Photo Gallery
 
Bronx, N.Y. – Members of the Fordham University football squad were honored at the annual Fordham Football Awards Dinner held in O'Keefe Commons on March 9. Special team awards presented to members of the 2013 football team included the Defensive Scout Team Player of the Year (Nick Glogau), the Offensive Scout Team Player of the Year (Nick Krejci), the Special Teams Player of the Year (Jordan Chapman), the Macken Award (Joseph Sullivan), the Academic Achievement Award (Brett Biestek),  the Bill Tierney Award (Carlton Koonce and Jake Rodriques), the Danowski Award (Steven Tapia and Thomas Fisher), the Lansing Trophy (Mason Halter and DeAndre Slate), the 2013 Defensive Player of the Year Award (Stephen Hodge), the 2013 Offensive Player of the Year Award (Sam Ajala) and the Rich Marrin, FCRH '65, LAW '68, Most Valuable Player Award (Mike Nebrich).
 
Chapman picked up the inaugural Special Teams Player of the Year trophy for his outstanding special teams play, highlighted by a blocked field goal attempt on the last play of the game against Bucknell that secured Fordham's 23-21 win and extended the Rams' season-opening win streak to ten games.
 
The Macken Award was established in memory of Rams' special assistant coach Bob Macken, who passed away suddenly in June of 1992.  Coach Macken was a key part of the Fordham staff for seven seasons, always handling the "little things" that are so vital to keeping a program going.  He took special pride in working with the special teams, and his "Macken Pizza Party" for the top special teams plays of the year were a source of great pride for the team.
 
Sullivan, a senior who has handled all the long snapping duties for the past four years, appeared in all 47 games in his career, tying Javarus Dudley's school record.
 
The Academic Achievement Award recognizes a Ram who performed both on the field and in the classroom. Biestek, a senior starter on the defensive line, earned First Team Capital One Academic All-America® honors in 2013 as well as being named one of 43 NCAA FCS players named to the 16^th annual Football Championship Subdivision Athletics Directors Association (FCS ADA) Academic All-Star Team.
 
A senior Finance major with a 3.78 GPA, Biestek started all 14 games on the Fordham defensive line last fall, recording 58 total tackles, 40 solo, including 14.5 tackles for a loss of 74 yards and five sacks for 36 yards. He also had five quarterback hurries, four pass breakups, three fumble recoveries, a forced fumble and a blocked kick. Biestek tied for second in the Patriot League in tackles for loss per game (1.04) and tied for seventh in sacks per game (0.36) and was named first team All-Patriot League.
  
A Finance major with a 3.78 GPA, Biestek graduated in three-and-a-half years and is currently enrolled in the Fordham MBA program. He is believed to be just to second Fordham football player to do so.
 
Koonce, a senior running back, and Rodriques, a senior linebacker, were named co-recipient of the Bill Tierney Spirit Award, presented annually to the Fordham varsity player who in the estimate of his teammates represents the spirit that Bill so unselfishly exemplified.  A special Ram award was commissioned by Ernest H. Hammer, FCO '55, and created by David Hacker (a New York artist and a former formidable football player at California).  The award is presented annually to the winner of the Bill Tierney Award.  Tierney suffered a cardiac arrest brought on by viral myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, on October 12, 1996 while warming up for the Homecoming football game.
 
Koonce, a preseason All-American who was also a first team All-Patriot League pick last fall, put up his second straight 1,000-yard rushing season, gaining 1,462 yards, the third best single season total in school history, on 307 carries with nine touchdowns. He also caught 41 passes for 276 yards and two scores. Koonce, who set the school single season rushing record last year with 1,596 yards, graduates with 3,283 career rushing yards, second best in school history.
 
Rodriques, a three-year starter at linebacker, was fifth on the 2013 squad in tackles, accumulating 65 on the year, 42 solo. Included in his 65 tackles were 3.5 for loss and two sacks, and he also intercepted two passes, broke up two passes and had a team-high nine quarterback hurries. Over his career, Rodriques recorded 215 total tackles, 133 solo, including 18 for loss and eight sacks. He also had three interceptions and three pass deflections.  
 
Tapia and Fisher, two mainstays in the Fordham offensive line, were co-recipient of the 2013 Danowski Award, given annually to the senior football player who through his leadership, sacrifice, and commitment to excellence upon the field of play and within the University community exemplifies the character of Danowski, a former Fordham player and head coach.
 
