July 31, 2003
ST. LOUIS - A quartet of defensive players highlight a total of seven Western Kentucky University individuals honored on the preseason all-Gateway Football Conference team announced at the league's annual Media Day Thursday.
Jeremy Chandler, Erik Dandy and Antonio Veals gave the Hilltoppers a league-high-tying three first-team players on the defensive side of the ball, while Charles Thompson was also an honorable mention selection. Buster Ashley and Daniel Withrow were voted on offense, and Brian Claybourn was chosen at punter. And, Veals was named honorable mention as a return specialist.
The Hilltoppers earned six first-place votes and 218 points to finish second in the preseason poll. Western Illinois - who shared the 2002 league crown with WKU - is the pick to win the conference championship with 247 points and 24 first-place votes among the 32 voters. Youngstown State was third with 171 points, followed by Northern Iowa (139), Illinois State (131), Southern Illinois (130), Southwest Missouri State (74) and Indiana State (42).
Gateway Conference head coaches, sports information directors and selected media members comprised the voting panel.
Chandler, a 5-foot-10, 160-pound senior cornerback from Indianapolis, was a first-team all-Gateway selection last season in his first year as a starter. He had a career-best 72 stops (55 unassisted) with five interceptions - which ranked fourth in the league - and six passes defensed.
A 6-foot, 205-pound inside linebacker, Dandy has also collected preseason honorable mention All-America honors from The Sports Network and Don Hansen's Football Gazette. He stands among the top five among all returning defensive players in the league with 257 total stops in his first three years, and has been a postseason all-GFC selection in each of Western's first two years as a league member.
Veals was also a first-team all-conference choice in 2002, recording 82 tackles with three interceptions, four passes defensed, three forced fumbles and a fumble recovery in his first season as a defensive back. The 6-foot, 190-pound senior from Louisville, Ky., also posted 484 punt return yards and an average of 14.7 yards per runback - figures that rank second and third, respectively, in the Topper season record book - while finishing seventh in the nation in the latter category.
A two-time postseason all-conference honoree, Claybourn averaged 39.6 yards per kick last fall to rank third in the Gateway and 28th in the country. A 6-foot-1, 185-pound Evansville, Ind., resident, the junior was also among the top 20 punters in the nation his first year on the Hill, and has had 38 kicks downed inside the opponent's 20-yard line in his career.
No Hilltopper has earned more preseason recognition than Ashley, an offensive lineman from Owensboro, Ky. A 6-foot-4, 300-pound junior, he has been named preseason first-team All-America by the Football Gazette and Street & Smith's as well as earning second-team honors from The Sports Network and Lindy's. Ashley was chosen first-team all-GFC last year and was a second-team selection his freshman season.
Withrow, a 6-foot-3, 300-pound Bowling Green, Ky., native, has been an all-league selection following each of the last two years. He has also been the first individual to be selected Gateway Offensive Lineman of the Week each of those seasons. Withrow - who graded out at 88 percent with 85 pancake blocks last fall - is a first-team Lindy's preseason All-America.
A 6-foot-1, 250-pound junior inside linebacker from Louisville, Ky., Thompson led the Hilltoppers with 159 total tackles in his first season as a starter. He was tied for sixth in the league with both 21 tackles for loss and seven sacks, recorded a team-high-tying seven passes broken up, forced a pair of fumbles and recovered another two.
WKU begins the 2003 season Thursday, Aug. 28, at 7 p.m. (CDT) against Union (Ky.) at L.T. Smith Stadium/Jimmy Feix Field.
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