ST. LOUIS – The Missouri Valley Football Conference announced its top honors for the 2014 season Wednesday, and regular-season co-champions Illinois State took home three of the five honors. ISU head coach Brock Spack was named MVFC Coach of the Year, running back Marshaun Coprich was named MVFC Offensive Player of the Year, and quarterback Tre Roberson earned MVFC Newcomer of the Year honors following a vote by the league's head coaches, sports information directors, radio play-by-play announcers and beat writers.
Spack becomes just the second Redbird mentor to earn Coach of the Year honors, joining Todd Berry who won the award in back-to-back seasons in 1998 and 1999. Coprich is the fourth Redbird player to earn Offensive Player of the Year honors, joining Toby Davis (1992), Laurént Robinson (2005) and Matt Brown (2012), and Roberson is the first ISU player to earn Newcomer of the Year honors.
After his team was picked to finish sixth in the MVFC preseason poll, Spack led the Redbirds to their first conference title since 1999 and doubled the team's win total from 2013. ISU finished the regular season10-1 and 7-1 in the MVFC, with the 10-regular season wins setting a program record for victories during the regular season. The Redbirds were selected as a No. 5 national seed in the 2014 FCS playoffs, and the 'Birds will host either Northern Iowa or Stephen F. Austin at Hancock Stadium on Dec. 6 at 1 p.m., in the second round of the playoffs.
Coprich led the MVFC in rushing yards (1,683), touchdowns (21) and yards per game (153.0) in his third season with the Redbirds. The Victorville, California, native rushed for over 100 yards in every game of the season, setting a school and league mark for consecutive 100-plus yard games, and set an ISU single-season record with 21 rushing touchdowns. During the season, he was named the MVFC Offensive Player of the Week twice and had several breakout performances, including eight games with multiple touchdowns and six games with over 150 yards rushing. He rushed for a career-high 221 yards at South Dakota and also scored a career-best four touchdowns in a Homecoming win against South Dakota State.
Roberson started all 11 games at quarterback and led the Redbirds to a 10-1 record, in his first season after transferring from Indiana. The Indianapolis, Indiana, native led the MVFC in total offense (261.1 ypg) and with a pass efficiency rating of 150.8. He accounted for 29 total touchdowns (21 pass, 8 run) and finished the season with 2,198 passing yards and 21 touchdowns through the air. A three-time MVFC Newcomer of the Week selection, Roberson also rushed for 674 yards and eight scores on the ground to lead the way for a dangerous ISU offensive attack that led the conference in total offense (451.5 ypg), rushing offense (241.4 ypg) and scoring offense (38.7 ppg).
Playoff tickets are on sale now for the Dec. 6 game against UNI or Stephen F. Austin. Tickets can be purchased online at GoRedbirds.com or by calling the ISU Athletics Ticket Office at (309) 438-8000.
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