ST. LOUIS - After a posting a 3-8 overall record in 2009 and finishing eighth in the Missouri Valley Football Conference standings, the Illinois State football team was projected to finish eighth in the league's preseason poll conducted by member head coaches, media and sports information directors. However, senior wide receiver Eyad Salem, senior running back Geno Blow and junior defensive back Kelvyn Hemphill were honored as members of the conference's preseason first team at the league's annual Media Day held in St. Louis on Monday.
Salem was a 2008 All-MVFC First Team selection after totaling 63 catches on the season, which tied for the fourth-most in school history. The Elgin, Ill., native led the team in receptions (63), receiving yards (843), touchdowns (8) and receiving yards per game (76.6) and ranked second in the Missouri Valley Football Conference in receptions per game (5.7) and receiving yards per game (76.6).
Blow, the league's leading active rusher with 1,574 career yards, ranked seventh in the Missouri Valley Football Conference with 78.2 rushing yards per game in 2008. The Seabrook, Texas, native finished the year with 704 rushing yards and was named the Valley Football Conference Offensive Player of the Week Sept. 14 after rushing for 96 yards and two touchdowns against Murray State.
Hemphill rounds out the trio of ISU first-team selections. The 2008 All-Missouri Valley Football Conference Honorable Mention selection played and started in nine games and ranked second on the team with 79 tackles, including a team-high 41 solo efforts. The San Antonio, Texas, native missed the final two games of the season with an injury, but ended the season with six tackles-for-loss, a pass breakup and a forced fumble.
The Redbirds received 90 total points in the preseason poll, 21 points behind No. 7 Missouri State with 111. Last year's co-defending champions Northern Iowa and Southern Illinois were picked first and second, respectively. UNI was tabbed as the preseason favorite with 26 first-place votes and 314 points. The Salukis were picked second and received nine first-place votes and 281 points.
The league's two newest members - South Dakota State and North Da¬kota State - were close in the voting for third place, as the Jackrabbits earned 231 points, while North Dakota State, which received one first-place vote, received 206 points for fourth. Only three points separated West¬ern Illinois (174) and Youngstown State (171) in the voting, as those two teams ranked fifth and sixth, respectively.
The Redbirds open the season at Eastern Illinois Sept. 3, and open Valley Football action Sept. 26 at home against South Dakota State.
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