Vandenburgh Invited to 2022 Buck Buchanan Award Announcement

NORMAL, Ill. — Illinois State senior linebacker Zeke Vandenburgh is one of three standout defensive players who have been invited to the announcement of the 2022 Stats Perform Buck Buchanan Award at the FCS National Awards banquet on Jan. 7 in Frisco, Texas. The Buck Buchanan Award is annually presented to the national defensive player of the year in college football's Division I FCS subdivision.

Vandenburgh, who was previously named as one of 30 finalists for 2022 Buck Buchanan Award, earned enough votes to finish in the Top-3 along with outside linebacker John Pius of William & Mary and defensive end David Walker of Central Arkansas. Following the regular season, a 54-member panel voted on the 28th annual award – named for legendary defensive lineman Junious "Buck" Buchanan, who starred at Grambling State as part of his Hall of Fame career.

Vandenburgh becomes the first Redbird to land in the Top 3 of the Buck Buchanan Award voting since 2005, when defensive end Brent Hawkins finished second. Of note, from 2002-05 the Redbirds had a representative in the final three of the vote, with NFF College Football Hall of Famer Boomer Grigsby finishing in the Top 3 from 2002-04 prior to Hawkins' finish in 2005.

The 2022 Missouri Valley Football Conference Defensive Player of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Vandenburgh saved some of his best football for last as he posted a career-high 17 tackles, 3.5 sacks and tied a career-best with 4.0 tackles-for-loss in the Redbirds' season finale against Western Illinois. It gave him 100 tackles (51 solos) in a 10-game stat line that also included 21 tackles-for-loss (120 yards) and an FCS-leading 14 sacks. 

A four-time MVFC Defensive Player of the Week honoree, Vandenburgh was also credited with one interception, four pass breakups, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and four quarterback hurries in 2022. The Freeport, Illinois, native finished the regular season ranked No. 1 in the FCS in sacks per game (1.40) and tackles-for-loss per game (2.1).

With his numbers in the season finale, 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).

The Buck Buchanan Award, first presented in 1995, has a distinguished history of recipients, including Dexter Coakley, Rashean Mathis, Jared Allen and Arthur Moats. Also at the national banquet, Stats Perform will present the Walter Payton Award (FCS offensive player of the year), Jerry Rice Award (FCS freshman player of the year) and Eddie Robinson Award (FCS coach of the year), and FedEx Ground will present the Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

2022 Buck Buchanan Award Voting Results
Following is a breakdown of the voting results. A first-place vote was worth five points, a second-place vote four points, a third-place vote three points, a fourth-place vote two points and a fifth-place vote one point. The final number is the combined point total.
1. TBA, Jan. 7
2. TBA, Jan. 7
3. TBA, Jan. 7
4. Marcus Hillman, DB, Elon: 1-5-7-5-3-59
5. Marte Mapu, DB, Sacramento State: 4-2-4-1-1-43
6. Ty French, DL, Gardner-Webb: 1-1-4-2-8-33
7. Joe Andreessen, LB, Bryant: 0-2-3-5-3-30
8.(tie) Aubrey Miller Jr., LB, Jackson State: 2-2-2-1-1-27
8.(tie) Caleb Sanders, DL, South Dakota State: 2-1-2-2-3-27
8. (tie) Jay Person, DL, Chattanooga: 1-3-1-3-1-27
11. Johnny Buchanan, LB, Delaware: 0-1-4-3-2-24
12. Alijah Huzzie, DB, ETSU: 0-1-3-1-5-20
13. Spencer Waege, DL, North Dakota State: 0-2-2-2-1-19
14. BJ Davis, LB, South Carolina State: 2-1-0-1-2-18
15. Robby Hauck, DB, Montana: 1-0-0-3-3-14
16. Rodney Dansby, LB, Houston Christian: 0-2-0-1-3-13
17. Malik Hamm, DL, Lafayette: 2-0-0-1-0-12
18. Winston Reid, LB, Weber State: 0-0-1-3-1-10
19. Tristan Wheeler, LB, Richmond: 0-1-0-2-1-9
20. John H. Ford II, LB, UT Martin: 0-0-1-1-3-8
21. Bryce Norman, LB, Southeast Missouri: 0-1-0-1-1-7
22. Antoine Williams, LB, Austin Peay: 0-0-1-1-1-6
23. Kelechi Anyalebechi, LB, UIW: 1-0-0-0-0-5
24.(tie) Khalil Baker, DB, North Carolina Central: 0-0-0-1-2-4
24.(tie) Ryan Greenhagen, LB, Fordham: 0-0-0-2-0-4
26. Kavian Gaither, LB, Sam Houston: 0-0-0-0-1-1
27.(tie) Luke Glenna, DB, St. Thomas: 0-0-0-0-0-0
27.(tie) Jake Heimlicher, DL, Penn: 0-0-0-0-0-0
27.(tie) Stone Snyder, LB, VMI: 0-0-0-0-0-0
27.(tie) Chizi Umunakwe, LB, Central Connecticut State: 0-0-0-0-0-0

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