VaSID Presents Div. I Football Awards

HARRISONBURG, Va., June 8, 2009 – A national championship season helped the University of Richmond football program win two of the top Division I awards presented annually by the Virginia Sports Information Directors Association.  James Madison and Virginia Tech, both of whom advanced to 2008 post-season play, had players earn the other top two state awards.

2008 VaSID University Football All-State Team

Richmond senior defensive lineman Lawrence Sidbury was named state defensive player of the year and Spiders’ coach Mike London state coach of the year after Richmond won the 2008 NCAA Football Championship Subdivision championship.  The other top state awards went to James Madison senior quarterback Rodney Landers as offensive player of the year and Virginia Tech freshman running back Darren Evans as rookie of the year.

Sports information directors from throughout Virginia took part in the VaSID voting that in addition to the top individual awards named all-state first and second teams on offense and defense.

Sidbury was named the most valuable player of last season’s NCAA playoffs, and he had four quarterback sacks in his team’s title game win over Montana.  An All-America and first-team All-Colonial Athletic Association choice, he had 56 tackles overall for the season, including 11.5 sacks and 20 tackles for loss.  Richmond led the 12-team Colonial Athletic Association in total defense (268.8 yards per game) and scoring defense (15.6 points per game).

London as a first-year head coach led Richmond to a 13-3 record and received national coach of the year honors from the American Football Coaches Association and Schutt Sports.  His team won nine straight games, including four in the playoffs, after starting 4-3.

Landers was runner-up for FCS national player of the year honors and was CAA and Eastern College Athletic Conference offensive player of the year.  He led JMU to the CAA regular-season title (8-0) and a 12-2 overall record and set team season records for touchdown passes (21), rushing yards (1,770), yards of total offense (3,304) and touchdown responsibility (37) while completing 63.3 percent of his passes.

Evans was second-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference and a first-team freshman All-America.  He was most valuable player at the Orange Bowl and set Virginia Tech freshman season records with 1,265 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns.  He had a team-record 253 rushing yards against Maryland and caught 17 passes during the season.

James Madison led the all-state selections with 11, five on the first team and six on the second.  Liberty, Richmond and Virginia Tech had eight players recognized; Virginia and William & Mary five; Hampton four; and Norfolk State three.  Ties accounted for five linemen and five backs being named to the second-team defense.

Four offensive players and three on defense were repeat first-team honorees.  Repeat choices on offense included Landers, Liberty running back Rashad Jennings, Richmond wide receiver Kevin Grayson, and James Madison center Scott Lemn.  Repeat first-team choices on defense included Sidbury, Richmond linebacker Eric McBride, and Virginia Tech back Victor “Macho” Harris.