Indiana State RB Shakir Bell, a Walter Payton Award finalist and the nation's leading rusher, has been named the Missouri Valley Football Offensive Player of the Year in a vote of league coaches, media and sports information directors. Bell is the first Sycamore to win the top offensive honor since 1991 (Derrick Franklin) and the first-ever sophomore to win the award in league history.
| Name |
School |
Total Points |
| Shakir Bell |
Indiana State |
67 |
| Tirrell Rennie |
Northern Iowa |
30 |
| Kurt Hess |
Youngstown State |
28 |
| Jermaine Saffold |
Missouri State |
5 |
| Ashton Leggett |
Illinois State |
5 |
L.J. Fort of UNI has earned the league's Defensive Player of the Year honor. He's the fourth Panther in five seasons to win the league's top individual award on defense. He ranks second in the nation in tackles and forced fumbles.
| Name |
School |
Total Points |
| L.J. Fort |
Northern Iowa |
57 |
| Marcus Williams |
North Dakota State |
41 |
| Ben Obaseki |
Indiana State |
23 |
| Eric Brunner |
Illinois State |
10 |
| Andrew Johnson |
Youngstown State |
4 |
The league's Newcomer of the Year is Jewel Hampton of Southern Illinois. Frequently compared to former Saluki RB Brandon Jacobs, he's the first SIU player to earn newcomer of the year honor since Jacobs (2004). Hampton led the league in rushing TDs.
| Name |
School |
Total Points |
| Jewel Hampton |
Southern Illinois |
46 |
| Austin Sumner |
South Dakota State |
44 |
| Evan Frierson |
Illinois State |
23 |
| David Johnson |
Northern Iowa |
11 |
| Kenneth Boatright |
Southern Illinois |
6 |
| Mike Crutcher |
Missouri State |
5 |
The MVFC's top freshman is QB Austin Sumner of South Dakota State. The rookie signal-caller took over in SDSU's third game and went on to establish an MVFC single-season freshman record for passing yards.
| Name |
School |
Total Points |
| Austin Sumner |
South Dakota State |
71 |
| David Johnson |
Northern Iowa |
26 |
| Christian Bryan |
Youngstown State |
14 |
| MyCole Pruitt |
Southern Illinois |
12 |
| Mike Banks |
Illinois State |
6 |
| Mike Crutcher |
Missouri State |
6 |
North Dakota State head coach Craig Bohl is the league's Bruce Craddock Coach of the Year. A finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award, he led the Bison to a conference co-championship, 10-1 overall record, and a No. 2 overall seed in this year's NCAA Division I Football Championship. NDSU spent all 12 weeks ranked in the Top 8 nationally, and achieved a No. 1 ranking for two weeks.
| Name |
School |
Total Points |
| Craig Bohl |
North Dakota State |
69 |
| Trent Miles |
Indiana State |
22 |
| Brock Spack |
Illinois State |
20 |
| Eric Wolford |
Youngstown State |
16 |
| Mark Farley |
Northern Iowa |
8 |
RB Shakir Bell, Indiana State
5-8, 185, So., Indianapolis, Ind., Warren Central High School
National leader in rushing yards (1,670) and rushing yards per game (151.82) … broke the ISU single-season rushing record … eighth highest single-season total in MVFC history … four games over 200 yards rushing, including at school record of 256 against Youngstown State … his 256 yards against YSU tied for the 12th best in MVFC history … 14 rushing touchdowns this season, with five multi-touchdown games … MVFC leader in all-purpose yards (1,822) … fourth on the team with 13 receptions, picking up 110 yards.
LB L.J. Fort, UNI
6-1, 232, Sr., Waynesville, Mo., Waynesville High
Tied for No. 2 in the nation in total tackles and tackles per game with 151 stops in 11 games … MVFC leader in tackles … posted at least 10 tackles in every game … tied for No. 2 in the nation with six forced fumbles … one fumble recovery … 7.5 TFL … 22 stops at No. 14 Illinois State (11/19) … 17 tackles at SDSU (10/15) and 15 tackles at NDSU (10/29) … second team All-MVFC pick in 2010.
RB Jewel Hampton, Southern Illinois
5-9, 210, Jr., Indianapolis, Ind., University of Iowa
Led the Missouri Valley Football Conference with 17 rushing touchdowns…Fifth in the nation in scoring…1,121 yards on 230 carries…Transferred from Iowa before the year…Added 163 yards receiving…Six 100-yard games…MVFC Newcomer of the Week on Nov. 13…Seven multiple-TD games…Third in the conference in rushing…Fourth the conference in all-purpose yards.
QB Austin Sumner, South Dakota State
6-5, 230, Fr., Brandon, S.D., Brandon Valley High
Played in 10 games, starting all eight league contests … set MVFC freshman record with 2,382 passing yards, leading the league with an average of 238.2 yards per game … tallied 300-plus yards in five games … earned MVFC Newcomer of the Week honors twice (at Youngstown State, at Missouri State) and MVFC Offensive Player of the Week once (vs. Southern Illinois) after throwing for four touchdowns in each game … for the season, threw 16 touchdown passes and nine interceptions, while completing 59.7 percent (182-of-305) of his passes ... candidate for the Jerry Rice Award as top freshman in the Football Championship Subdivision … 136.68 pass efficiency rating
OFFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
1985 Mike Smith, QB, Northern Iowa
1986 Sean Payton, QB, Eastern Illinois
1987 Carl Boyd, RB, Northern Iowa
1988 Paul Singer, QB, Western Illinois
1989 DeAndre Smith, QB, Missouri State
1990 DeAndre Smith, QB, Missouri State
1991 Derrick Franklin, RB, Indiana State
1992 Toby Davis, RB, Illinois State
1993 Kurt Warner, QB, Northern Iowa
1994 Rob St. Sauver, QB, Western Illinois
1995 Dedric Ward, WR, Northern Iowa
1996 Dedric Ward, WR, Northern Iowa
1997 Aaron Stecker, RB, Western Illinois
1998 Karlton Carpenter, RB, S. Illinois
1999 Cornell Craig, WR, S. Illinois
2000 Charles Tharp, RB, Western Illinois
2001 P.J. Mays, RB, Youngstown State
2002 Russ Michna, QB, Western Illinois
2003 Russ Michna, QB, Western Illinois
2004 Joel Sambursky, QB, S. Illinois
2005 Laurént Robinson, WR, Illinois State
2006 Marcus Mason, RB, Youngstown St.
2007 Eric Sanders, QB, Northern Iowa
2008 Herb Donaldson, RB, Western Illinois
2009 Deji Karim, RB, Southern Illinois
2010 Matt Barr, QB, Western Illinois
2011 Shakir Bell, RB, Indiana State
DEFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
1985 James Houston, LB, Illinois State
1985 Mark Farley, LB, Northern Iowa
1986 Brian Gant, LB, Illinois State
1987 Matt Soraghan, LB, Missouri State
1988 John Jurkovic, DT, Eastern Illinois
1989 John Jurkovic, DT, Eastern Illinois
1990 Tim Lance, DB, Eastern Illinois
1991 William Freeney, LB, Northern Iowa
1992 William Freeney, LB, Northern Iowa
1993 Andre Allen, LB, Northern Iowa
1994 Andre Allen, LB, Northern Iowa
1995 Tim Carver, LB, Eastern Illinois
1996 Mike Miano, DL, Missouri State
1997 Harry Deligianis, DT, Youngstown State
1998 James Milton, LB, Western Illinois
1999 Edgerton Hartwell, LB, Western Illinois
2000 Edgerton Hartwell, LB, Western Illinois
2001 Adam Vogt, LB, Northern Iowa
2002 Boomer Grigsby, LB, Illinois State
2003 Boomer Grigsby, LB, Illinois State
2004 Boomer Grigsby, LB, Illinois State
2005 Brent Hawkins, DE, Illinois State
2006 Cameron Siskowic, LB, Illinois State
2007 Brannon Carter, LB, Northern Iowa
2008 James Ruffin, DE, Northern Iowa
2009 Danny Batten, DE, South Dakota State
2009 James Ruffin, DE, Northern Iowa
2010 Kyle Glazier, LB, Western Illinois
2011 L.J. Fort, LB, Northern Iowa
‘BRUCE CRADDOCK’ COACHES OF THE YEAR
1985 Darrell Mudra, Northern Iowa
1986 Al Molde, Eastern Illinois
1987 Darrell Mudra, Northern Iowa
Bruce Craddock, Western Illinois
1988 Bruce Craddock, Western Illinois
1989 Jesse Branch, Missouri State
1990 Jesse Branch, Missouri State
1991 Terry Allen, Northern Iowa
1992 Terry Allen, Northern Iowa
1993 Terry Allen, Northern Iowa
1994 Terry Allen, Northern Iowa
1995 Bob Spoo, Eastern Illinois
1996 Terry Allen, Northern Iowa
1997 Randy Ball, Western Illinois
1998 Todd Berry, Illinois State
1999 Todd Berry, Illinois State
2000 Don Patterson, Western Illinois
2001 Mark Farley, Northern Iowa
2002 Don Patterson, Western Illinois
2003 Jerry Kill, Southern Illinois
2004 Jerry Kill, Southern Illinois
2005 Jon Heacock, Youngstown State
2006 Jon Heacock, Youngstown State
2007 Mark Farley, Northern Iowa
2008 Dale Lennon, Southern Illinois
2009 Dale Lennon, Southern Illinois
2010 Trent Miles, Indiana State
2011 Craig Bohl, North Dakota State
NEWCOMERS OF THE YEAR
1994 Buck Phillips, CB, WIU
1995 Jason Cannon, WR, MSU
1996 Vince Bruno, LB, WIU
1997 Aaron Stecker, RB, WIU
1998 David Bowens, DL, WIU
1999 Charles Tharp, RB, WIU
2000 Teddy Sims, LB, SIU
2001 Julian Reese, QB, INS
2002 M. Abdulqaadir, RB, SIU
2003 Terrance Freeney, RB, UNI
2004 Brandon Jacobs, RB, SIU
2005 Marcus Mason, RB, YSU
2006 Darian Williams, RB, UNI
2007 Ferlando Williams, WR, YSU
2008 Brandon Summers, QB, YSU
2009 Antoine Wilkinson, LB, MSU
2010 Tirrell Rennie, QB, UNI
2011 Jewel Hampton, RB, SIU
FRESHMEN OF THE YEAR
1999 Dusty Burk, QB, ILS
2000 Lee Russell, OLB, WIU
2001 Tom Petrie, QB, UNI
2002 Joel Sambursky, QB, SIU
2003 Justin Haddix, QB, WKU
2004 Eric Sanders, QB, UNI
2005 Tom Nelson, DB, ILS
2006 Brandin Jordan, LB, SIU
2007 Cody Kirby, QB, MSU
2008 Kamryn Keys, RB, YSU
2009 Matt Brown, QB, ILS
2010 Kurt Hess, QB, YSU
2011 Austin Sumner, QB, SDSU
