posted December 18, 2003
Colgate running back Jamaal Branch was named the 17th winner of the Walter Payton Award Thursday night at the Division I-AA College Football Awards held in Chattanooga on the eve of the I-AA national championship game.
The junior rushed for 2,026 yards and 25 touchdowns in the 2003 regular season, bolting for 100 or more yards in 11 of 12 regular season contests. Branch led Colgate to a perfect 12-0 record, an outright Patriot League title, and a spot in the I-AA playoffs as the field’s only undefeated team. The Raiders will play Delaware tomorrow night for the I-AA championship. After sitting out all of 2002 for personal reasons, Branch led all of Division I football with 168.8 rushing yards and 12.5 points per game this season, setting Colgate records for yards (2,026), touchdowns (25), rushes (338), 100-yard games (11), and consecutive 100-yard games (11).
Said Colgate head coach Dick Biddle: "Since the first Walter Payton award winner was a Colgate graduate (Kenny Gamble), it is an honor that Jamaal Branch has been chosen to receive this prestigious award. Jamaal exemplifies everything that Walter Payton personified. He is an outstanding player of great character and talent. However, Jamaal's greatest asset is his unselfishness; he is a total team player. The entire Colgate community, players, coaches, students and faculty are honored that Jamaal Branch is the 2003 Walter Payton Award winner.”
Branch began the 2003 season as a backup, rushing six times for just four yards in the Raiders’ season-opening win over Georgetown. But the 6-0, 209-pounder would have his coming out party the following week, bolting for 170 yards and a pair of scores in a 38-15 rout of I-A Buffalo. Branch rushed for 211 yards and three scores in his next outing against Dartmouth, with that performance marking the first of four 200-yard days for the junior. Branch also went over the 200-yard barrier against Cornell (226 yards, 2 TD), Lafayette (200 yards, 2 TD), and Holy Cross (280 yards, 3 TD), with each of the double-century performances coming on the road. Branch also dominated prime Patriot League opposition, putting up big numbers against the likes of Towson (176 yards, 1 TD), Bucknell (175 yards, 2 TD), Lehigh (119 yards), and Fordham (131 yards, 2 TD). For his efforts, Branch was named Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year.
Branch is the eighth running back to win the Payton Award, and the first junior since Furman’s Louis Ivory in 2000. The Mashpee, MA native became the first player from the Patriot League to win the Payton since Colgate’s Kenny Gamble in 1987, and made his school the third to boast two such honors. Idaho (John Friesz in 1989, Doug Nussmeier in 1993) and Villanova (Brian Finneran in 1997, Brian Westbrook in 2001) had previously supplied a pair of Payton winners.
Branch received 35 first-place votes and 310 points from the panel of nearly 100 I-AA sports information directors and selected media. Following Branch in the voting were Grambling State quarterback Bruce Eugene, who earned 17 first-place votes and 237 total points, and Delaware quarterback Andy Hall, who had 17 first-place votes and 219 total points.
The Walter Payton Award was established in 1987 by The Sports Network.
Idaho State defensive end Jared Allen was named the 10th winner of the Buck Buchanan Award. The Buchanan Award is presented annually to the top defensive player in I-AA football.
The senior recorded 17.5 sacks, 102 tackles, 28 tackles for loss, six forced fumbles, three recovered fumbles, and nine pass deflections during 2003, ranking among the Big Sky Conference leaders in several defensive categories. Allen, a First-Team All-America choice, led ISU to an 8-4 record this season, helping the school post its first back-to-back eight win seasons in school history. Idaho State finished the regular season ranked No. 21 in the nation.
Said Allen, “Being named the recipient of the Buck Buchanan Award is truly an amazing honor. There were so many deserving candidates this year, it was an honor just to be named in such an elite group. A lot of credit to this year goes to our team's successes over the past few years, and most of all to my teammates, because football is a team game. I certainly share this with them.”
Allen is the eighth consecutive senior to win the award, and the first defensive end since North Carolina A&T’s Chris McNeil in 1997. Allen is the first player from the Big Sky Conference to win the Buck Buchanan Award and the first Big Sky player to take a major I-AA honor since Northern Arizona’s Archie Amerson won the Walter Payton Award in 1996.
