Eight Tennessee State Players gain All-OVC Honors

Eight members of the 2000 Tennessee State Tigers' football team were honored with All-Ohio Valley Conference selections. Two players, junior defensive end Walter Reese and freshman kick returner Carlos Wright, were named to the first team. Three players, junior offensive tackle Lawrence Smith, senior defensive lineman Curley Grayson and senior cornerback Ligarius Jennings earned second team honors. Freshman wide receiver C.J. Johnson, junior center Benedict Ibisi and sophomore defensive lineman Desmond Scantling were selected to the Honorable Mention team.

First Team
Walter Reese, a 6-1,220 product of Southside high school in Ft. Wayne Indiana, plays stand-up defensive end for the Tigers. Reese played in all 11 games and finished the season with 69 tackles, 13 for losses of 87 yards. He had seven sacks (-69 yds), 1 forced fumble, 1 fumbler recovery, 1 blocked kick and three passes defended. This was Reese's first selection as an All-OVC player.

Carlos Wright is a 6-2, 200 true freshman wide receiver out of Middleburg, Florida (Middleburg HS). This year he was forced into a kick-returning role after the second game of the season. At season's end Wright became one of the most dangerous kick returners in the Ohio Valley Conference and in I-AA football. Carlos led the OVC in punt returns (13.8 ypg), and ranked 21st nationally. He was 5th ranked I the conference in kick-off returns. He led the TSU team in kick-of returns averaging13.8 with one touchdown (56 yards). Wright was the only freshman named to the All-OVC first team.

Second Team
Junior offensive tackle Lawrence Smith is a 6-4, 305 product of Atlanta, Georgia (Booker T. Washington HS) earned his first All-OVC honors being named to the second team. He was considered the top offensive lineman on the Tennessee State team this year. His coaches consistently graded him above 90% during the season.

Junior defensive tackle Curley Grayson, 6-2, 260 Memphis, Tennessee (Trezevant), played in ten games and finished in the top 10 of the OVC tackles for loss (9 for -39 yards), he had 3 sacks (-18) 1 forced fumble and 1 QB Hurry.

Ligarius Jennings, the 5-10, 195 senior from Birmingham, Alabama (Winona HS) earned his second selection to the All-OVC team as a cornerback. He played in 10 games and was the team's third leading tackler (61), and top pass defender with 12 passes defended and 2 interceptions. Jennings has already been invited to play in the Senior Bowl and is drawing the interest of NFL scouts.

Honorable Mention
C.J. Johnson (5-10, 175), a true freshman is from Nashville, Tennessee (Glencliff HS). Finished the season as the leading receiver for the Tigers with 42 catches for 853 yards and 7 TD's. He turned in the fourth best single game performance in TSU history with 231 yards (7 receptions) against Tennessee Tech (11/02).

Center Benedict Ibisi (6-3, 260), is a product of Miami, Florida (Carol City HS) played in all 11 games and provided the anchor for the TSU offensive line. This is Benedict's first selection for All-OVC honors.Sophomore defensive lineman Desmond Scantling (6-3, 245) hails from Knoxville, Tennessee (Bearden HS) and led the Tigers in sacks with 8 for -50 yards. Desmond had 13 tackles for loss (-66), two forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery and 1 blocked kick.

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