Thursday news

Here's what's in the papers around the OVC today:

The (Clarksville, Tenn.) Leaf Chronicle says Austin Peay State's defensive line has dialed it up a notch over the last few days, which has helped spark the rest of the defense to better performance in practice.

The (Charleston, Ill.) Journal Gazette/Times-Courier says Eastern Illinois players were "stunned" at the news that coach Bob Spoo will miss four to six weeks of the season to recover from surgery that is scheduled for Tuesday. In a column, sports editor Brian Nielsen says among the orders Spoo left behind was to play loud music through the stadium speakers at the Panthers' Wednesday practice, to prepare for the noise of their Sept. 2 opener at Illinois.

The Richmond (Ky.) Register says neither Josh Greco nor his coaches are surprised at the junior quarterback's achievements since a disastrous start as a freshman two years ago. The Sports Network Wednesday named Greco him to its watch list for the Payton Award, which honors I-AA's best player annually.

The Murray (Ky.) Ledger & Times says coach Matt Griffin gave no clue at Murray State's media Day Wednesday as to who the Racers' starting quarterback would be in the opener at Missouri Sept. 2.

Samford coach Bill Gray, meanwhile, told The Birmingham News that Jefferson Adcock will retain his job at the Bulldogs' starting QB. Alex Mortenson, who transfered from Arkansas, is third on the depth chart, the paper says.

The (Nashville) Tennessean says Tennessee State running back Javaris Williams showed up a little out of shape when he reported to camp, and that the coaches have responded by having him run. And run. And run some more. Another story says coach James Webster is planning for the Tigers' Sept. 2 opener with Alabama A&M, and trying to avoid another loss to the Bulldogs.

The (Cookeville, Tenn.) Herald-Citizen says Lee Sweeney was named Tennessee Tech's starting quarterback after Wednesday's scrimmage, the Golden Eagles' last before an Aug. 31 visit from UT-Chattanooga.