ARKADELPHIA – Ouachita football players Joe Couch and Zacary Henson have been selected to the D2Football.com Elite 100 Watch List as two of the top players in the nation heading into the 2023 season.

Both Couch and Henson are entering their senior seasons at Ouachita, and both were award winners from the 2022 season. Couch, a punter from Australia, has been named to the D2Football.com Elite 100 Watch List First Team, while Henson, an offensive lineman from Alma has been selected to the second team.

Couch turned earned All-America honors last season for his punting efforts, which led the Tigers to the top of the list in the nation in net punting as a team. Because of Ouachita's high-powered offense last season, Couch's number wasn't called on enough to make the national rankings as an individual, but his average of 43.34 yards per punt would have come in fifth at the D2 level. He finished the year with 32 total punts, eight punts of at least 50 yards, 15 punts downed inside the opponent's 20-yard line, and a season-long punt of 60 yards.

Henson was an All-Great American Conference First Team selection last season as a key part of Ouachita's offensive unit that ranked in the top 10 of nine different national offensive stat categories, including second in scoring offense (42.6 points per game), eighth in total offense (466.6 yards per game), and fourth in rushing offense (281.8 yards per game). Henson and the rest of the offensive line were also crucial in Ouachita's fifth place spot in tackles for loss allowed and eighth place spot in third down conversions.

Couch, Henson, and seven other all-conference honorees from last season lead a cast of over 50 returning lettermen for the 2023 squad. The season opens Thursday, August 31 in Weatherford, Oklahoma against Southwestern Oklahoma State. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.