Aug. 29, 2008

The Sports Network released the list of 2008 pre-season candidates for the top two FCS individual season awards and the Yale football team has the only two Ivy League players named. Senior captain and LB Bobby Abare (Acton, Mass.) is listed on the Buck Buchanan (Top Defensive Player) Award Watch List, while classmate RB Mike McLeod (New Britain, Conn.) is a candidate for the nation's top FCS offensive player, the Walter Payton Award.

There are 16 players on both lists, but few are from this region. McLeod is among four offensive players from the Northeast; Abare and two others are in the area.

Both Bulldogs were on the second team of TSN's 2008 pre-season All-America list and received national honors in 2007. Abare is a two-time first-team All-Ivy LB who has led the Bulldogs in tackles the last two falls. He had 53 solos and 33 assists in 2007 before having his teammates vote him captain. McLeod, who played the second half of the 2007 campaign with a broken toe, rushed for a school-record 1,619 yards and 23 TDs. He tied the Yale record with five scores while rambling for 256 yards at Holy Cross and smashed his own school record for yards in a game with 276 against Lehigh in the Bowl. The 5-foot-11, 200-pound RB, who was the 2007 Ivy League MVP, already owns all the major Yale career rushing records including TDs (49) and rushing yards (3,672). The Bulldogs began practicing on Aug. 22 in preparation for an Sept.5 scrimmage at Princeton and the 2008 season opener at home on Sept. 20 against Georgetown.

Here are the two lists.

Payton

Ramses Barden, WR, Cal Poly, 6-5, 230, Senior

Nathan Brown, QB, Central Arkansas, 6-2, 209, Senior

Liam Coen, QB, Massachusetts, 6-2, 220, Senior

Herb Donaldson, RB, Western Illinois, 5-11, 225, Senior

Armanti Edwards, QB, Appalachian State, 6-0, 185, Junior

Terrell Hudgins, WR, Elon, 6-3, 235, Junior

Rashad Jennings, RB, Liberty, 6-1, 230, Senior

Rodney Landers, QB, James Madison, 6-1, 220, Senior

Corey Lewis, RB, Northern Iowa, 6-0, 197, Senior

Mike McLeod, RB, Yale, 5-11, 200, Senior

Matt Nicholls, QB, Eastern Washington, 6-2, 220, Junior

Dominic Randolph, QB, Holy Cross, 6-3, 223, Senior

Andre Roberts, WR, The Citadel, 5-11, 175

Tyler Roehl, RB, North Dakota State, 5-10, 232, Senior

Jordan Scott, RB, Colgate, 5-11, 205, Senior

Javarris Williams, RB, Tennessee State, 5-11, 215, Senior

Buchanan

Bobby Abare, LB, Yale, 6-2, 210, Senior

Colt Anderson, SS, Montana, 5-11, 185, Senior

Pierre Banks, LB, Appalachian State, 6-0, 210, Senior

Jovan Belcher, DE, Maine, 6-2, 228, Senior

Mario Brown, LB, Gardner-Webb, 6-2, 230, Senior

Bobby Daly, LB, Montana State, 6-1, 226, Senior

Zach East, LB, Prairie View, 6-2, 230, Senior

John Faltoese, DT, UC Davis, 6-3, 290, Senior

Cyrus Mulitalo, LB, Sacramento State, 6-1, 245, Senior

Greg Peach, DE, Eastern Washington, 6-2, 250, Senior

Andy Romans, LB, Lafayette, 5-11, 215, Senior

Andy Schantz, LB, Portland State, 6-1, 235, Senior

Pierre Walters, DE, Eastern Illinois, 6-5, 261, Senior

Lardarius Webb, FS, Nicholls State, 5-11, 180, Senior

Jason Williams, LB, Western Illinois, 6-3, 235, Junior

Terrell Whitehead, Norfolk State, 6-2, 200, Junior