Feb. 15, 2011

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford football program held its annual Senior Banquet Tuesday evening at the Wynfrey Hotel in Birmingham.

Samford head coach Pat Sullivan welcomed everyone to begin the evening. After senior offensive lineman Cory Smith delivered the invocation dinner was served while a highlight video from the 2010 season was played. After dinner the awards for the 2010 season were given.

The first award of the evening was the Bobby Bowden Award, which goes to a player who shows strong character and work ethic. Senior wide receiver DeMarcus Covington won the Bobby Bowden Award.

The Kenny Morgan Award, which goes to a player who shows strong character and work ethic, and sacrifices for the good of the team, went to senior defensive lineman John Michael Clay.

The Gary Cooney Scholastic Award was given to senior offensive lineman Cory Smith. The Team Award, which is given to a player who shows unselfishness and a willingness to sacrifice for the team, was given to senior safety Andy Davis.

The Offensive MVP award was given to senior running back Chris Evans. Evans rushed for 1,106 yards, marking the fourth year in a row that he rushed for over 1,000 yards. Evans leaves Samford as not only the leading rusher in school history, but as the leading rusher in the history of the state of Alabama with 4,575 yards in his Samford career.

Senior linebacker Bryce Smith was named the Defensive MVP. Smith led the nation in solo tackles for the second year in a row, averaging 9.3 per game.

Bryce Smith also won the Charles Williams Memorial Jersey. Charles Williams was a member of the Samford football program who died in a car accident on May 23, 2003. The award goes to a senior leader on the football team each season.

The Special Teams MVP award went to senior punter Bob Hooper. Hooper punted 68 times for an average of 40.1 yards per kick. He placed 18 kicks inside the opponents' 20-yard line.

The team's All-Conference and Academic All-Conference players were then honored. The Team Captain Awards were then presented. The team's four captains were Thomas Broussard, Bryce Smith, Chris Evans and Thomas Gray.

The final presentation of the evening was the senior jersey presentation. Each of the team's 26 seniors was presented with a framed jersey.

2010 SAMFORD FOOTBALL BANQUET AWARDS
Bobby Bowden Award: DeMarcus Covington

Kenny Morgan Award: John Michael Clay

Gary Cooney Scholastic Award: Cory Smith

Team Award: Andy Davis

Offensive MVP Award: Chris Evans

Defensive MVP Award: Bryce Smith

Special Teams MVP Award: Bob Hooper

All-Conference: Chris Evans, Bryce Smith, Thomas Broussard, Thomas Gray, John Michael Clay, Bob Hooper, Alex Davis

All-Freshman: Quin Roberson, Kelsey Pope, Fabian Truss

Academic All-Conference: Richie Fordham, Dustin Taliaferro, Craig Millard, Michael Prendergast, Charlie Sanford, Justin Sly, Cory Smith

Team Captains: Thomas Broussard, Bryce Smith, Chris Evans, Thomas Gray

Senior Jerseys: Ben Aaberg, Alex Barnett, Thomas Broussard, Kanon Burt, Hunter Cassity, John Michael Clay, Chris Corley, DeMarcus Covington, Cody Crowell, Andy Davis, Chris Evans, Richie Fordham, Patrick Foshee, Jason Gaines, Jacquez Gray, Thomas Gray, Seth Harkness, Patrick Hatcher, Bob Hooper, Bill Kottas, Chris Legette, Jamael Lett, Trent McKnight, Jeff Ogren, Erik Peterson, Jeremy Richardson, Bryce Smith, Cory Smith