Three Racers Earn All-OVC Honors

2013 All-OVC Football Teams

Three Murray State football players were honored by the Ohio Valley Conference when the league announced its postseason awards on Tuesday. Senior Walter Powell was selected to the first team as a wide receiver and a return specialist, while senior Brandon Wicks was named to the second team as a defensive back. Sophomore quarterback Maikhail Miller was selected to the all-newcomer team.

Powell (St. Louis, Mo.) earned first team honors after recording 66 catches for 837 yards and 13 touchdowns in 10 games this season. He caught a touchdown in seven of the 10 games he played, including four games with at least two touchdowns.

In a victory against Missouri State, Powell had a breakout performance by catching 11 passes for 155 yards and a career-best four touchdowns. His biggest catch came on fourth down, late in the fourth quarter, as he caught the game-winning touchdown pass from Miller. It was the first three 100-yard performances on the season as he had eight catches for 177 yards against Tennessee Tech and 15 grabs for 158 yards against Southeast Missouri.

Powell was also regarded as one of the top return men in the FCS, and thus teams chose to kick away from him. When teams decided to kick his way, he made them pay. He averaged 11.6 yards on 16 punt returns, while also averaging 31.5 yards on 11 kickoff returns. He helped spark the Racer comeback against MoSt. by returning the second-half kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown. Powell returned his third career punt for a touchdown when he went 88 yards against Tennessee Tech.

Wicks (Murray, Ky.) earned second-team honors after leading the team in tackles for the third time in his career. Wicks led the OVC with 60 solo tackles, and was tied for third with 98 total stops. He also added two interceptions, three forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. He registered four double-digit tackle games, including 10 solo stops in the victory over Jacksonville State. He saved his best for last by ending his career with a season-best 14 tackles in the overtime victory over Eastern Kentucky.

Miller (Fulton, Miss.) earned newcomer honors after going 219-for-327 for 2,331 yards and 18 touchdowns. He ranked second in the OVC in passing yards, touchdowns, passing yards per game (222.1) and total offense (265.0). Miller also rushed for 429 yards and five touchdowns, while catching a touchdown pass. He was selected as the OVC Newcomer of the Week five times this season.

He began his collegiate career by throwing and catching a touchdown pass against Missouri. He led the Racers down the field on the opening possession and hit Powell for a touchdown. He later caught a touchdown pass from Jeremy Harness. He finished the game with 145 yards through the air and 73 on the ground Miller tossed a career-best five touchdown passes in the victory over Missouri State. Against JSU, Miller did his damage on the ground as he rushed for 134 yards and two touchdowns, while also throwing for 109 yards and a score.

Miller saved his best performance for the finale as he went 37-of-54 for 467 yards and two touchdowns in the overtime victory over EKU. He also rushed for 28 yards and two first-half touchdowns.

The Racers finished the 2013 season with a record of 6-6, and a 4-4 mark in conference play.

Murray State University Athletics

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