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Cal Poly senior Wins Buck Buchanan Award

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  • Cal Poly senior Wins Buck Buchanan Award

    Beck Wins Buck Buchanan Award

    http://www.calpolymustangs.com/footb...sBuchanan.html

    (12/17/04) Cal Poly senior mike linebacker Jordan Beck is the winner of the 2004 Buck Buchanan Award presented by The Sports Network to the nation's defensive player of the year in Division I-AA.

    Beck received the award at the 18th Annual Division I-AA College Football Awards held Thursday in the Chattanooga Choo Choo Holiday Inn in Chattanooga, Tenn.

    Winner of the Walter Payton Award, presented by The Sports Network to the Division I-AA Player of the Year, also was announced Thursday as well as the recipient of the Eddie Robinson Award for Division I-AA Coach of the Year.

    "I feel honored to get the award, but I know there are a lot of other great defensive players across the country who are just as deserving," Beck said. "I am thankful and feel blessed."

    Finishing second in the balloting for the Buck Buchanan Award was one of Beck's teammates, junior defensive end Chris Gocong. Balloting was conducted in late November by nearly 100 media members and media relations professionals covering Division I-AA and was based on regular season performance only.

    Beck (6-2, 231, Mount Hermon, CA), who will play in the 2005 East-West Shrine Classic on Jan. 15 at SBC Park in San Francisco, holds Cal Poly school records for tackles in a game (23 at Montana in 2003), season (135 in 2004) and career (449).

    He also recorded 22 tackles in a game Nov. 6 at Eastern Washington.

    Beck, who led Cal Poly in tackles all four seasons of his Mustang career (2001-04), finished the regular season No. 1 in the nation in solo tackles per game (8.82) and forced fumbles per contest (.55). He also was fourth in total tackles per game (12.27), eighth in tackles for lost yardage (1.68) and 53rd in interceptions (.36).

    "It has been a great experience -- one of the best times of my life," said Beck. "The relationships I built at Cal Poly will last the rest of my life. The best thing about it all was the camaraderie and friends I had on the teams."

    Beck, a Buck Buchanan Award candidate for the second straight year, returned two of his four interceptions this season for touchdowns -- 36 yards against Humboldt State and 40 yards against Idaho State in the first two games of the year.

    Beck also returned two fumbles for touchdowns in his Mustang career. He scooped up a fumble against UC Davis last year and ran 41 yards for the go-ahead score in the third quarter, and also ran 20 yards with a fumble for a touchdown against Alcorn State in 2001.

    Last month Beck was named Great West Football Conference Defensive Player of the Year. He led the Mustangs to a 9-2 record and the inaugural Great West championship.

    "As an individual, he's very deserving," said Mustang head coach Rich Ellerson. "I love how the award reflects on him, the game, Cal Poly and the football program in particular.

    "Jordan is among the very best linebackers I've ever had the privilege to coach and a gifted competitive gentleman who represents himself, the instutition and the game as well as I can imagine," Ellerson added.

    Beck, a three-time first-team All-NCAA Division I-AA Independents linebacker before Cal Poly joined the Great West this fall, was a second-team The Sports Network All-America linebacker in 2003 and a I-AA.org preseason all-America prior to the 2004 campaign.

    The honors Beck has received this fall, in addition to the Great West Defensive Player of the Year award, include the Walter Camp Foundation All-America Team as well as The Sports Network All-America first team. Earlier this week Beck was named to the American Football Coaches Association All-America Team as well as the Associated Press Division I-AA All-America second team.

    His career totals include 449 total tackles, 270 solo stops and 51.5 tackles for lost yardage, all school records. He also notched 16.5 career sacks (No. 8), four interceptions and 15 pass breakups. In addition to his 23- and 22-tackle games, Beck also recorded 16 tackles in a game three times and 15 tackles in three others. He recorded double-digit tackles in 24 of 43 career games.

    Beck finished the 2003 season 13th in Division I-AA with 11.6 tackles a contest. He recorded 73 tackles as a freshman, 113 as a sophomore, 128 as a junior and 135 as a senior.

    Beck, who was the first Mustang to be nominated for the Buck Buchanan Award in 2003, will be the second Mustang to play in the East-West Shrine Classic. Stan Sheriff, a center and linebacker, played in the 1954 contest after a stellar four-year career (1950-53) at Cal Poly.

    Gocong (6-3, 255, Santa Barbara, CA) finished the 2004 regular season as the nation's sacks leader in Division I-AA with 17.5 (1.59 sacks per contest) and was No. 2 in tackles for lost yardage with 21.5 (1.95 a game).

    Gocong recorded 71 total tackles and also notched one interception (Humboldt State), one punt block (North Dakota State) and two forced fumbles.

    He recorded a personal-best 11 tackles against Eastern Washington on Nov. 6 and his 17.5 sacks this fall broke the school record of 17.0 set by Tom Carey in 1987.

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