University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Boley Named Bednarik Award Semifinalist
11/1/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Boley Named Bednarik Award Semifinalist
Michael Boley |
HATTIESBURG, Miss. ? Southern Miss senior linebacker Michael Boley was named a semifinalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award for the Outstanding Collegiate Defensive Player in the nation, announced today by the Robert W. Maxwell Football Club.
Voters for the Maxwell College Awards are NCAA Head College Football Coaches, members of the Maxwell Football Club & sportswriters and sportscasters from across the country. Voting will begin on Monday November 1, 2004 and will close on Friday November 26, 2004. The top three candidates receiving the most votes for each of these awards will be invited to the ESPN College Football Awards Show on Thursday December 9, 2004 for the announcement of the winners. This event will be broadcast live from 7-9 pm on 12/9/2004 from Orlando, Fla.
Formal presentation of each of these three awards will be made at the Maxwell Football Club Awards Dinner, which will be held on Friday February 25, 2005 at Harrah?s Entertainment Complex in Atlantic City New Jersey.
Boley also has been named a semifinalist for the Dick Butkus Award, honoring the top linebacker in the nation and was named a midseason All-American. He was named the Conference USA Midseason Player of the Year and is a three-time Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week. He was named the FWAA/Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week and the Walter Camp Football Foundation Defensive Player of the Week following his career-high 20 tackles, two forced fumbles and a tackle for loss at Nebraska.
Before the 2004 season began, Boley was a consensus preseason All-American and tabbed as Conference?s USA preseason Defensive Player of the Year. He was also named to the Bednarik Award Watch List, Lombardi Award Watch, and Bronko Nagurski Watch List.
Boley has shown he is deserving of all the accolades, as he has been outstanding on the Southern Miss defense through six games this season. He has helped lead the Golden Eagles to a 5-1 record overall, a 4-0 mark in Conference USA, a national ranking of No. 21 in both major polls and a No. 23 ranking in the BCS Standings.
The Athens, Ala. native leads the Golden Eagle defense with 74 total tackles, including 41 solos, 33 assists. He has 10 tackles for a loss, four sacks, one interception, two pass breakups, and three forced fumbles.
Boley currently ranks No. 8 in the nation in total tackles per game, tied for No. 11 in solo tackles per game, and tied for No. 4 in forced fumbles per game. Boley also ranks No. 2 in Conference USA in total tackles and is No. 2 in forced fumbles.
Boley registered a career-high 20 tackles, including 12 solo stops, at Nebraska in the first game of the season. He also finished with two forced fumbles, a pass breakup and a tackle for loss. Against Houston, he finished with 19 tackles and a quarterback sack. He followed that up with two 11-tackle performances against Alabama and East Carolina. He finished with a career-high five tackles for loss and a season-high two sacks against ECU.
The award is named after Chuck Bednarik, a member of the College and NFL Hall of Fame. Bednarik was a three-year All-American at the University of Pennsylvania, playing on both sides of the football. Bednarik moved into the professional ranks, playing his entire career 14-year career for the Philadelphia Eagles, seeing action at linebacker and center. He missed just three games out of 253, playing in 169 out of 173 games. Two of his missed games came during his rookie season in 1949.
Bednarik was elected to the Pennsylvania State Hall of Fame in 1962; elected to Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1967; elected to College Football Hall of Fame in 1969; elected to the All-Time 50 Year NFL Team in 1970 and was selected by the NFL to the 75th Anniversary Two-Way Team.
9th Annual Chuck Bednarik Award Semifinalists
Michael Boley Southern Miss LB Sr.
Kevin Burnett Tennessee LB Sr.
Dan Cody Oklahoma DL Sr.
Shaun Cody Southern California DL Sr.
Thomas Davis Georgia DB Jr.
A.J. Hawk Ohio State LB Jr.
Erasmus James Wisconsin DL Sr.
Derrick Johnson Texas LB Sr.
David Pollack Georgia DL Sr.
Carlos Rogers Auburn DB Sr.
Antrell Rolle Miami DB Sr.
Marcus Spears LSU DL Sr.
