ST. LOUIS - Last season, Illinois State wide receiver Eyad Salem was the lone first-team All-Missouri Valley Football Conference honoree for the Redbirds. However, this year he was joined on the first team by senior placekicker Zach Kutch while seven other Redbirds were named to the All-Valley Football Team Wednesday, as voted on by the league's coaches, sports information directors and media members. The nine honorees were the most for the Redbirds since having 10 players named to the list in 2006.
Salem set new school and league single-season records with 92 receptions and also led the conference in receiving yards (943), yards per game (85.7) and receptions per game (8.4) in his final season at ISU. He not only ranked near the top of the league's receiving categories, but also ranked fourth in the country in receptions per game and 15th in receiving yards per game. The Elgin, Ill., native caught six touchdowns on the season, including two at Illinois, and posted five 100+ yard receiving games, including a career-high 172 yards in a come-from-behind victory at North Dakota State. During that game against the Bison, Salem also tied an ISU record with 14 catches and matched it the very next week with 14 grabs at No. 6 Southern Illinois.
Kutch, a two-time MVFC Special Teams Player of the Week during the season, set a new ISU and Valley single-season record with 22 field goals made during the season and his field goal per game average (2.0) is currently tied for first in the country with Liberty's Matt Bevins. The Milton, Fla., native earned his first weekly honor after setting a new school and league record with six field goals made against Western Illinois. The second weekly honor came after he nailed a pair of 50+ yard field goals in an upset win over No. 9 Northern Iowa, making him the first player in school history and just the fifth in league history to hit two field goals from 50 yards or more in the same game.
Junior defensive back Kelvyn Hemphill, sophomore offensive lineman Nick Bledsoe, sophomore defensive tackle Eric Brunner and redshirt freshman quarterback Matt Brown were each named to the All-Valley Football Conference Second Team.
Hemphill, a 2008 MVFC Honorable Mention selection, led the Redbirds with 71 tackles, including 46 solo stops from his safety position. The San Antonio, Texas, native also recorded two sacks, 7.5 tackles-for-loss, three pass breakups and an interception on the season. He posted a career-high 14 tackles at Illinois and was credited with 10 tackles and a tackle-for-loss against No. 15 South Dakota State.
Bledsoe started all 11 games on the offensive line, nine at guard and the last two at center after regular starter Cal McCarthy suffered a knee injury. The Wheeling, Ill., native earned MVFC Offensive Lineman of the Week honors after helping team rush for a season-high 178 yards in a win at Missouri State. He was a vital part of the league's top passing offense with 246.4 yards per game and led the way for Brown, who set new freshman records for completions (226) and passing yards (2,369) in a season for a freshman quarterback.
Brunner had a breakout season on the defensive line for the Redbirds and ranked fifth on the team with 47 tackles, including 23 solo stops. The Greendale, Wis., native also added 1.5 sacks, 7.0 tackles-for-loss and was credited with a team-high seven quarterback hurries. He recorded a career-high nine tackles against Western Illinois, but arguably played his best game of the season against No. 9 Northern Iowa when he tallied seven tackles and five hurries in the come-from-behind win over the Panthers.
Brown was thrust into action in the season opener at Eastern Illinois, when starter Drew Kiel suffered a season-ending wrist injury late in the fourth quarter. From there, the Marion, Ill., native started the final 10 games of the year and set new ISU freshman records for completions (226), attempts (352) and passing yards (2,369) in a season. Brown led the conference in passing yards per game (215.4), ranked third in pass efficiency (127.6) and his completion percentage of 64.2 was the second-highest single season mark in school history. He posted four 300+ yard passing performances, including a career high 328 yards at Youngstown State and threw two touchdowns in four consecutive games from Oct. 3-31.
Senior defensive back Chris Garrett, senior defensive end Doni Phelps and junior cornerback E.J. Jones each earned honorable mention honors to round out the list of Redbird honorees.
Running back Deji Karim of Southern Illinois was named the Missouri Valley Football Offensive Player of the Year and for just the second time in league history (1985-Mark Farley, UNI; James Houston, MSU), defensive end James Ruffin of Northern Iowa and defensive end Danny Batten of South Dakota State shared co-Defensive Players of the Year honors. Southern Illinois head coach Dale Lennon joined six other previous league coaches to win the Bruce Craddock Coach of the Year award in back-to-back seasons.
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