NJCAA Announces Football Players of the Year; 2011 Season Wrap-Up
NJCAA Announces Football Players of the Year; 2011 Season Wrap-Up
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (PRWEB) December 16, 2011
Following their record-breaking seasons, East Mississippi Community College freshman quarterback Bo Wallace and Rochester Community & Technical College (Minn.) freshman defensive back Caleb Leichtnam were named the 2011 NJCAA Football Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year today by the NJCAA Headquarters on behalf of the NJCAA Football Coaches Association.
Wallace was named the Offensive Player of the Year, while Leichtnam garnered Defensive Player of the Year honors. The duo is the first pair of freshman to receive both awards.
The 2011 season marks the 22nd consecutive year that the NJCAA Football Coaches Association has presented a Player of the Year Award. Since 2000, an award has been granted to both an offensive and defensive player.
Bo Wallace
Quarterback (6’ 5”, 210 lbs., Fresh.)
East Mississippi Community College
Statistically, Bo Wallace compiled the best season by a quarterback in the history of the NJCAA. Wallace broke three NJCAA single-season records, while leading the East Mississippi Lions to a perfect 12-0 record and their first ever national championship in any sport.
The freshman set new NJCAA records with 4,604 passing yards (4,001 yds – Marc Dunn – Ricks College, Idaho), 53 passing touchdowns (50 TDs – Tony DeLeon – Vermilion CC, Minn. – 1992) and 4,810 yards of total offense (4,075 yds – Will Hall – Northwest Mississippi CC – 1994). Wallace is only the second player in NJCAA history to surpass the 4,000-yard mark passing and the first freshman to win the offensive award since 2004.
In all 12 games this season, Wallace registered over 300 yards of total offense. Wallace also threw for over 400 yards five times and recorded seven passing touchdowns in four games.
At the El Toro Bowl, Wallace put on his best performance of the season to outgun No. 1 Arizona Western College 55-47 for the national championship. Wallace completed 31-of-44 passes for 486 yards and seven touchdown passes, the most ever thrown in a NJCAA sanctioned national title game.
From Pulaski, Tenn., Wallace transferred to East Mississippi from Arkansas State University. Wallace has yet to decide where he will continue his collegiate career next season. Although he has received an offer from Memphis according to Rivals.com, the recent hiring of Hugh Freeze as head coach at Mississippi could reunite Wallace with the former-Arkansas State coach.
Caleb Leichtnam
Defensive Back (6’ 0”, 177 lbs., Fresh.)
Rochester Community & Technical College, Minn.
Caleb Leichtnam’s ball-hawking skills made him the single biggest defensive threat on the field this season. His defensive efforts anchored Rochester’s Top 10 passing defense and spurred the Yellowjackets on to an 11-0 record in the regular season and their second-consecutive MCAC championship.
Leichtnam intercepted 20 passes in 2011, shattering the previous NJCAA single-season record of 14 (Vonkeith Spencer – Middle Georgia College – 1996/Landrain Gordon – Central Lakes College-Brainerd, Minn. – 2007). The freshman had multiple interceptions in seven games this season, including three contests where he picked off three or more passes. Totaling 422 return yards off his interceptions, Leichtnam returned two picks for touchdowns this season. He also tallied 39 total tackles, including three for a loss.
The best effort Leichtnam displayed this season was his four-interception performance in a 12-2 key conference win over Central Lakes College-Brainerd (Minn.). That showing earned Leichtnam one of his two Offensive Player of the Week awards in 2011.
Leichtnam is the second player from Rochester to receive Player of the Year honors and the first freshman to win the defensive award since 2007.
Previous NJCAA Football Players of the Year
Year Player Pos. College, State
1990 John Kaleo QB Montgomery College, Md.
1991 Kalin Hall RB Dixie State College of Utah
1992 Russell Evans QB Northwest Mississippi Community College
1993 Roger Cook QB Dixie State College of Utah
1994 Chris Windsor QB Garden City Community College, Kan.
1995 Fred Taylor QB Hinds Community College, Miss.
1996 Rodrick Johnson RB Dixie State College of Utah
1997 Frank Murphy RB Garden City Community College, Kan.
1998 Terrance Williams RB Hinds Community College, Miss.
1999 Rudi Johnson RB Butler Community College, Kan.
2000 Marc Dunn QB Ricks College, Idaho
Dustin Looman DL Rochester Community & Technical College
2001 Rashad Armstrong RB Mesa Community College, Ariz.
Randy Jackson DE Georgia Military College
2002 Kelvin Hayden WR Joliet Junior College, Ill.
Jamaal Jackson DB Northwest Mississippi Community College
2003 Emmanuel Marc RB Hudson Valley Community College, N.Y.
Larry Kendrick DB Pearl River Community College, Miss.
2004 Jimmy Oliver QB Pearl River Community College, Miss.
Mickey Pimental LB Pima Community College, Miss.
