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Bronx, N.Y. – Members of the 2015 Fordham University football squad were honored at the annual Fordham Football Awards Dinner held in the McGinley Center Ballroom on Sunday, February 21, 2016. Special team awards presented to members of the team included the Defensive Scout Team Player of the Year (Nick Zawisha), the Offensive Scout Team Player of the Year (James Orfini), the Special Teams Player of the Year (Tony Patrignelli), the Academic Achievement Awards (Steven Samela and Jack Treanor), the Macken Award (Jihaad Pretlow), the Bill Tierney Award (JQ Bowers), the Danowski Award (Kendall Pearcey and George Dawson), the Lansing Trophy (Garrick Mayweather, Jr.), the 2015 Defensive Player of the Year Award (Stephen Hodge), the 2015 Offensive Player of the Year Award (Kevin Anderson) and the Rich Marrin, FCRH '65, LAW '68, Most Valuable Player Award (Chase Edmonds).
 
The Rams celebrated the 2015 season, a season in which Fordham finished with a 9-3 overall record, 5-1 in the Patriot League, and made its third straight appearance in the NCAA FCS Championships.
 
Zawisha and Orfini received the defensive and offensive scout team players of the year honor, respectively, for the hard work and dedication they put in during the week to get the Rams ready for their next opponent. This work often goes unnoticed by the fans on Saturday but is highly valued by the coaching staff.
 
The Academic Award honors the football student-athletes with the highest GPA. This year the academic advisors and coaches could not differentiate between two candidates, both Public Accounting majors with a 3.94 GPA so co-winners were announced with Samela and Treanor sharing the honor.
 

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.
 
Pretlow, a junior who was in his first year with the Rams after transferring from Temple, gave Fordham a weapon on kickoff returns, bringing back 33 kicks for 864 yards (26.2 yards/return) and one touchdown. He led the Patriot League and was 18th in the NCAA FCS in kickoff return average and earned second team All-Patriot league honors as a return specialist.
 
Bowers, a senior defensive back was named the 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.
 
A second team All-Patriot League selection last fall, Bowers started all 12 games at strong safety. He was second on the squad with 86 total tackles, 65 solo, including 5.0 for loss and 1.0 sack, ranking tenth in the league in tackles/game. He tied for the team lead with three interceptions, tied for fifth in the Patriot League, and also had five pass breakups.
 
Pearcey, a junior running back, and Dawson, a junior linebacker were co-recipients of the 2015 Danowski Award, given annually to the 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.
 
Pearcey rushed for 134 yards and two touchdowns as a junior while also catching four passes for 47 yards. Dawson, who started all 12 games at linebacker, recorded 65 total tackles, 40 solo, including nine for loss and three sacks. He also had six pass breakups, five forced fumbles, four quarterback hurries and three fumble recoveries.
 
Mayweather, who started every game at left guard in 2015, was named recipient 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.

 

A First Team All-Patriot League selection in 2014 and 2015, Mayweather also earned All-America honors by College Sports Madness (second team), the Associated Press (third team) and STATS (third team) this fall. He guided the Fordham offense, a unit that led the Patriot League and was ninth in the NCAA FCS in scoring, averaging 36.8 points per game, and led the league and was second in the NCAA FCS in passing efficiency (168.30). Fordham was also second in the league and 20th in the NCAA FCS in passing yards/game (272.3), 21st in the NCAA FCS in first downs and third in the conference and 43rd in the NCAA FCS in rushing yards/game (180.9).
 
Hodge, a first team All-Patriot League selection last fall, received his second Fordham Football Defensive Player of the Year award, also winning the accolade in 2013. He returned to form in 2015 after missing all of the 2014 season with an injury. Hodge amassed a team-high 119 total tackles, 70 solo, including 11.5 for loss and 2.5 sacks. He also had three interceptions, returning one for a score, three pass breakups, two quarterback hurries, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. He was third in the Patriot League and 28th in the NCAA FCS in total tackles/game (9.9) and fourth in the league and 17th in the nation in solo tackles/game (5.8).
 
Hodge was named All-America by the Associated Press (First Team), STATS (Second Team) and Beyond Sports Madness (Third Team) as well as an ECAC All-Star and a First Team All-League selection in 2015. He was also named Academic All-Patriot League.
 
Anderson, the 2015 Offensive Player of the Year, stepped in and took over the starting quarterback role following the graduation of record-setting signal caller Mike Nebrich. He made the transition look seamless, completing 229 of 342 passes (67.0 percent) for 3,183 yards and 32 touchdowns while also rushing for 341 yards and a score. Anderson led the Patriot League and was third in the NCAA FCS in passing touchdowns and passing efficiency (170.2) while also leading the league and ranking fifth in the nation in completion percentage. He also ranked second in the conference and 12^th in the FCS in passing yards/game (265.3).
 
Anderson's 32 touchdown passes was the second best single season total in school history while his 3,183 passing yards was fourth best.
 
A consensus All-American after winning national Rookie of the Year honors in 2014, Edmonds, the 2015 Patriot League and ECAC Offensive Player of the Year who also finished fourth in the STATS FCS Offensive Player of the Year voting, continued his amazing exploits this fall, rushing 251 times for 1,648 yards and 20 touchdowns while also catching 31 passes for 383 yards and five scores. He led the Patriot League and was third in the NCAA FCS in rushing yards and led the league and was fourth in the NCAA FCS in rushing yards/game (137.3) and rushing touchdowns. Edmonds led the league and was fourth in the NCAA FCS in all-purpose yards/game (184.18) and was second in the nation in scoring (12.5 points/game).
 
Against Lehigh on October 24, Edmonds set the Patriot League and school single game rushing record with 347 yards on 31 carries with three touchdowns. He also caught two passes for 55 yards and a score in the game to bring his all-purpose yards total to 402, breaking his own Patriot League record of 385 all-purpose yards set in last year's NCAA Championship game at New Hampshire.
 
Over his career, Edmonds has rushed for 3,486 yards and 43 touchdowns, both second best on the Fordham career lists.

Following the award presentations, head coach Andrew Breiner spoke and noted that it was fitting to honor the senior class as it was the first recruiting class under former head coach Joe Moorhead's staff. "What this class will be remembered for is the faith they had in us. When we recruited them in December of 2011 we had nothing tangible to sell them. We sold them on a vision and dream and they helped fulfill that dream with the best four-year record in school history."
 
University president Fr. Joseph McShane closed out the night reliving the Army game, specifically how he handled the final drive of the hard-fought Fordham win. Too anxious to watch the final drive, he instead paced the hallway of the suites at Michie Stadium until the Rams stopped the Black Knights on fourth down. He then opened the door of the booth next to him, which turned out to be the WFUV radio booth, and exclaimed "God is good and he bleeds maroon and wears a Fordham baseball cap."
 
When he was told by one of the WFUV announcers that they were on the air he repeated a little louder, "God is good and he bleeds maroon and wears a Fordham baseball cap!"
 
The Rams open the 2016 season on Saturday, September 3, as they travel to Annapolis, Maryland, to face the Navy Midshipmen.