11/20/09- Jerom Freeman, Sr, Southern Connecticut State, 6-1, 185 2009 EAST COAST ALL-STAR BOWL INVITE: Three members of the Southern Connecticut State University football team – seniors Jarom Freeman (Peekskill, N.Y.), Martin Manson (Bloomfield, Conn.) and Jerome Pinckney (Ellenwood, Ga.) – have been selected to take part in this year’s East Coast Bowl. The game, which will be played in Petersburg, Va. on Saturday, November 28, annually features the best Division I-FCS, II, III and NAIA players in the nation. This year, Freeman collected All-Northeast-10 Conference honors for the third time in his career, including his second First-Team recognition. Despite being hampered by injury for the entire season, he still posted four games with at least 100 yards and closed the year with 708 yards rushing. Freeman ends his career at SCSU ranked seventh on the Northeast-10 career rushing list with 3,360 yards. - Southern Connecticut State football
11/20/09- Robert Turbin, rSo, Utah State, 5-10, 202 THIS WEEK'S GAME: Utah State vs. Boise State, Nov. 20 It's a nationally televised game. Will the Aggies be happy with that come the fourth quarter, or even halftime? Right now they're thrilled for the opportunity to shock the college football world. SERIES HISTORY: Boise State leads series 11-4. The Broncos have also won the last eight meetings, including a 52-0 decision two seasons ago in Logan, Utah. PLAYERS TO WATCH: RB Robert Turbin, combined with Borel, must excel at moving the chains. Utah State must not only run clock effectively, but also force field position. The team's 1,000-yard rusher (first time in seven years at USU) has kept attitude and poise, which Andersen has praised, and this is a chance to showcase his mostly anonymous talent to the country.
11/20/09- Joique Bell, rSr, Wayne State (MI), 5-11, 224 2009 ALL-GLIAC FIRST TEAM: RB Joique Bell, Wayne State, Sr., has been selected All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference First Team for the 2009 college football season in balloting conducted by the league’s head coaches. Bell not only finished the regular season leading the GLIAC in rushing, scoring and all-purpose yards per game but the entire NCAA (including I-A/FBS, I-AA/FCS, II and III) in all three categories. He rushed for 2,084 yards, the 15th-best mark in NCAA Division II history, while his 17.5 points per game average was the eighth-best mark in D-II history. - GLIAC football
11/20/09- P.T. Gates, rSr, Grand Valley State, 5-09, 195 2009 ALL-GLIAC SECOND TEAM: RB P.T. Gates, Grand Valley State, Sr., has been selected All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Second Team for the 2009 college football season in balloting conducted by the league’s head coaches. - Grand Valley State football
11/20/09- James Berezik, Jr, Grand Valley State, 5-11, 210 2009 ALL-GLIAC FIRST TEAM: RB James Berezik, Grand Valley State, Jr., has been selected All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference First Team for the 2009 college football season in balloting conducted by the league’s head coaches. - Grand Valley State football
11/20/09- Jonas Randolph, So, Mars Hill, 5-10, 187 SOUTH ATLANTIC CONFERENCE CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Mars Hill running back Jonas Randolph has been selected SAC Co-Offensive Player of the Year for the 2009 college football season. Randolph led the league in rushing yards (1,804), all-purpose yards (1,879) and touchdowns (19). - SAC football
11/20/09- Alex Good, Sr, Carson Newman, 6-0, 190 SOUTH ATLANTIC CONFERENCE CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: South Atlantic Conference football champion Carson-Newman College led the way with 16 selections on the 2009 SAC All-Conference Football Team, as well as capturing Offensive Player of the Year, Freshman Defensive Player of the Year, Coach of the Year and the Jacobs Blocking Trophy awards. The Eagles had seven named to the first team, including quarterback Alex Good, who rushed for 1,020 yards and passed for 1,452 yards. - SAC football
11/20/09- Thomas Beverly, Fr, C.W. Post, 6-1, 195 PSAC EAST FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: C.W. Post running back Thomas Beverly, who led the PSAC in overall rushing yards this year, has been named the PSAC East Freshman of the Year. Beverly, the Freshman of the Year, led the PSAC in overall rushing yards with 1094 and finished second in rushing yards per game with 99.5. His impressive 5.2 average per carry was tied for second-best in the league and his 11 rushing touchdown is also fourth best. His efforts helped contribute to C.W. Post’s PSAC-leading 214.5 rushing yards per game, the best in the league by over 35 yards per game. As a team, the Pioneers averaged 5.0 yards per carry, also the best in the PSAC. - PSAC football
