NORFOLK, Virginia -- The awards continue to roll in for Norfolk State senior linebacker Deon King, who was named this week as the recipient of the 2015 Buck Buchanan Award by Mickey Charles LLC.
The Buck Buchanan Award is awarded annually to the most outstanding defensive player in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA), and was first given in 1995 after the Walter Payton Award was designated solely for offensive players.
The awards program for the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) was founded by Charles and The Sports Network, and is now in its 29th year. But The Sports Network ceased operation in summer of 2015, and the Payton, Buchanan, Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year and Jerry Rice Freshman of the Year awards are now independently presented by Mickey Charles LLC. King was also a finalist for the FCS Defensive Player of the Year Award presented by STATS LLC, which is considered the leader in national FCS coverage and administers its own awards program.
The Buchanan Award is named in honor of the late National Football League (NFL) player Junious "Buck" Buchanan, who starred at Grambling State University. Buchanan was an All-American defensive lineman and the first overall pick in the 1963 American Football League (AFL) Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs.
King led all of Division I (FBS and FCS) in total tackles this year, with 163. He made 11 tackles for loss, three sacks and one interception. He was a first-team All-America selection by STATS, The Associated Press, the Walter Camp foundation and the American Football Coaches Association – becoming NSU's first consensus FCS All-American in the process.
King becomes just the third HBCU player to ever win the Buchanan, following Chris McNeil of North Carolina A&T in 1997 and Rashean Mathis of Bethune-Cookman in 2002.
Eastern Washington receiver Cooper Kupp was named the recipient of the Walter Payton Award. Coastal Carolina coach Joe Moglia won the Eddie Robinson Award and quarterback Case Cookus won the Jerry Rice Award.
Matt Michalec, Asst. AD/Communications
COURTESY NORFOLK STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
READ RELATED ARTICLE
No comments:
Post a Comment