Spotlight shines on four players
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This weekend there will be a couple players to watch from each
football team. Junior wide receiver Kenny Whittaker and red-shirt
sophomore defensive back Alex McNulty are the players to watch on
the Eastern football team.
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Kenny Whittaker
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Wide receiver – #4
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A player to watch when the Panthers have the ball is junior wide
receiver Kenny Whittaker. With the absence of red-shirt senior
Lorence Ricks, sophomore quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has been
forced to seek other options.
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His best option in the short range passing game is the quick and
agile Whittaker. Whittaker has the ability to make defenders miss
in the open field and pick up yardage to move the chains for first
downs.
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Whittaker doesn’t get a lot of touchdowns, but he racks up the
receptions to move the offense forward. Garoppolo will look for
junior wide receiver Chris Wright for the deep threat, but
Whittaker will get the majority of the short gain passes.
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Alex McNulty
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Defensive back – #31
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Red-shirt sophomore Alex McNulty may play defensive back, but he
hits like a linebacker. McNulty has stepped up on the Panther
defense, with red-shirt senior Nick Martinez partially banged up in
the defensive secondary.
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McNulty currently ranks sixth on the team in total tackles with
32.
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22 of McNulty’s tackles have
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been solo.
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He will face a big test this weekend, going against the best
passing offense in the Ohio Valley
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Conference.
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For Tennessee-Martin, a quarterback and a linebacker are the two
players to watch.
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Derek Carr
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Quarterback – #15
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Junior quarterback Derek Carr is one of the best in the OVC at his
position. Carr averages 255.7 yards through the air per game,
having completed a total of 14 touchdowns so far this season.
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He has completed 58.7 percent
of his passes this season, completing 115 of 196 passes this year.
He ranks second in the OVC for average passing yards per game,
passing efficiency and total offensive yards.
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His No. 1 target has been running back Tevin Barksdale, who has
caught six touchdowns so far this season. Last season he passed for
over 200 yards in seven of 11 games, while passing for more than
300 yards in three games last season.
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In last year’s game against Eastern, Carr completed 21 of 31
passes, totaling 211 yards. He had one interception and no
touchdowns.
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Ben Johnson
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Linebacker – #41
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Sophomore linebacker has emerged as a defensive leader for the
Skyhawks, stepping into the starting role this season.
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He ranks among the OVC’s best in tackles, currently averaging 7.2
per game. Johnson has 3.5 sacks so far this season, which also
ranks among the OVC’s best.
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He has 43 tackles so far this season, 22 of which have been solo
tackles. Johnson has also forced three fumbles so far this season,
which ranks as the best in the OVC.
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Dominic Renzetti can be reached at 581-7942
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