West Central Reporter

The Ohio Valley Conference and the Big South have announced their preseason offensive and defensive players to watch, with Western Illinois University recognizing a group of Leathernecks expected to significantly impact the field. These players have been noted for their performances, leadership, and work ethic during offseason training.

Western Illinois was ranked fifth out of nine schools in the OVC Preseason Poll. The predicted order of finish lists Tennessee Tech at the top, followed by UT Martin, Southeast Missouri, Lindenwood, and Western Illinois. Eastern Illinois and Gardner-Webb share the sixth spot, with Tennessee State and Charleston Southern rounding out the list.

Highlighted offensive players include senior quarterback Chris Irvin, junior running back Markell Holman, junior wide receiver Christian Anaya, graduate tight end Brandon Lanier, senior offensive lineman Dagen Miller, senior all-purpose player Demari Davis, and senior placekicker Antonio Chadha. Defensive standouts are graduate defensive lineman Peyton Bradford, graduate linebacker Christian Pierce, junior defensive back Willie Jones, redshirt freshman kick return specialist Avery Knight, senior punt return specialist Demari Davis again noted for his versatility on both sides of the ball—and junior long snapper Ben Bergfield.

Following this announcement, a virtual media day was held where Coach Joe Davis expressed pride in his team's academic achievements and shared optimism for the upcoming season. "We're certainly excited," said Davis. "We've achieved over a 3.0 GPA as a team... it matters to us as coaches." He also spoke about recruitment efforts: "I'm very impressed... it was reflected by signing the top high school recruiting class in the OVC Big South."

Senior Defensive End Peyton Bradford also shared his thoughts: "There's a lot of new going on... I think that we're going to thrive with this team." He emphasized the importance of consistency in practices: "I want people to be scared to run against us."

The Leathernecks will open their season against the Fighting Illini on August 29th at Memorial Stadium.

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