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By the SouthernPigskin.com Staff/AP Release
Appalachian State head coach Jerry Moore wins the 2009 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award for the NCAA Division I FCS.
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — Appalachian State University head coach Jerry Moore is the winner of the 2009 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award for the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision, Liberty Mutual announced on Wednesday morning. In recognition of Moore’s contributions on and off the field, Liberty Mutual will donate $50,000 to charities of Moore’s choosing and $20,000 to the ASU Alumni Association scholarship fund.
The Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award recognizes coaches who best display the following four tenets: sportsmanship, integrity, responsibility and excellence, on and off the field. The winners are selected through fan voting (20 percent) and ballots from selection committees made up of national media (25 percent) and College Football Hall of Famers (55 percent). Moore beat out South Dakota State’s John Stiegelmeier, Holy Cross’s Tom Gilmore, Eastern Illinois’ Bob Spoo and Liberty’s Danny Rocco for the award. Moore especially excelled in the fan voting portion of the selection process, picking up nearly 19,000 votes in 15 days, more than twice as many as the next finalist.
In 2009, Moore led the Mountaineers to a fifth-straight Southern Conference title and NCAA Division I Football Championship appearance, where they advanced to the national semifinals. Appalachian finished with an 11-3 record and No. 3 final national ranking while Moore was named the SoCon Coach of the Year for a record seventh time and the American Football Coaches Association Regional Coach of the Year for the fourth time in five years and sixth time overall.
The Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Awards will be presented to Moore, TCU’s Gary Patterson (Division I Football Bowl Subdivision), Northwest Missouri State’s Mel Tjeerdsma (Division II) and Coe College’s Steve Staker (Division III) during a luncheon hosted by College Football Hall of Famer Archie Manning on Wednesday at the Daily Grill in Newport Beach, Calif.
Coach Moore’s Selected Charities
KIDS ACROSS AMERICA
Based in Branson, Missouri, Kids Across America operates a number of summer camps with a mission of building Christian leaders by encouraging, equipping and empowering urban youth and their mentors through sports. Coach Moore’s grandchildren have been campers at KAA’s Kamp Kanakuk and several ASU players have served as counselors at the camps.
SAMARITAN’S PURSE
Based in Boone, N.C., Samaritan’s Purse has provided aid to the world’s poor, sick and suffering for over 35 years. Coach Moore and ASU football have been particularly active in Samaritan’s Purse’s World Medical Mission over the years, which provides medical assistance to many of the less-developed countries of the world.
ASU WALKER COLLEGE OF BUSINESS
The mission of the John A. Walker College of Business is to offer high quality educational experiences preparing our students for life-long learning and leadership responsibilities in a dynamic, global environment. The college has an enrollment of more than 2,200 undergraduate and 50 graduate students and was included in the Princeton Review’s 2008 edition of Best Business Schools.
ASU YOSEF CLUB
For over 35 years, the Yosef Club has provided scholarship support for Appalachian’s student-athletes. Today, it continues that tradition as well as providing essential facility-enhancement support. On average, 35 percent of ASU’s 450-plus student-athletes are members of Appalachian’s academic honor roll with a 3.25 grade point average or higher.
In other Southern Conference news Roberts and Edwards Wrap Up 2009 with Invitation to NFL Combine
Charleston, S.C. - The Citadel standout wide receiver Andre Roberts wrapped up the 2009 year with more honors to add to his extensive collegiate resume as he prepares to advance his career beyond The Citadel in 2010. In the month of December, the Columbia, S.C. native was named to The Sports Network All-America third team as a punt return specialist, while also receiving an invitation to the National Football League 2010 Scouting Combine.
Already invited to play in the 85th East-West Shrine Game on Jan. 23, 2010 at the Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Roberts concluded his career as one of the most decorated wide receivers, not only at The Citadel, but in the state of South Carolina. As a result, the All-American was named to both The State and the Post and Courier newspapers' All-Decade teams at wide receiver.
Roberts was also a finalist for the Walter Payton Award for the second consecutive season, finishing 18th overall, while also earning Southern Conference first team honors at both wide receiver and return specialist. He finished first in the SoCon and sixth in the nation in punt return average in 2009, after earning the national title and first team All-America honors in 2008.
Roberts wrapped up his collegiate career at The Citadel holding school records for single-game catches (14), single-game punt returns (8), season catches (95), season receiving yards (1,334), season punt return yards (461), career catches (285), career receiving yards (3,743), and career punt return yards (1,160). He also ranks second all-time in the SoCon for catches and receiving yards in a career and fourth in punt return yards in a career.
While expected to play in the East-West Shrine Game next month, it is anticipated that other invitations are to follow for Roberts, who completed his graduation requirements at The Citadel earlier this month. He will spend the winter preparing for the NFL 2010 Scouting Combine, which will take place Feb.24 to March 2 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The combine is the annual job fair for prospective new NFL players in which players are put through a series of drills, tests and interviews with more than 600 NFL personnel.
Appalachian State University quarterback Armanti Edwards (Greenwood, S.C./Greenwood) has received an invitation to participate in the 2010 National Football League Scouting Combine, which will be held Feb. 24-March 2 in Indianapolis.
The NFL Combine is the annual job fair for prospective new NFL players. For six days at Lucas Oil Stadium, players are put through a series of drills, tests and interviews in front of more than 600 NFL personnel including head coaches, general managers and scouts.
Edwards was the most decorated player in NCAA Division I FCS (Football Championship Subdivision — formerly Division I-AA) history as Appalachian’s record-setting signal-caller from 2006-09. The 6-0, 184-pound Edwards ranks second in FCS history with 14,753 yards of total offense (behind only Steve McNair, who amassed 16,823 at Alcorn State from 1991-94). With 10,392 passing yards and 4,361 rushing yards, Edwards is the only player in Division I history (FCS or FBS) with at least 9,000 passing yards and 4,000 rushing yards in a career and the only FCS player to reach the 8,000 passing/4,000 rushing plateau. He was responsible for 139 touchdowns in his career (74 passing, 65 rushing), highlighting his 64 ASU and 14 Southern Conference records.
Edwards is the only two-time winner of the Walter Payton Award — presented to the nation’s top FCS player — and the only four-time all-American in Appalachian history. He compiled a 42-7 record as a starter and led the Mountaineers to back-to-back national championships (2006 and ‘07) and four-straight SoCon titles.
He is the second Mountaineer in three years to earn an invitation to the NFL Combine. In 2008, wide receiver Dexter Jackson matched the fastest hand-timed 40-yard dash at the combine (4.27 seconds) to vault himself up most draft boards. He went on to be a second-round selection of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in that April’s NFL Draft.
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