FRISCO, Texas – The postseason awards have rolled in for Illinois State senior linebacker Zeke Vandenburgh, but on Saturday night he received the biggest yet, as Vandenburgh's dominant senior season led to him receiving the 2022 Stats Perform Buck Buchanan Award as the top defensive player in FCS football on Saturday night at the FCS National Awards banquet in Frisco, Texas.
Vandenburgh won the award by receiving 30 first-place votes and had no votes lower than third place for a total of 187. William & Mary redshirt sophomore outside linebacker John Pius finished second in the voting (113) and Central Arkansas sophomore defensive end David Walker third (90) after a 54-member panel selected 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.Â
"It's an incredible feeling and extremely humbling overall to win this prestigious award," Vandenburgh said. "I remember my freshman year sitting at dinner with some of my teammates and us recording each other saying what we wanted to accomplish in our time at Illinois State. All the boxes are now checked for me and this is a great feeling. This final season at ISU was a dream and I wish we could have won more games in the end, but I'm so appreciative of my teammates, coaches and everyone at Illinois State who helped me get here. To be the first winner of this award, with the strong legacy of this football program, is incredible."
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).
Vandenburgh returns to training for the upcoming NFL Draft and will compete in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl on January 28 in Pasadena, California, at the Rose Bowl.
Illinois State Buck Buchanan Award Finalists (Finish)
2002 – Boomer Grigsby, LB (3rd)
2003 – Boomer Grigsby, LB (2nd)
2004 – Boomer Grigsby, LB (3rd)
2005 – Brent Hawkins, DL (2nd)
      Cameron Siskowic, LB (13th)
2006 – Cameron Siskowic, LB (5th)
2007 – Kye Stewart, LB (4th)
2012 – Colton Underwood, DL (6th)
2013 – Colton Underwood, DL (19th)
2022 – Zeke Vandenburgh, LB (1st)Â
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