11/20/09- Alfonso Hoggard, Jr, Clarion, 5-04, 156 PSAC WEST OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Alfonso Hoggard of Clarion, the PSAC’s leading rusher, overall scorer and leader in rushing touchdowns, has been named the PSAC West Offensive Player of the Year. Hoggard, the Offensive Player of the Year, is Clarion’s first West Offensive Player of the Year since Steve Witte in 1996. The diminutive back led the PSAC average rushing yards per game at 104.6, the only PSAC back to average over 100 yards per game. Hoggard, who moved from wide receiver to running back this year as a junior, finished second in overall rushing yards in the PSAC with 1046, one of only two PSAC backs to go over the 1000-yard mark for the season. Hoggard also led the PSAC in scoring overall with 19 overall touchdowns, in rushing touchdowns with 17, and in all-purpose yards by a wide margin with 179.8 yards per game. Hoggard, who was a second team All-PSAC West selection as both a wide receiver and as return specialist last year, is a first team running back this year and for the second straight year, the second team return specialist. - PSAC football
11/20/09- Herb Woodard, Jr, Assumption, 5-08, 175 NORTHEAST-10 OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Assumption College junior running back Herbert Woodard (Bridgton, N.J.) was selected the 2009 Northeast-10 Offensive Player of the Year. The former Northeast-10 Freshman of the Year rushed for a conference best 1,175 yards as he helped Assumption to its first six-win season since 1995. Woodard recorded 17 rushing touchdowns and a school-record 18 overall as he also tied the season mark with seven 100-yard rushing games. In addition, he was also named to the All-Northeast-10 First Team for the second straight year. - Northeast-10 football
11/20/09- Kevin Smart, Jr, Emporia State, 5-10, 205 2009 ALL-MIAA HONORABLE MENTION: Kevin Smart, Emporia State, Jr., RB, has been selected All Mid-America Conference Honorable Mention for the 2009 college football season as voted on by the MIAA football coaches. Smart, a junior running back from Sperry, Okla., was eighth in the MIAA in rushing and was third in rushing touchdowns during the regular season. His 206 yard performance against Truman was the fourth highest single game total in the MIAA this regular season. - Emporia State football
11/20/09- Brandon Minor, Sr, Michigan, 6-0, 218 Running back Brandon Minor will not play in Saturday's Michigan-Ohio State game. Minor was listed as "out" on Michigan's official injury report released Thursday. Minor suffered a shoulder injury in the first half of the Wolverines' Nov. 7 loss to Purdue and played sparingly last week against Wisconsin. "That's a tough blow," Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez said on his radio show. "If there was anyway at all he could go, he would. But he can't. You got to protect the young man and he's got to protect himself, so he's not going to be able to go." Minor, a senior, leads Michigan in rushing with 502 yards and 8 touchdowns on 96 carries. Either Carlos Brown or Vincent Smith will start against the ninth-ranked Buckeyes (9-2, 6-1). - Dave Birkett, AnnArbor.com
11/19/09- Toney Baker, rSr, North Carolina State, 5-10, 225 The NCAA has granted N.C. State senior running back Toney Baker's request for an extra season of eligibility, coach Tom O'Brien announced Thursday after practice. Baker missed all but one game over two seasons because of a knee injury before returning this season for the Wolfpack. Getting the extra year doesn't guarantee that Baker will return, though, because there is a chance he will enter the NFL draft after this season. "After the season I will talk to my family and Coach O'Brien and all these guys, and we'll figure out what's best for me," Baker said after practice Wednesday, before the sixth year was granted. Baker returned to the starting lineup at the start of this season and leads the team with 664 rushing yards. He also has caught 21 passes for 306 yards. O'Brien has said another healthy year at N.C. State might help erase any doubts pro scouts have about Baker's knee, but Baker wants to consider all his options after the season before committing to a return. - Ken Tysiac, The News & Observer
11/19/09- Keith Toston, Sr, Oklahoma State, 6-0, 214 SCOUTING THE OFFENSE: If Oklahoma State continues to get the kind of production from its ground game that it did in the second half against Texas Tech, the Cowboys could be unstoppable. They generated 207 yards rushing after the break while holding the football for long segments to effectively wear down the Tech defense. OSU can rely on a three-back combination of Keith Toston, Kendall Hunter and Beau Johnson, while QB Zac Robinson is also deadly on scrambles. PLAYERS TO WATCH: RB Keith Toston has averaged 103.6 yards since taking over as Oklahoma State's featured rusher after RB Kendall Hunter was injured in game two. Hunter will continue to gain additional work as he progresses from a nagging foot/ankle injury, although RB Keith Toston has been too effective to remove as the starter.
