(FROM GWUSports.com) — The defending Big South champions look poised to contend for another conference crown this fall.
Gardner-Webb football has been picked by coaches to finish second in the new Big South/OVC Football Association. The league, which combines football playing members from the Big South and Ohio Valley conferences, announced its preseason predicted order of finish Tuesday.
The Runnin’ Bulldogs earned their highest preseason prognostication in more than 17 years, finishing with 86 points — picking up a pair of first-place votes, three second-place votes, four third-place votes and one fourth-place vote.
GWU is predicted to finish behind Southeast Missouri State, the reigning OVC champions, who earned six first-place votes and 96 points. Gardner-Webb edged out UT Martin by one point for second place. Tennessee Tech rounds out the squads that earned a first-place vote, as the Golden Eagles were voted fourth, earning 58 points.
Watch Out For These Bulldogs
The ‘Dawgs also had eleven players selected to the Big South-OVC Football Association Watch List. This list includes the 64 returning All-Conference players from the 10 teams in the two conferences last season. GWU selections include: Ty Anderson, Jamari Brown, Ty French, Narii Gaither, Brennan McGuire, William McRainey, Raequan Ousley, Ian Sauter, AJ Thomas, Gabe Thompson and Jamie Wilson.
Anderson earned Big South Defensive Freshman of the Year honors, recording 39 tackles (15 solo), six tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and an interception. He earned Big South Freshman of the Week honors (10/3) after recording nine tackles (three solo), 1.5 tackles for loss and a 45-yard pick six at Marshall (10/1). Anderson also earned STATS Perform National Player of the Week Honorable Mention honors (10/3) for his play against the Thundering Herd.
Brown started all 13 games at free safety for GWU. He finished the season with 60 tackles (35 solo), three interceptions, and two fumble recoveries. Brown recorded five tackles, a fumble recovery and an interception at Coastal Carolina (9/10) to earn Big South Player of the Week and STATS Perform National Player of the Week Honorable Mention honors (9/12)…He also came up clutch for GWU, securing a 40-yard fumble return to set up the ‘Dawgs for a score in the de-facto Big South Championship game vs NC A&T (11/19).
French — profiled by NC Football News HERE — was a finalist for the Stats Perform FCS Buck Buchanan National Defensive Player of the Year Award, Ted Hendricks Award and the first Runnin’ Bulldog to be voted Big South Defensive Player of the Year since 2008. He finished the regular-season as the Big South leader in sacks with 11.5 — setting the league single-season record. He tallied 72 total tackles, 15 tackles-for-loss, one interception and one forced fumble.
French is ninth nationally in sacks per game (0.88) and 44th in TFL per contest (1.2). French had 4.5 sacks in three games vs. FBS opponents this season and held a streak of three-straight games with 2.0 sacks. During the five-game Big South season, French was tops with 5.5 sacks, ranked sixth with 6.5 TFL, and amassed 23 total tackles. He posted a tackle-for-loss in ten of 13 appearances, as well as a sack in nine outings.
Gaither returns to Gardner-Webb after earning First Team All-Conference honors last season. The Rock Hill, SC native played in nine games at running back last season, rushing for 1,019 yards on 154 carries and seven touchdowns.
In the FCS Playoffs, Gaither rushed for 245 yards and two touchdowns at Eastern Kentucky. That mark is the second most rushing yards by a GWU player in program history, and the most ever by a Gardner-Webb player in the Division I era (Since 2000). Gaither also rushed for more than 100 yards in five games during the 2022 season.
McRainey led the ‘Dawgs with 104 total tackles to average 8.0 per game. He had 9.0 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks to his credit to go along with two pass breakups and an interception. Off the field, McRainey was the 2022 Big South Football Scholar Athlete of the Year, as he carries a 3.59 GPA in Economics and Finance.
An All-American, Ousley finished last season with 56 tackles (29 solo), two interception, and 19 pass deflections. His 19 pass deflections ranked inside the top-15 in all of the FCS. Ousley also forced two fumbles and recovered one fumble.
Thomas recorded 45 tackles (24 solo) and picked off three passes last season. His best performance came on Oct. 29, when he tallied two interceptions vs Bryant while also picking up three tackles. Thomas had a season-high six tackles at Coastal Carolina (9/10), at Marshall (10/1), and at William & Mary (12/3).
Thompson earned First Team All-Conference honors, starting ten games at center. Thompson helped GWU rush for 2323 yards, an average of 4.5 yards per game, while the offensive line helped the offense convert 45 percent of their third downs and 38 percent of their fourth downs.
Wilson started all 13 games as long snapper last season. He recorded a pair of tackles at Liberty (10/15).
A pair of NAIA transfers also earned a spot on the Watch List. McGuire played four seasons at Kentucky Wesleyan, and was a two-time All-Conference winner. Last season, he hauled in 46 receptions for 697 yards and four touchdowns in 11 games. McGuire’s best performance came against Lake Erie, as the Danville, Ky. native finished with five receptions for 178 yards and a touchdown.
Sauter arrives in Boiling Springs after four seasons at NAIA Lindsey Wilson. Last season, Sauter went 35-for-36 on extra points and 14-for-27 on field goals. In the spring 2021 campagin, he earned All Mid-South Conference First Team honors, punting for a total of 1,228 yards and booted one punt for 69 yards in a 45-13 win over Northwestern (Iowa) in the NAIA National Championship game.
Two Leagues Playing As One
In February 2022, the Big South Conference and Ohio Valley Conference announced the creation of an association of their football member institutions, to begin with the 2023 NCAA Division I football season and have an initial term of at least four years. The unique agreement combines the two conferences’ football membership to ensure NCAA championship access and stability for the multisport conferences.
In creating the association, presidents from each of the multisport conferences pointed to the similarities of the OVC and the Big South, with their complementary geographies and intercollegiate athletic philosophies, as key to making this association possible. To follow the Big South/OVC click HERE.
The Runnin’ Bulldogs open the 2023 season on Saturday, Sept. 2 at Appalachian State before playing their home opener on Saturday, Sept. 9 at 6 p.m. inside Spangler Stadium vs Elon. Fans can purchase season tickets at gwusports.com.
Big South-OVC Football Association Preseason Poll
| Rk – School (first-place votes) | Points |
| 1 – Southeast Missouri State (6) | 96 |
| 2 – Gardner-Webb (2) | 86 |
| 3 – UT Martin (1) | 85 |
| 4 – Tennessee Tech (1) | 58 |
| 5 – Tennessee State | 57 |
| 6 – Bryant | 48 |
| 7 – Lindenwood | 45 |
| 8 – Eastern Illinois | 33 |
| 9 – Charleston Southern | 30 |
| 10 – Robert Morris | 12 |
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