Allen was at his best in the Bengals’ seven conference games, positing all but two of his sacks in league play. The Los Gatos, CA native was basically unblockable against opponents such as Eastern Washington (4 sacks), Montana (3.5 sacks), Weber State (2 sacks), and Portland State (2 sacks). After recording just four tackles for loss through his first four games, Allen exploded fro 24 in his final eight contests combined. The senior had a string of three straight games with a forced fumble, and ended the year by recovering a trio of fumbles in his final two outings. On the offensive end, the 6-6, 275-pounder lined up to catch at three-yard touchdown pass in an upset of Cal Poly on Nov. 15th.
Allen finished his outstanding collegiate career with 38.5 sacks and 250 tackles.
Allen received 28 first-place votes and 253 points from the panel of 91 I-AA sports information directors and selected media. Following Allen in the voting were Illinois State linebacker Boomer Grigsby, who earned 13 first-place votes and 193 total points, and Wofford safety Matt Nelson, who registered 10 first-place votes and 160 total points.
The Buck Buchanan Award was established in 1995 by The Sports Network. The Award is named for All-Pro defensive end Junious “Buck” Buchanan, who played for the Kansas City Chiefs after beginning his career at Grambling State University. Former Buchanan winners include Dallas Cowboys All-Pro linebacker Dexter Coakley (Appalachian State, 1995, 1996), Baltimore Ravens starting LB Ed Hartwell (Western Illinois, 2000), and Jacksonville Jaguars starting defensive back Rashean Mathis (Bethune-Cookman, 2002).
Wofford head coach Mike Ayers was named the 17th winner of the Eddie Robinson Award. The Robinson Award is presented annually to the top head coach in I-AA football.
Ayers guided a team that had lost 13 starters and 19 letterwinners from the 2002 squad, helping the Terriers finish 10-1 in the regular season with a perfect 8-0 Southern Conference mark. After an opening week loss at I-A Air Force, Wofford reeled off 10 straight wins to end the year, including key SoCon wins against Georgia Southern (20-14), Appalachian State (24-14), The Citadel (42-16), and Furman (7-6), among others. The Terriers became the first Southern Conference team since 1998 to finish with an 8-0 record in league play, and earned its first-ever I-AA playoff bid in the process. Wofford finished the season ranked No. 2 in the country, earned the third seed in the 2003 postseason field, and advanced to the national semifinals.
Said Ayers, “Coach Robinson is someone I have respected throughout my career. I am humbled and honored to accept this award. It's something that our players, staff, fans, supporters, and all of Wofford College can share. They've made it possible. I'm just blessed to be surrounded by great people.”
In his 16th year as head coach at Wofford, the 55-year-old Ayers has led the program from the Division II ranks to become among the elite of the ultra-competitive Southern Conference. Wofford, which is Division I’s smallest football-playing institution with an enrollment of 1,100 students, joined the SoCon in 1997 and has fashioned winning records in four of the past five years under Ayers’ tutelage. Prior to taking the helm at Wofford in 1988, Ayers served as the head coach at East Tennessee State for three seasons. As a head coach, the Cincinnati native is 113-97-1, including 102-76-1 at the helm of the Terriers.
Ayers is the third coach from the Southern Conference to win the Eddie Robinson Award, and first since Georgia Southern’s Paul Johnson in 1998. The Citadel’s Charlie Taaffe won the Robinson in 1992, and was the first SoCon coach to receive the honor.
Ayers received 24 first-place votes and 232 points from the panel of 91 I-AA sports information directors and selected media. Following Ayers in the voting was Southern Illinois head coach Jerry Kill, who earned 23 first-place votes and 214 total points. Colgate’s Dick Biddle was third with 18 first-place votes and 196 total points.
The Eddie Robinson Award was established in 1987 by The Sports Network. The Award is named for legendary head coach Eddie Robinson, who retired in 1997 after 56 years at Grambling State University.
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