Clarksville, TN – The Jeff Faris Era of Austin Peay State University (APSU) football kicks off when the Governors square off with Louisville in a Saturday 11:00am CT contest at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky.
After winning the 2022 Atlantic Sun Conference and 2023 United Athletic Conference Championships, the Governors hired first-year head coach Jeff Faris, December 9th, 2023.
Faris spent the past two seasons as the tight ends coach for head coach Chip Kelly at UCLA. Before his time in Los Angeles, he was on head coach David Cutcliffe’s coaching staff at Duke, where he was named the 2018 American Football Coaches Association’s Assistant Coach of the Year. By the end of his 10 seasons in Durham, North Carolina, Faris had become the Blue Devils’ co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
Louisville is coming a 10-4 season in head coach Jeff Brohm’s first season back at his alma mater. The Cardinals played for the 2023 Atlantic Coast Conference title but fell to Florida State, 16-6, before losing to USC, 42-28, in the DIRECTV Holiday Bowl.
The Governors were picked to finish fifth in the United Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll in their first year under Faris, and the Cardinals were also tabbed to finish fifth in their league’s preseason poll.
Austin Peay State University returns a pair of starters from the 2023 UAC Championship team, with both Chandler Kirton and Hosea Knifeley Jr. being picked as Preseason All-UAC selections. Kirton has started 23 straight games on the APSU Govs’ offense line, while Knifeley Jr. led the team with four sacks last season.
Tickets for Saturday’s season opener at Louisville are available on Ticketmaster. Governors fans can also purchase season and single-game tickets for Austin Peay State University’s seven home games at Fortera Stadium online at LetsGoPeay.com/BuyTickets or by calling the APSU Athletics Ticket Office at 931.221.7329.
Saturday’s game will be broadcast and streamed on the ACC Network with Jorge Sedano and Orlando Franklin on the call; Morgan Uber also will be reporting from the sideline.
Notably
REPEAYT Champs
For the first time in program history, Austin Peay State University won back-to-back conference championships with the 2023 United Athletic Conference and the 2022 ASUN Conference titles. When you add in the 2019 Ohio Valley Conference championship, the APSU Govs have won three titles – in three conferences – since 2019.
The Times They Are a-Changin’
Dating back to 2017, Austin Peay State University’s 50 victories are the 10th most in the FCS and the seventh-most among current FCS programs. The Govs’ 50 wins are the most among UAC members since 2017, with Central Arkansas (47) and Eastern Kentucky (40) in second and third, respectively.
The Governors’ 50 victories in the past seven seasons are the most in any seven-year stretch in program history and are just one less than the 51 victories they had in 19 seasons from 1998-2016. The APSU Govs also have five winning seasons since 2017 after posting just eight winning seasons in their first 39 years in the FCS (1978-2016).
Meet The Govs
With just 35 returning letterwinners and 11 players that redshirted a season ago, Austin Peay State University has 55 newcomers on its 2024 roster. The 55 newcomers are made up of 21 true freshmen and 34 transfers, including nine players who have been at the Power 5 level. APSU’s 34 transfers are made up of 21 transfers from FBS programs, seven from FCS programs, and six from Division II programs.
The Old Guys
Preseason All-UAC selections Chandler Kirton and Hosea Knifeley Jr. are Austin Peay State University’s two returning starters from the 2023 season. Kirton, who was named a 2024 Stats Perform FCS Preseason Third Team All-America selection, has started every game for the Governors over the past two seasons with 22 starts at right guard and one start at center.
Hosea Knifeley Jr. has 12 career starts and started 10 games during the 2023 season when he led the Govs with four sacks. Harrison Wilkes, who started 11 games in 2022 and 15 games in his career, opened the 2023 season as APSU’s starter at left guard before a Week 2 injury forced him to miss the remainder of the season.
Faris Era, Year I
A Knoxville, Tennessee native, Jeff Faris was named Austin Peay State University’s 22nd head football coach in December 2023. In his first season at the helm of the Governors football program, Faris looks join Dave Aaron (5-4, 1946), James “Boots” Donnelly (8-3, 1977), Watson Brown (7-4, 1979), Rick Christophel (7-4, 2007), Mark Hudspeth (11-4, 2019), and Scotty Walden (4-2, 2020-21) as the seventh head coach in program history to post a winning record in their first season.
A winning season for the APSU Govs would mark the third-straight Austin Peay head coach to have a winning record in their debut season.
About the Louisville Cardinals
Saturday is the first meeting between Austin Peay State University and Louisville.
The Governors are 1-30 all-time against teams from the FBS but have won three-straight games against teams from the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
Austin Peay State University is 77-154-1 all-time against teams from Kentucky and is 24-88 all-time in games played in Kentucky.
For the second-straight season, the APSU Govs have four first-time opponents on their schedule; last season, Austin Peay went 4-0 in those contests.
After going 10-4 overall and 7-1 in the ACC during Jeff Brohm’s first season, the Cardinals were tabbed to finish fifth in the league’s 2024 preseason poll. Brohm led the Cardinals to the 2023 ACC Football Championship game, where they lost to Florida State, 16-6, before closing the season with a 42-28 loss to USC in the DIRECTV Holiday Bowl.
Chris Bell is UL’s top returning wide receiver after recording 29 receptions for 407 yards and two touchdowns in 2023. Alabama transfer WR Ja’Corey Brooks was named to the Comeback Player of the Year Award Watch List after an injury limited him to just eight games for the Crimson Tide last season.
Brooks totaled 39 catches for 674 yards and eight touchdowns during the 2022 season and has 57 career catches for 896 yards and 10 touchdowns. Finally, junior running back Donald Chaney is on the Doak Walker Award Watch List after rushing 62 times for 284 yards and a touchdown last season.
A Preseason All-ACC selection, defensive lineman Ashton Gillotte was named to the Bednarik Award, Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Lombardi Award, Lott IMPACT Trophy, and Wuerffel Trophy Preseason Watch Lists.
The 2023 All-ACC selection totaled 45 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss, 11 sacks, three forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery last season. Gillotte earned Second Team All-America honors from USA Today, The Athletic, Sports Illustrated, and the Walter Camp Foundation last season.
Quarterback Tyler Shough began his collegiate career at Oregon (2018-20) and Texas Tech (2021-23) before transferring to Louisville. In 30 career games, Shough has completed 355 passes for 4,625 yards and 36 TDs with a 63.2 completion percentage. This year, the 6-5, 225-pound QB has been named to the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, Maxwell Award, and Comeback Player of the Year Award Watch Lists.
Next Up For APSU Football
The Austin Peay State University football team returns to Fortera Stadium for the first time with head coach Jeff Faris at the helm when it takes on Southern Illinois on September 7th at 6:00pm in Clarksville, Tennessee.
The Week 2 battle between the Governors and Salukis, as well as all seven home games at Fortera Stadium this season, will be streamed on ESPN+.
