In his seventh year at the helm of the Middle Tennessee State University Blue Raiders football, Coach Rick Stockstill turned in arguably his best coaching effort. Following a tough 2-10 campaign in 2011, Stockstill worked day and night to get the program back to the success it enjoyed the previous two seasons.
His Blue Raiders responded by going 8-4, finishing second in the Sun Belt Conference, and getting a huge upset win at Georgia Tech in late September. The six-game turnaround from 2011 to 2012 matched the nation’s top win improvement with Ohio State and Kent State.
Individually, eight players earned all-conference honors while safety Kevin Byard was voted to the FWAA Freshman All-American Team. Byard is just the third freshman All-American in school history.