Vandenburgh Named Buck Buchanan Award Finalist

NORMAL, Ill. — Illinois State senior linebacker Zeke Vandenburgh capped off his career with the Redbirds in stellar fashion, which has earned him a spot as one of 30 finalists for 2022 Buck Buchanan Award announced by Stats Perform on Tuesday. The Buck Buchanan Award is annually presented to the national defensive player of the year in college football's Division I FCS subdivision.
 
Vandenburgh becomes the first Redbird to be named a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award since 2013, when defensive end Colton Underwood finished in the Top 20 in the annual vote. First presented in 1995 and in its 28th season, the Buchanan Award is named for legendary defensive lineman Junious "Buck" Buchanan, who starred at Grambling State as part of his Hall of Fame career. Past recipients include standouts Dexter Coakley, Rashean Mathis, Jared Allen and Arthur Moats. 

One look at the statistics and it's easy to see why Vandenburgh is a finalist, as he ranks No. 1 in the FCS in sacks per game (1.40) and tackles-for-loss per game (2.1). His 14 total sacks also rank first among all players in the FCS, while he ranks second in total tackles-for-loss with 21.0. He leads the Missouri Valley Football Conference in both of those categories as well and ranks third in total tackles. 

Four times this season, Vandenburgh was named the MVFC Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts. In a season that has been filled with superlatives, he saved the best performance of his career for his final game in a Redbird uniform. The Freeport, Illinois, native set career highs with 17 tackles and 3.5 sacks and tied a career-best with 4.0 tackles-for-loss against Western Illinois. 

With his numbers against Western Illinois, Vandenburgh finished tied for second all-time on the single-season list in sacks with Ray Robinson (2003) and 5th in program history on the single-season list in tackles-for-loss. He also cracked the Top 3 in career sacks with 24.0 (3rd all-time passing Tony Jones) and tackles-for-loss with 43.5 (3rd all-time passing College Football Hall of Famer Boomer Grigsby).

A national media panel will select the Buchanan Award winner, with voting based on the regular season. The recipient will be announced at the FCS National Awards banquet on Jan. 7 in Frisco, Texas – on the eve of the national championship game. Stats Perform will also present the Walter Payton Award (FCS offensive player of the year), Jerry Rice Award (FCS freshman player of the year), Eddie Robinson Award (FCS coach of the year) and FedEx Ground Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete of the Year at the banquet.

GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App: Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Athletic Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.