The Wofford football team announced the recipients of its 2003 team awards at yesterday's Southern Conference championship ring ceremony held at the downtown Spartanburg Marriott.
Offensive Backs of the Year -- Trey Rodgers and Jeff Zolman. The Terrier quarterbacks shared the signal calling duties last season. Both will be seniors this fall. Rodgers (Spartanburg, S.C.) rushed for 375 yards and four touchdowns on a 4.3 per carry mark. He added 368 yards and four scores in the air, completing 50.0 percent of his pass attempts. Zolman totaled 607 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground, averaging 4.7 yards per rush. The Dayton, Ohio, native also completed 58.5 percent of his passes for 389 yards and one touchdown.
Receiver of the Year -- Curtis Nash. The senior from Spartanburg, S.C., averaged 17.2 yards each time he touched the ball. He also totaled four touchdowns on his 21 touches. He had 15 receptions for 269 yards (17.9 avg.) and two scores. A former Dorman High School teammate of Rodgers, Nash added 93 yards rushing and two touchdowns on six rushing attempts (15.5 avg.). Both of his rushing touchdowns came on fourth-down plays.
Offensive Lineman of the Year -- Eric Deutsch. A first-team consensus All-America, Deutsch also received the SoCon's Jacobs Blocking Trophy as the league's top offensive lineman. The Cincinnati, Ohio, will return in the fall for a fifth season of eligibility. Deutsch topped the Terriers in knockdown blocks, including a single-game high 35 in the 34-17 quarterfinal-round playoff victory over Western Kentucky.
Defensive Lineman of the Year -- Lee Basinger. An All-SoCon selection, Basinger topped the Wofford defensive front with 90 tackles, including 17 for a loss. The rising senior from Concord, N.C., recorded six sacks, seven quarterback hurries and three fumble recoveries.
Linebacker of the Year -- Teddie Whitaker. Whitaker was an All-SoCon selection while twice being named the league's Defensive Player of the Week. The senior from Burton, S.C., totaled 86 tackles with nine stops for a loss. He added four sacks, two interceptions, two forced fumbles and three recoveries.
Defensive Back of the Year -- Matt Nelson. The senior from Grove City, Ohio, was a consensus first-team All-America while placing third in voting for the Buck Buchanan Award, recognizing the nation's top defensive player. Nelson was a unanimous first-team All-SoCon selection by the league coaches with the media naming him the SoCon Defensive Player of the Year. He totaled a team-high 167 tackles and six interceptions. He closed his career as Wofford's all-time tackle leader with 452.
Special Teams Player of the Year -- Jimmy Miner and Jonathan Starks. Miner (Kennesaw, Ga.) earned All-SoCon honors for the fourth straight year as his punting was key in the Terriers consistently winning the field position battle. Twenty of his 60 punts were downed inside the 20-yard line. Another 12 were fair caught. He only had two touchbacks on the year. Starks was a four-year standout as the long snapper. The Columbia, S.C., native joins Nelson and Miner as National Football League prospects.
Freshman of the Year -- Kevious Johnson. Also named the SoCon Freshman of the Year by the league coaches and media, Johnson topped the Terriers in rushing with 823 yards and nine touchdowns on a 6.0 per carry mark. With J.R. McNair injured, Johnson moved to fullback for the Georgia Southern game and scored all three Wofford touchdowns in a 20-14 win. The Fitzgerald, Ga., native had the highest rushing total by a Terrier freshman since Shawn Graves ran for 1,483 yards in 1989.
Academic Award -- Josh Smith. A rising senior inside linebacker from Greer, S.C., Smith carries a 3.87 grade-point average while majoring in biology. He totaled 45 tackles on the year.
