When the Ohio Bobcats come into Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium on Sunday, they will certainly bring experience at the skill positions. They also likely will not bring nervousness with them, as they opened last season on the road at Penn State and won 24-14. This is an experienced team that went 9-4 last season (started 7-0) and beat Louisiana-Monroe in the Independence Bowl. They return their quarterback, top running back who rushed for over 1,600 yards (WOW), and top wide receiver. Let’s take a look at those guys.
QB Tyler Tettleton
Tettleton is a 6’1 senior from Norman, OK. He owns 23 Ohio University Football School Records. This will be his 3rd year as the starting quarterback. As a sophomore, he passed for 3,306 yards and 28 touchdowns with 10 interceptions. He completed 265/413 passes (64.2%). Last year he threw for 2,844 yards with 18 touchdowns and only 4 interceptions. He completed 228/367 passes (62.1%). In the first game last season at Penn State, Tettleton went 31/41 passing for 324 yards and 2 touchdowns with 0 interceptions. He also rushed 9 times for 47 yards and a touchdown.
Entering 2013, he is on the Walter Camp Foundation Player of the Year Watch List as well as the Davey O’Brien Award Watch List.
He is the son of former Major League Baseball player Mickey Tettleton.
RB Beau Blankenship
Blankenship is a 5’9 206 lb senior from Norman, OK. All you need to know is this: he rushed for 1,604 yards last season! To put that in perspective, Jeremy Wright and Senorise Perry combined for 1,529 yards last year for the Cards. So there is no doubt that this guy can run the football. Against UMass, he rushed for 269 yards on 43 carries and scored 2 touchdowns. He averaged 5.1 yards per carry for the season, which is huge.
In 2012, he was named to the All-MAC Second Team, Phil Steele’s All-MAC First Team, Phil Steele’s Midseason All-American Team, CBS Sports Midseason All-American Team, SI.com Midseason All-American Team, and Phil Steele’s Midseason All-Conference First Team.
There is no denying that the defense of the Cards will have to step up to the challenge of slowing down Blankenship, or you will be hearing moans and groans all day from the PJCS crowd as he rushes for 5 yards per carry.
Check out this video. He seems like an easy guy to root for, after week 1 of course.
WR Donte Foster
Foster is a 6’1 senior from Guthrie, OK. He was the leading receiver for the Bobcats last season with 659 yards and 8 touchdowns on 59 catches. The 8 touchdowns and 59 catches both rank 5th all time at Ohio University. His best two games were against Eastern Michigan and Kent State. In the 45-14 win over Eastern Michigan, he had 7 catches for 164 yards and 2 touchdowns. At Kent State in a 28-6 loss, he had 11 catches for 100 yards.
His 4th quarter touchdown with 2:55 left in the game sealed the victory for Ohio at Penn State. He is by far the most experienced returning receiver for the Bobcats, so the Cards will have to make sure they know where he is at all times.
So there you go. This may not be a big in-depth scouting report, but it at least gives you some idea of what Ohio will bring into PJCS on Sunday. You will see a team that went into Penn State last season and beat them in the opening game. Their quarterback is entering his 3rd year as the starter, and the running back is a stud to say the least. This one will be a challenge for the Cards, but one they will no doubt be ready for. See you Sunday!