11/19/09- John Clay, rSo, Wisconsin, 6-1, 248 Wisconsin's coaching staff plans to secure an evaluation of John Clay's draft stock should the third-year sophomore tailback decide to enter the 2010 National Football League draft. "I think at this stage Bret may have already started looking at some things and talking to some people to find out where he might fall," UW running backs coach John Settle said, referring to head coach Bret Bielema. "And then we'll probably have that talk based upon what he does these last few weeks." The NFL's Advisory Committee each year provides evaluations for underclassmen weighing whether to enter the draft. Underclassmen have until Jan. 15 to declare for the 2010 draft. According to the NCAA, underclassmen who declare for the draft have until midnight Jan. 18 to withdraw and maintain their college eligibility. Clay, from Racine Park High School, has rushed for 1,124 yards and 12 touchdowns and is a candidate for Big Ten offensive player of the year. He leads the Big Ten and is 14th nationally in rushing yards per game (112.4). Of the 13 tailbacks ahead of Clay in the NCAA statistics, two are seniors, four are juniors, two are second-year sophomores and four are freshman. UW has two regular-season games left - Saturday at Northwestern and Dec. 5 at Hawaii - and a bowl game to be determined. "The reality of it is that if he blows up and ends up with another 500 or 600 yards and ends up at 1,700 or 1,800 yards, who knows?" Settle said. "At some point in time we'll have to talk." - Jeff Potrykus, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
11/19/09- Keithon Flemming, Sr, West Texas AM, 6-0, 208 LONE STAR CONFERENCE SOUTH DIVISION CO-OFFENSIVE BACK OF THE YEAR: Keithon Flemming, West Texas A&M, has been selected Co-Offensive Back of the Year for the 2009 college football season in voting by the South Division coaches. West Texas A&M, who finished the 2009 regular season with a 6-5 mark and will represent the league in the Kanza Bowl on December 5, had nine players represented on the first and second-team Lone Star Conference all-South Division squads. - West Texas A&M football
11/19/09- Jason Palmer, Sr, Central Oklahoma, 5-10, 205 LONE STAR CONFERENCE NORTH DIVISION OFFENSIVE BACK OF THE YEAR: Jason Palmer, Central Oklahoma, has been selected Offensive Back of the Year for the 2009 college football season in voting by the North Division coaches. Palmer was the second-leading rusher in the entire conference despite missing two games. He had 161 carries for 767 yards and six touchdowns with three 100-yard games while adding 25 catches for 122 yards. - Central Oklahoma football
11/18/09- Brandon Thermilus, rJr, Buffalo, 5-11, 224 Brandon Thermilus rushed for two touchdowns and caught another to lead Buffalo over Miami (Ohio) 42-17 on Wednesday night. Thermilus ran for 126 yards and caught a 29-yard touchdown on his only reception for the Bulls (4-7, 2-5 Mid-American Conference). Zach Maynard was 13-for-18 with 136 yards and a touchdown, and rushed for 61 yards and a score. Miami (1-11, 1-7) took a 3-0 advantage on Trevor Cook’s 37-yard field goal less than 5 minutes into the second quarter. It would be the last lead for the Redhawks. Buffalo scored four unanswered touchdowns from that point, as Thermilus scored from 3 and 31 yards out and Maynard added a 2-yard run for a 21-3 halftime lead. A 30-yard touchdown pass from wideout Terrell Jackson to Jesse Rack put Buffalo up 28-3 early in the third quarter. Zac Dysert threw for 194 yards with one touchdown and an interception for Miami. - AP Sports
11/18/09- Jahvid Best, Jr, California, 5-10, 195 Star tailback Jahvid Best is eager to return to the football field after being sidelined by a frightening fall and concussion and has targeted California’s season finale as a possible return date. Best gave his first extensive comments Wednesday following the injury that knocked him out and put a scare into his Golden Bears teammates. He said that the symptoms from the concussion have cleared but he still has a sore back. “I’m just trying to take it day by day and hoping for the best,” he said. “Every day I’m feeling a little better. I’m hoping it keeps progressing that way and hopefully I’ll be out here pretty soon.” Best missed last week’s game against Arizona and has been ruled out of the Big Game on Saturday against No. 14 Stanford. Best hopes to be able to return to the field Dec. 5 against Washington. Best was injured Nov. 7 when he hurdled an Oregon State defender at the end of a 7-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. Best vaulted into the air over safety Cameron Collins and then was bumped even higher by another defender before falling on his back and head from about 8 feet in the air. Best’s helmet came off on impact and he briefly lost consciousness. He spent one night in the hospital with the concussion and sore back. “Any time somebody is taken off the field on a stretcher, it always gets taken pretty seriously,” Best said. “But I’m a blessed person. Thank god it wasn’t as bad as it could have been.” The last memory Best has of the play was jumping in the air. The next thing he remembered was waking up in the hospital. His mother filled him in on the details of what happened. Best has seen the play twice since then and said “it still doesn’t look that bad to me.” - AP Sports
