – Jacob Horvath, Eastern Illinois
LS – Colton Peoples, UT Martin
KR – Tremel Jones, Tennessee Tech
PR – Khalani Riddick, Southeast Missouri
AP – CJ Evans, Tennessee State