University of Connecticut Athletics
Football Team Gives Out Awards at Annual Banquet
12/7/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
December 7, 2003
STORRS, Conn. - The University of Connecticut football team held its annual awards banquet on Sunday afternoon at the Rome Commons Ballroom on the Storrs campus. The Huskies recently completed a highly-successful 9-3 campaign, highlighted by wins over members of three different BCS Conferences (ACC, Big Ten, BIG EAST).
The team Most Valuable Player Award was given to junior quarterback Dan Orlovsky. Orlovsky set nearly every UConn single season passing record in 2003 and was the trigger man on an offense that, heading into the bowl season, ranks seventh in the nation averaging 477.5 yards per game and 10th in passing at 297.9 ypg. Orlovsky ranks eighth in the nation in passing, 13th in total offense, 10 in points responsible for and 32nd in passing efficiency. His 33 passing TDs and 3485 passing yards on the season presently rank fifth and ninth respectively in the nation.
The team’s Offensive Player of the Year Award for the second consecutive year was shared amongst two worth recipients. Senior wide receivers Shaun Feldeisen and O’Neil Wilson took home the 2003 honor. Last year, Orlovsky and Terry Caulley split the honor.
Feldeisen, a team tri-captain and the only one on offense, was UConn’s leading receiver in 2003 with 65 receptions for 860 yards and seven touchdowns. The 65 receptions represent the sixth-best seasonal total in UConn history. A clutch performer under pressure, 50 of Feldeisen’s 65 catches this fall were good for a Husky first down, including nine of his 10 grabs in UConn’s win at Wake Forest to conclude the regular season. Meanwhile, Wilson burst onto the scene in 2003, catching a pair of touchdown passes in each of UConn’s season opening wins (vs. Indiana and Army) and then continued to shine throughout the season. Wilson led UConn with nine TD grabs on the year, tying for the third highest seasonal total in school history. He was second only to Feldeisen on the year with his 51 receptions, good for 655 yards.
Senior defensive end Uyi Osunde was named UConn’s Defensive Player of the Year. Osunde set both the UConn career (49) and single season (24.5) tackles for loss record this fall while positioning himself in second place on the school’s career sack chart (22.5). His 11 sacks this past fall tie for the third best seasonal total in UConn’s recorded history. Through games of Nov. 29, Osunde ranked third in the nation with his 24.5 tackles for loss and was 12th with his 11 sacks. He ranked fourth on the team, and first amongst defensive linemen, with both his 81 tackles and 57 solos.
Adam Coles received the Special Teams Player of the Year honor after a record-breaking senior season. Coles leaves UConn holding the career records for punts (241), punting yards (10,904) and punting average (40.2). Coles is the only Husky to ever average more than 40 yards per punt in his career with a minimum of 80 punts. He accomplished these feats with a stellar senior season in which he averaged a school-record 42.0 yards on his 58 punts, a full yard better than the previous top seasonal average of 41.0 which had been accomplished by both Jim Carriere in 1988 and Mike Morelli in 1999. In all, Coles leaves UConn with every seasonal and career punting record in his possession except for punts in a single season where his 81 in 2001 fell one shy of equalling Neil Gauvin’s 82 from the 1983 season.
The Counseling Program for Intercollegiate Athletes (CPIA) Scholar Athlete Award was given to senior wide receiver Shaun Feldeisen who was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America team earlier this week. The award recognizes a senior who has demonstrated outstanding academic performance and citizenship while making a significant contribution to the overall success of the team.
The Huddle Club Award went to senior safety Terrance Smith. The honor is bestowed upon the Husky who best exhibits leadership and dedication and is viewed as the ultimate team player.
The Kendall Madison Award was given to senior offensive guard Laurence Oliver. Oliver was recognized for being a "strong team player who’s dedication, hard work and outstanding citizenship best exemplify the strong spirit of the UConn Huskies." The award is named for the former Husky who was tragically killed in the mid 1990s while being a good samaritan in his attempt to break up a bar room fight.
The Brian Kozlowski Award was given to senior defensive tackle Sean Mulcahy for being courageous, hard working and productive. The award is named for the former Husky and current Atlanta Falcons tight end who through relentless hard work, effort and dedication has been able to have a lengthy NFL career.
In addition, UConn formally presented its Player of the Game awards for the team’s nine wins in 2003. The awards went to the following:
INDIANA (O’Neil Wilson - offense, Sean Mulcahy, defense, Kinnan Herriott, special teams)
ARMY (Dan Orlovsky - offense, Tyler King - defense)
BUFFALO (Offensive Line and Tight Ends (LeAndre Dupree, Billy Irwin, Ryan Krug, Brian Markowski, Dan Murray, Grant Preston) and Terry Caulley - offense, Terrance Smith - defense, Jason Williams - special teams)
LEHIGH (Brandon Young - offense, Justin Perkins - defense, Cedric Baylor - special teams)
KENT STATE (Chris Bellamy - offense, Uyi Osunde - defense, Jeff Fox - special teams)
AKRON (Shaun Feldeisen and Dan Orlovsky - offense, Tyler King - defense, Matt Nuzie - special teams)
WESTERN MICHIGAN (Cornell Brockington - offense, Alfred Fincher - defense, Deon Anderson - special teams)
RUTGERS (All 19 seniors - Tony Atkinson, Cedric Baylor, Nick Berube, Ryan Bushey, Chris Clarke, Adam Coles, LeAndre Dupree, Shaun Feldeisen, Nick Graby, Hakeem Kashama, Terry McClowry, Mike McIntosh, Jason McKee, Sean Mulcahy, Laurence Oliver, Uyi Osunde, Chandler Poole, Terrance Smith, O’Neil Wilson)
WAKE FOREST (Cornell Brockington - offense, Allan Barnes - defense, Terrance Smith - special teams
