Clint Sellers wants to win.

The Panthers junior linebacker tries to do whatever he can to make sure the Eastern football team succeeds in between the sidelines.

But, it doesn’t stop there.

“I hate losing,” Sellers said.

So he’ll start a playful argument every now and then, or he’ll race a teammate to practice.

“I’ll start arguments with guys on the team like Steve Sobolowski. Every Friday when we come in to watch game highlights, we always get in arguments about who was there first for a chair,” Sellers said. “When me and my roommate (senior defensive end Travis Wanzeck) come over here, we’ll go different ways and see who gets here first. “

So when Eastern defensive coordinator Roc Bellantoni decided to issue an award, “the hammer award,” for the biggest hit each week, Sellers had his eyes on it.

“Big hits seem to come my way,” Sellers said. “I try to hit someone as hard as I can every time.”

As a result he’s won the award four times this season.

And this season, he’s had a lot of chances for the Panthers (8-2, 7-0 Ohio Valley Conference).

Sellers leads the Panthers and OVC with 102 tackles – of which 73 have been unassisted and 11.5 have been for a loss of yards.

Sellers has helped elevate the Panthers’ defense in his first season at Eastern.

After beginning his collegiate career at Northern Iowa, Sellers went to North Iowa Community College. While he played there, he caught Bellantoni’s eye.

“They would call me a lot,” Sellers said. “Eastern really went after me.”

Sellers enrolled at Eastern last January, giving him time to adjust into a new system.

Eastern head coach Bob Spoo said the offseason time played a big factor in Sellers’ early success.

“I think that was really critical,” Spoo said. “He may have started early, but (arriving later) would have put him behind more.”

But Sellers already possessed one quality Spoo admired before he ever stepped on the field as a Panther. Sellers wrestled.

“I’ve always been a little biased towards those guys who wrestled and play football as well,” Spoo said. “To me, it’s kind of the ultimate one-on-one competition.

“You have to be tough minded.”

It shouldn’t come as a surprise Sellers was a competitive prep wrestler in his home state of Iowa – but not at first.

Sellers said he struggled on the mats initially. After two seasons with losing records, Sellers failed to advance beyond the sectional meet his junior year.

So he spent the summer refining his skills, and the end result was an Iowa state championship in the 189-pound weight class.

And that’s the second part of Sellers’ competitiveness – expectations of success.

It’s why Sellers said he’s not shocked by his contributions on the football field this season.

“I expected what I’ve done; I expect it out of me,” he said. “I did it at the ju-co level, and I know it’s not the same. To me, it doesn’t matter where you’re at or what you’re doing, you should still want to be the best at what you do.

“That’s my thing.”