Tapia, a three-year starter, and Fisher, a two-year starter who was named first team All-Patriot League in 2013, helped the Fordham offense put up record-setting numbers, with the offense scoring 50 points or more five times last fall, accumulating 526 points for the season, breaking the school record of 418 set by the 2003 squad. The Rams also set school single season records with 7,214 total yards of offense, shattering the former school mark for total yards in a season of 5,377 set by the 2009 team, and 5,052 passing yards, bettering the former record of 3,708 set in 2009.
 
Halter, who started every game at left tackle in 2013, and Slate, a starter at defensive tackle last fall, were named the 2013 co-recipients of the Lansing Trophy, named for Jim Lansing, a former player and coach who was a consensus All-American, in 1941.  That was the same season that Fordham downed Missouri 2-0 to capture the 1942 Sugar Bowl.  As a coach, Lansing won national club championships in 1965 and 1968, and became the school's first varsity coach since 1954 when the program was elevated to Division III in 1970.  In five club seasons and two varsity campaigns, Lansing posted a 29-20-3 record.
 
Halter, a first team All-Patriot League pick, anchored the Fordham offensive line, helping the Rams' offense put up its record-setting numbers.
 
Slate, a two-year starter at tackle who earned first team All-Patriot League honors in 2013, was a big part of the defense's success, making 49 total tackles in 2013, 32 solo, including 14.5 for loss and seven sacks. He led the team with his seven sacks and was tied for the team lead with his 14.5 tackles for loss. Slate also compiled one quarterback hurry, one pass breakup and two forced fumbles.  He tied Biestek for second in the Patriot League in tackles for loss.
 
Hodge, the 2013 Defensive Player of the Year, had one of the most prolific seasons for a Fordham defender in school history. He was named Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year as well as first team All-League after finishing the regular season with a team-high 124 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, five sacks, five forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and an interception. He led the NCAA FCS with 94 solo tackles (6.7/game) and was eighth in the FCS with the five forced fumbles. Hodge helped key Fordham's upset of Temple on Sept. 14 by making 11 tackles with a sack and a forced fumble, and also earned Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week honors for his performance against Georgetown (14 tackles, sack) and Holy Cross (15 tackles, 4 TFL, 1 FF). His three Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week awards tied for the most in League history.
 
Ajala, the 2013 Offensive Player of the Year, was a first team All-Patriot League selection after a record-setting year at wide receiver. After catching 26 passes for 312 yards over his first two years at Rose Hill, Ajala had a coming out party last fall, hauling in 93 passes for 1,646 yards, both team highs, with 14 touchdowns. He broke Javarus Dudley's school record for receiving yards in a season (1,439) and tied Dudley's school mark for receiving touchdowns in a season, both set in 2003. Ajala was second in the NCAA FCS in total receiving yards and was second in the Patriot League and fourth in the NCAA FCS in receiving yards per game (117.6). He also ranked among the top 20 nationally in receiving touchdowns (tied for fourth) and receptions per game (12th).
 
Nebrich, the 2013 Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year who shattered school passing records last year, was named the team's Rich Marrin Most Valuable Player. The award is named in honor of the late Rich Marrin, founder and former president of the Gridiron Club, who received the Mara Family award in 2011.
 
A finalist for the 2013 Walter Payton Award (FCS Most Outstanding Player), Nebrich enjoyed one of the best regular seasons for a quarterback in school history.  He completed 353-of-480 passes (73.5%) for 4,380 yards with 35 touchdowns, and also rushed for 513 yards and nine scores. His completion percentage led the nation and was just off the FCS single-season record of 75.2%, as did his total yards of offense per game (376.4). Nebrich also ranked in the top five nationally in passing yards per game (336.9/third), passing efficiency (171.3/second), completions per game (27.2/third) and points responsible for per contest (20.5/fourth). He had a 12-1 record as the starting quarterback in 2013 and set a Fordham record with 524 passing yards in a win against Holy Cross on Nov. 2. Nebrich was named Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week a record five times in 2013.
 
Moorhead, a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award as the NCAA FCS National Coach of the Year for the second straight year and a finalist for the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year, then called up each senior to receive his framed jersey from the Columbia game.
 
The night ended with the Rams belting out a rendition of the Fordham Fight Song.
 
The Rams open the 2014 season on Saturday, August 30, as they host the Saint Francis (Pa.) University Red Flash on Jack Coffey Field.