11/18/09- Joique Bell, rSr, Wayne State (MI), 5-11, 224 2009 GREAT LAKES INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Joique Bell (Sr, RB, Wayne State) not only finished the regular season leading the GLIAC in rushing, scoring and all-purpose yards per game but the entire NCAA (including I-A/FBS, I-AA/FCS, II and III) in all three categories. He rushed for 2,084 yards, the 15th-best mark in NCAA Division II history, while his 17.5 points per game average was the eighth-best mark in D-II history. For his career, Bell had 6,728 rushing yards (sixth in D-II/8th in NCAA history), while his 152.91 rushing yards per game is 11th in D-II and 25th in NCAA history. He scored 576 points which ranks fourth in D-II and fifth in NCAA history, while his 13.1 points per game average is fourth in D-II and 10th in NCAA history. Bell’s 8,055 all-purpose yards is fourth in D-II and ninth in NCAA history. - GLIAC football
11/18/09- Monterae Williams, Fr, Findlay, 5-09, 190 2009 GREAT LAKES INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Monterae Williams (Fr, RB, Findlay) led the Oilers rushing attack by accumulating 937 yards on 222 carries. He appeared in all 11 games with eight starts and scored six touchdowns on the year. Williams posted three games of 130 yards or more, recording a season-high 196 yards against Ferris State on Sept. 12, averaging 85.2 yards per contest during his inaugural campaign. - GLIAC football
11/18/09- Vershon Moore, rFr, Washburn, 5-09, 191 2009 ALL-MIAA HONORABLE MENTION: Vershon Moore, Fr., RB, has been selected All Mid-America Conference Honorable Mention for the 2009 college football season. - Washburn football
11/17/09- Ryan Mathews, Jr, Fresno State, 5-11, 220 Fresno State will be without the nation’s leading rusher, Ryan Mathews, for Saturday’s game against Louisiana Tech. Coach Pat Hill said Tuesday that Mathews will miss the game after sustaining a concussion last week against Nevada. Hill says he expects Mathews will likely be able to return for the season finale at Illinois on Dec. 5 for the Bulldogs (6-4). Mathews leads the nation with 1,491 yards rushing. He has also scored 14 touchdowns. He is a semifinalist for the Doak Walker Award as the nation’s best running back. - AP Sports
11/17/09- DeMarco Murray, rJr, Oklahoma, 6-0, 214 In a season of mostly bad news, Oklahoma fans on Tuesday might be able to celebrate some good news. Running back DeMarco Murray thinks he wants to return for his senior year. "That's just something that my family and I will look into," Murray said. "But I'm pretty sure I'll be back here next year." Murray is a fourth-year junior from Las Vegas. He ranks among OU's all-time leaders in all-purpose yards (4,495, third behind Joe Washington and Quentin Griffin), rushing yards (2,358, 16th, with a good shot this season at the top 10) and career touchdowns (42, tied for sixth). Last week, he tied a school record for a running back with 143 yards receiving and also rushed for 80 yards in a 65-10 victory over Texas A&M. Last season, Murray set the school record with 2,171 all-purpose yards, including 1,002 rushing. In various career and single-season categories, Murray has passed such OU legends as Adrian Peterson, Greg Pruitt, Billy Sims and Steve Owens. "I didn't know that, but I've got a lot of respect for those guys and the guys I passed," Murray said. "Just incredible to be mentioned with all those names. I don't know. It's weird. I've never thought about it." He has thought about his future, though, and for now, the Academic All-American would rather spend 2010 in Norman than in an NFL rookie camp. "I like it here," he said. "I don't want to end my career at OU with an 8-4 record or whatever. So just trying to get better. And I just enjoy being here. I'm part of a great team here; I love the coaching staff, things like that. I love the camaraderie with my teammates. It's just a great atmosphere." Murray has been missed games due to injury in each of the four years he's been at OU. He was redshirted in 2006 after a turf toe injury, dislocated and fractured his knee cap toward the end of 2007, sustained a torn hamstring tendon in the 2008 Big 12 championship game, and missed this year's Kansas State game with an ankle sprain. - John E. Hoover, Tulssa World
11/17/09- James Walker, Jr, Fort Hays State, 5-10, 225 2009 ALL-MIAA SECOND TEAM: RB: James Walker, Jr., Fort Hays State, has been selected All Mid-America Conference Second Team for the 2009 college football season. Walker, a junior from Pacoima, Calif., earned second team honors in his first year with the Tigers. He Walker rushed for 903 yards on 206 attempts with 10 touchdowns in 2009, averaging 4.4 yards per carry. Walker was an all-purpose back as he also led the team in receptions with 42. - Fort Hays State football
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