Previlon Wins Homer Hazel Award

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Fifth-year senior Willington Previlon took home the Homer Hazel Award as the Rutgers football most valuable player at the senior banquet held Sunday. Previlon also earned the David Bender Trophy with Kamaal Seymour as linemen from both sides of the ball to properly recognize merit. Zach Venesky earned the Paul Robeson Award for performance, leadership and dedication to the program. For being the team's most elite scholar-athlete, Cole Murphy claimed the Academic Excellence Award. In addition to Venesky, junior team captains Tyshon Fogg and Tyreek Maddox-Williams were also acknowledged.

2019 Rutgers Banquet Award

Homer Hazel Award: Willington Previlon
Paul Robeson Award: Zach Venesky
Academic Excellence Award: Cole Murphy
David Bender Trophy: Kamaal Seymour & Willington Previlon
Team Captains: Tyshon Fogg, Tyreek Maddox-Williams, Zach Venesky

Homer Hazel Award

Previlon started all 12 games on the defensive line and was selected honorable mention All-Big Ten in the media vote. Playing both inside and outside, he recorded 35 tackles with 7.5 for loss to lead the team. The New Jersey native picked up six tackles versus both No. 20 Minnesota and No. 12/10 Penn State to set new personal bests. In addition, Previlon recorded two tackles-for-loss against No. 20 Iowa and Indiana and collected a sack versus Maryland.

The Homer Hazel Award is named after the two-time All-American who became one of the inaugural inductees into the College Football Hall of Fame. The honor has been presented to the most valuable player on the team each season since 1953.

Paul Robeson Award

Venesky started all 12 games at left guard and led the offense with 772 snaps played this season. A team captain, he was part of an offensive line that helped pave to the way for 271 rushing yards versus Liberty and totaled 554 total yards to beat Massachusetts. Venesky previously won the team's Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.

The Paul Robeson Award has been bestowed since 1968 to the senior whose performance, leadership and dedication on and off the field during his career has had the greatest impact on Rutgers football. It is named after the third African-American student ever enrolled at Rutgers and the first to play football at the University. Robeson won 12 letters in four sports, earning All-America status as an end on the gridiron. The valedictorian, he would later become an accomplished actor, singer and lecturer and earned induction into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Academic Excellence Award

Murphy is set to earn his degree in finance, managing a 3.4 GPA. A two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection, he was also active in the community as an advocate for the men's health, leading a Movember campaign as a fundraiser. That tied into the Mortell Holder of Year movement, as Murphy was a finalist for the national award. He was also named a nominee for the Burlsworth Trophy, which honors the top walk-on in the nation, and is a member of a Chapter of Chi Alpha Sigma, the National College Athlete Honor Society.

The Academic Excellence Award is presented to the team's most elite scholar-athlete. This award recognizes a student-athlete that shows outstanding educational growth, improvement, commitment and intellectual development in their academic subjects.

David Bender Trophy

Previlon was the only senior on the defensive line this past season. He ended his career playing in 36 consecutive games and tallied 71 tackles, 11.5 tackles-for-loss, four sacks and three pass breakups as a Scarlet Knight.

Seymour started 41-straight games at right tackle to finish his career, the most overall starts on the roster last season. Joining the program as a defensive lineman, he switched sides of the ball as a redshirt freshman and became a four-year starter. This year, Seymour was part of an offensive line that helped pave to the way for 271 rushing yards versus Liberty and totaled 554 total yards to beat Massachusetts. He recently became a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree as an information technology and informatics major.

A native of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Bender entered Rutgers in 1921 and played four years of football and lacrosse. He was a tackle and center on the famed 1923 and 1924 squads, which posted identical 7-1-1 records. The David Bender Trophy has been awarded each year since 1947 to the squad's top linemen.

Captains

Venesky served as the only senior captain, starting the final 17 games of his career. Fogg started all 12 games at middle linebacker and was selected honorable mention All-Big Ten by the coaches and media. He placed third in the conference with 104 tackles. Maddox-Williams played in each game and totaled 45 stops. Both Fogg and Maddox-Williams were Academic All-Big Ten selections.

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Schedule

Players Mentioned

Tyshon Fogg

Tyreek Maddox-Williams

Cole Murphy

Willington Previlon

Kamaal Seymour

Zach Venesky

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