MOREHEAD, Ky. — The Morehead State football program is continuing a tradition started in 2013 by naming its weekly awards after former Eagle greats. Six of the eight honors bear the name of MSU alums.
“It is vital for us to acknowledge the contributions of our alumni,” Head Coach Rob Tenyer said. “Continuing this tradition and naming awards after our Eagle greats is just one small token of our appreciation for everything these men have done.”
The Morehead State coaches hand out weekly accolades throughout the season to the Offensive Most Valuable Player (Gary Shirk), Defensive MVP (Billy Goldsmith), Special Forces MVP (Mason Webb), Big Stick/Big Sack (Greg Bright), Big Block (Nick Nighswander) and Game Breaker (Larry Compassi).
The Eagle staff members also honor an Offensive and Defensive Scout Team Player of the Week.
Shirk, who is set to be inducted into the Morehead State Athletic Hall of Fame this fall, was a First-Team All-Ohio Valley Conference selection in 1972. He played for the National Football League’s New York Giants and caught passes from another Eagle legend, Phil Simms. Goldsmith was a two-year starter (1981-82) on the defensive line and led the team with 17 tackles for loss as a senior.
Webb was named First-Team I-AA (now Football Championship Subdivision) Mid-Major All-American as a sophomore kicker in 2006. He holds the single-season record for field goals with 13. Bright was a four-year starter at safety from 1976-79 and later played two seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Nighswander was MSU’s starting center for two seasons (1971-72) and went on to play one season for the Buffalo Bills. Compassi was a four-year letterwinner from 1976-79 and caught 47 career passes from Simms.
“All of these players made significant contributions to the program and all have been highly successful in their careers after college,” Tenyer said. “I tell our current players to respect the past and continue to build the tradition moving forward. It gets back to our three Cs, which are character, community and championship effort. That’s what we need to be about.”
[adsenseyu3]
Comments
