FRISCO, Texas – The Sports Network announced on Thursday the results of the 2010 Buck Buchanan Award and Wofford defensive end Ameet Pall finished tied for second overall in the voting. It was the highest finish ever for a Wofford player in the voting. The Sports Network presents and Fathead.com sponsors the 16th annual Buchanan Award.
Eastern Washington's J.C. Sherritt was named the 2010 winner of the defensive player of the year award in the Football Championship Subdivision. Sherritt, second last year to James Madison defensive end Arthur Moats (now a linebacker with the Buffalo Bills), captured 24 of the 130 first-place votes and 253 points. Wofford’s Ameet Pall and Western Illinois senior linebacker Kyle Glazier tied for second place with 234 points. Pall had 17 first place votes.
Pall, a junior from Montreal, Quebec, helped anchor Wofford’s defense which is ranked first in the SoCon and is seventh in the nation. He had 12.5 sacks this season, which is the fourth most in school history and is ranked eighth the nation. He also ranks eighth nationally with 1.73 tackles for loss per game and his 22.5 tackles for loss are the third most in a single season at Wofford. Pall also earned All-America honors from multiple organizations in 2010 and was the Southern Conference Defensive Player of the Year.
He was only the third player in school history to earn a spot on the Buchanan Award List. Pall joins Matt Nelson, who finished third in 2003, and Lee Basinger who was a finalist in 2004.
The Buchanan Award was voted on by a national panel of sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries.
The Buchanan Award Watch List included defensive tackles Kenrick Ellis of Hampton and Martin Parker of Richmond; nose tackle Brent Russell of Georgia Southern; defensive ends Jabari Fletcher of Appalachian State and Malcolm Taylor of Alcorn State; linebackers Tyler Holmes of Massachusetts, Matt Evans of New Hampshire, Eric McBride of Richmond, J.C. Sherritt of Eastern Washington, Bryce Smith of Samford, D.J. Smith of Appalachian State, Antoine Wilkinson of Missouri State and Jabara Williams of Stephen F. Austin; cornerbacks Jeremy Caldwell of Eastern Kentucky, Korey Lindsey of Southern Illinois and Trumaine Johnson of Montana; and safeties Mark LeGree of Appalachian State, Eugene Clifford of Tennessee State and James Vercammen of Dayton. Other nominees were defensive ends Christian Anthony of Grambling State and Christian Clark of Sacramento State; linebacker Terence Thomas of Villanova; cornerback Justin Rogers of Richmond; and safeties Jason House of Southern University and Mike McElroy of Southern Illinois. The ballot had two players who gained write-in votes, UT Martin linebacker Josh Bey and South Carolina State linebacker David Erby.
