Southeast Missouri State University Athletics

Southeast Missouri senior linebacker Blake Peiffer was named the 2012 Ohio Valley Conference Preseason Defensive Player of the Year and is one of 20 nominees on the Buck Buchanan Award Watch List. Peiffer, who led the OVC and ranked third in the nation with 13.7 tackles per game a year ago, broke a Southeast single-season record with 151 tackles. He also landed a spot on several preseason All-America teams. Peiffer enters the year ranked 17th with 242 career tackles at Southeast.