Last updated Aug. 4, 2012
2012 Preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year and Preseason All-OVC selection...Sports Network Preseason All-American...Is on the Sports Network's Buck Buchanan Award Watch List...The Buck Buchanan Award goes annually to the most outstanding defensive player in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision...Named First-Team Preseason All-American by Beyond Sports Network...Among nominees for the College Football Performance Awards linebacker honor...Starting middle linebacker who broke Southeast’s all-time single-season record in tackles a year ago...
Currently stands tied for 17th in career tackles at Southeast with a total of 242...First-Team Sports Network Preseason All-American.
2011: Named to the Phil Steele (Third-Team), Sports Network/Fathead.com (Second-Team), Associated Press (Second-Team) and College Sports Madness (First-Team) FCS All-America Teams...Southeast’s only First-Team All-OVC selection...Started 11 games...Led the OVC and set a new Southeast single-season record with 151 tackles...Ranked third in the nation with 13.7 tackles per game...Registered double-digit tackles in 10 starts...Led the Redhawks in tackles every game...Racked up 74 solo tackles and 77 assisted stops...Led the team with 7.5 tackles for loss and ranked second with two forced fumbles...Had a career-high 19 tackles vs. Jacksonville State (11/19), one of six performances with 15 or more tackles...Posted a season-high nine solo tackles on four occasions...Collected a season-high 2.5 tackles for a loss of four yards at UT Martin (10/29)...Averaged over 17 tackles (17.3) in each of his last three starts of the season...Became Southeast’s all-time single-season leader in tackles during the Redhawks final defensive series of the season against Murray State (11/19)...Forced a fumble vs. Southern Illinois (9/3) and at Tennessee Tech (9/24)...Averaged 14.1 tackles per game against conference opponents...Garnered OVC Defensive Player of the Week honors on Nov. 13...Southeast Scholar-Athlete who landed a spot on the OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll...Won the team's Golden Helmet Award.
2010: Played in 12 games, making six starts at linebacker...Ranked fifth on the team with 59 tackles, including 29 solo stops...Posted one tackle for a loss of two yards vs. Tennessee State (10/9)...Recovered a fumble at Jacksonville State (11/13)...Also recorded a season-high 11 tackles against the Gamecocks...Posted nine tackles the week before vs. Southwest Baptist (11/6)...Southeast Scholar-Athlete.
2009: Played in 10 games...Recorded 32 tackles, including 10 solo stops...Had one tackle for loss, recovered one fumble and forced a fumble...Posted a season-high nine tackles in his college debut vs. Quincy (9/3)...Recovered the first fumble of his career vs. Eastern Illinois (9/19)...His only forced fumble came vs. Jacksonville State (11/7).
Prep: Two-time First-Team All-State and All-Conference linebacker at Jackson High School...Southeast Missourian Player of the Year after leading the region with 162 tackles as a senior...Registered 17 tackles for loss and returned one interception for a touchdown...Team Captain as a senior...Led his team to the state semifinals...Was his team’s leading tackler for three-consecutive seasons...Collected 112 tackles as a junior...Also saw action on the offensive line...Coached by Van Hitt and Carl Gross...Placed fifth in the 2007 State Wrestling Tournament.
Personal: Born June 19, 1990...Majoring in Agribusiness...Son of Dan and Connie Peiffer...Father, Dan, played center at Southeast during the 1970s and is a member of the school’s Hall of Fame...He went on to play in the NFL for the Chicago Bears and Washington Redskins...His sister, Amanda, attends Missouri.
Career Statistics at Southeast Missouri
