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Austin Peay Football’s Amius Smith named First-Team All-OVC, Ryan White earns Second-Team Honors

APSU Sports Information: Austin Peay Football

Austin Peay State University GovernorsNashville, TN – Senior weak safety Amius Smith, of the Austin Peay State University football team, was named first-team All-Ohio Valley Conference, while senior running back Ryan White was selected second-team, the league announced, Tuesday.

“These two guys have been good football players for us over the past four years,” head coach Rick Christophel said. “They’ve both been fun guys to coach and have been leaders for our program. I’m proud to see them getting recognized.”

(L to R) APSU Safety Amius Smith and Running Back Ryan White. (Courtesy: Austin Peay Sports Information)
(L to R) APSU Safety Amius Smith and Running Back Ryan White. (Courtesy: Austin Peay Sports Information)

This is the first time Smith has earned all-conference honors, while White was a first-team selection in 2009.

In the Govs 4-2-5 defensive scheme, Smith played a variety of roles. The 6-2, 222-pound, Clarksville native actually began his career as a free safety and moved to weak safety in 2010. From there, he’s made an impact on the edge, leading the Govs with 8.5 tackles for loss and ranking second on the team with 80 tackles in 2011.

Amius Smith“Amius was a good player for us this year,” Christophel said. “He’s risen up and overcome some things. I’ve been fortunate to be able to coach him and I’m pleased to know that he’s going to graduate in another semester.

“He’s helped us to be able to do some different things, defensively. Amius has worked hard and he’s very deserving.”

Smith had three double-digit tackle performances, including back-to-back weeks against Jacksonville State (10 tackles, one forced-fumble) and Southeast Missouri (11 tackles, 0.5 sacks). He opened the season recording a tackle-for-loss in each of the first five games, leading the Govs with two tackles-for-loss in the season opener at Cincinnati.

In the Govs win against Eastern Kentucky, Smith gave the Govs a 9-0 lead, stopping EKU running back Jeremiah Williams in the end zone for a safety. The next week against Tennessee State, he recovered a fumble that set up the Govs’ game-winning drive.

Ryan WhiteWhite became the ninth player in school history to eclipse 1,000 yards rushing when he went for 140 yards at Tennessee Tech in the Govs season-finale to end with 1,100 yards on the year. He joined all-time leading rusher Chris Fletcher and APSU Hall of Fame running back John Ogles as the only Governors running backs with two 1,000-yard season.

The Brentwood native finished his career as the program’s second all-time leading rusher with 3,550 yards on 740 carries. His six rushing touchdowns left him tied for fourth all-time with 17 career rushing touchdowns.

“Ryan really had a great career,” Christophel said. “The biggest thing about Ryan is how he’s got better each year and that’s a credit to how hard he’s worked during the summers. He’s been our top back for the past three years and we’ve been able to count on him to get it done.”

A preseason All-OVC pick, White averaged 100 yards per game as a senior, tallying five games of 100-plus rushing yards. An integral part of Austin Peay’s offense, White developed into a viable receiving threat as well. In fact, he had three or more catches in six different games – making him the team’s third leading receiver.

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