2005 Jimmy Oliver QB Pearl River Community College, Miss.
Jonathon Batson DB Cisco College, Texas
2006 Cade Cooper QB Snow College, Utah
Austin Panter LB Butler Community College, Kan.
2007 Jocques Crawford RB Cisco College, Texas
Markus White DE Butler Community College, Kan.
2008 Terrance Cain QB Blinn College, Texas
Eugene Kinlaw DL Hutchinson Community College, Kan.
2009 Jasmin Hopkins RB Fort Scott Community College, Kan.
Brad Graham LB Navarro College, Texas
2010 Reggie Bullock RB Arizona Western College
Cornellius Carradine DE Butler Community College, Kan.
2011 NJCAA Football All-Americans
1st Team Offense
QB Bo Wallace – East Mississippi CC (Fresh.)
RB Damien Williams – Arizona Western College (Soph.)
RB Rasheed Williams – Louisburg College, N.C. (Soph.)
WR Cordarrelle Patterson – Hutchinson CC, Kan. (Soph.)
WR Marquez Clark – Navarro College, Texas (Soph.)
TE Blake Jackson – Scottsdale CC, Ariz. (Soph.)
OL Ellwood Clement – Eastern Arizona College (Soph.)
OL Donald Hawkins – Northwest Mississippi CC (Soph.)
OL Armondo Alverez – Blinn College, Texas (Soph.)
OL Carlin Landingham – Grand Rapids CC, Mich. (Soph.)
C David Kekuewa – Arizona Western College (Soph.)
K Cody Dickson – Iowa Western CC (Soph.)
RS Kali Rashaad – Cisco College, Texas (Soph.)
1st Team Defense
DL Chaz Nelson – Garden City CC, Kan. (Soph.)
DL Marcus Cribbs – Grand Rapids CC, Mich. (Soph.)
DL Bernardo Nunez – Lackawanna College, Pa. (Soph.)
DL Denico Autry – East Mississippi CC (Soph.)
LB Martrell Spaight – Coffeyville CC, Kan. (Fresh.)
LB Jermaine Longino – Trinity Valley CC, Texas (Soph.)
LB Chris Young – Arizona Western College (Soph.)
DB Zach Miller – Butler CC, Kan. (Soph.)
DB Alonzo Lawrence – Mississippi Gulf Coast CC (Soph.)
DB Caleb Leichtnam – Rochester CTC, Minn. (Fresh.)
DB Travell Dixon – Eastern Arizona College (Soph.)
P Zach Kerndt – Iowa Central CC (Soph.)
2nd Team Offense
QB Cody Sokol – Scottsdale CC, Ariz. (Soph.)
RB Vintavious Cooper – Southwest Mississippi CC (Soph.)
RB Marion Grice – Blinn College, Texas (Soph.)
WR Javon Bell – Mississippi Gulf Coast CC (Soph.)
WR Kendall Wrenn – Butler CC, Kan. (Soph.)
TE Keyon Cole – Grand Rapids CC, Mich. (Soph.)
OL Dylon Holley – Mississippi Gulf Coast CC (Soph.)
OL Mark Glowinski – Lackawanna College, Pa. (Soph.)
OL John McClure – Butler CC, Kan. (Soph.)
OL Travon Carter – Trinity Valley CC, Texas (Soph.)
C Nate Richards – Trinity Valley CC, Texas (Soph.)
K Kurt Walker – Blinn College, Texas (Fresh.)
RS Wes Smith – Iowa Western CC (Soph.)
2nd Team Defense
DL Demarcus Lawrence – Butler CC, Kan. (Soph.)
DL Calvin Barnett – Navarro College, Texas (Soph.)
DL Dontrill Hyman – Hinds CC, Miss. (Fresh.)
DL Tenny Palepoi – Snow College, Utah (Fresh.)
LB Terrell Porter – Grand Rapids CC, Mich. (Fresh.)
LB Nick Gilbo – Hudson Valley CC, N.Y. (Fresh.)
LB Chris Ficklin – East Central CC, Miss. (Soph.)
DB Evan Ray – Grand Rapids CC, Mich. (Soph.)
DB Kewitt Koonce – Louisburg College, N.C. (Soph.)
DB Deion Belue – Northeast Mississippi CC (Soph.)
DB Dehendret Collins – Copiah-Lincoln CC, Miss. (Soph.)
P Will Scott – Mississippi Gulf Coast CC (Soph.)
Click here for the honorable mention teams and more information on the 2011 All-Americans.
Read the entire 2011 NJCAA Football Season Wrap-Up here.
About the NJCAA:
The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) is the governing body of two-year college athletics, offering athletic and academic opportunities to college students. It is the second largest national intercollegiate athletic organization in the United States with over 500 member schools in 43 states. Each year over 60,000 student-athletes compete in one of 28 different sports and the organization sponsors 48 national championship events and nine football bowl games. For more, visit http://www.njcaa.org.
Follow the NJCAA on:
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Twitter: twitter.com/njcaa or (@njcaa)
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