For the second straight season, Illinois State senior linebacker Boomer Grigsby returns as the top vote getter for The Sports Network Buck Buchanan Award, given to the nations top I-AA defensive player, and on Monday, the Canton, Ill., native was one of 16 players named to the Buchanan Battle list.
Grigsby, who was the sole Redbird and one of four Gateway Football Conference players on the first team, enters the 2004 season with 451 career tackles, which ranks No. 3 in the Redbird record books. With 49 more stops, Grigsby will become only the second player in Illinois State history to surpass the 500-tackle mark. He needs 115 to claim the conference record and 149 to pass the school record of 579 tackles by current assistant coach Galen Scott.
Four players, including Grigsby and two other linebackers who appeared on last years final Buck Buchanan Award ballot, are among this years 16 Buchanan candidates. Grigsby, Cal Polys Jordan Beck, Northeasterns Liam Ezekiel and Southern Illinois safety Alexis Moreland are each returnees to the Buchanan Battle list. Grigsby finished second in the voting behind Idaho State defensive end Jared Allen, a fourth-round draft pick of the Kansas City Chiefs.
In addition to the Buchanan Battle List, The Sports Network also released the Walter Payton Award Watch List, which also includes 16 players, including Northern Iowa running back Terrance Freeney. Both the Buchanan and Payton awards will be presented at the 18th annual I-AA College Football Awards on Thursday, December 16 in Chattanooga, Tenn., on the eve of the 2003 I-AA National Championship. The Eddie Robinson Award, honoring I-AAs top coach, and the Sports Network Cup, bestowed upon the nations best I-AA mid-major program, will also be presented on Dec. 16.
The official Payton Watch and Buchanan Watch lists will undergo three revisions prior to the distribution of ballots on November 22. The first revisions will be announced October 6, the second November 3, and the third just prior to the distribution of ballots.
