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Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Football Wraps 2010 Season with Senior Banquet
1/30/2011 12:00:00 AM | Football
Jan. 30, 2011
BOCA RATON, FL - Florida Atlantic University's athletics department today recognized 19 seniors who have represented the University at its year-end football banquet at the Embassy Suites of Boca Raton.
The senior class marks the last class that would have seen action in the back-to-back bowl victories. Sixteen of the 19-member class saw their first action in 2007. Both Avery Holley and Rob Housler played in 2006. The gathering was for the seniors, however, it also marked the conclusion of the 2010 season and served to bestow awards.
Jeff Van Camp was named the team's MVP. Van Camp, a Sun Belt Conference (SBC) honorable mention honoree, assumed the responsibility of quarterback of FAU's offense with five games remaining in 2009. Van Camp remained positive despite needing five centers to get through preseason camp and injuries which slowed the offense's progression. On the season, he completed 192 of 335 pass attempts for 2,459 yards, and 17 touchdowns. His career long was an 80-yard toss to Lester Jean versus Arkansas State University. He tossed his 20th career touchdown versus FIU and earned the team's offensive game ball against Western Kentucky University. Van Camp shared the team's offensive team game ball honors following the University of Louisiana-Lafayette game. He is ranked No. 61 nationally in passing efficiency and is tied for No. 74 nationally in total offense. Van Camp is listed in 11 all-time FAU career categories.
The team's Defensive MVP was fellow senior Malik Eugene. Eugene finished second on the squad with 105 tackles, a 71 tackle improvement over 2009. Eugene supplied pressure from the outside with seven tackles for a loss. He forced a fumble and recovered two on the season. Eugene served as the team's captain versus UAB and recorded a career game high 14 tackles twice (ULM and Troy University), both in 2010 and had five games with double-digit tackles. He finished his final collegiate campaign tied for 48th nationally in total tackles. For his career, Eugene tallied 151 tackles, including 12 for a loss of 54 yards.
The Owls' Offensive MVP honor was awarded to Lester Jean, who earned second team All-Sun Belt honors. Jean's perfectly timed one handed catch in the season opener versus UAB will forever be included on the FAU highlight reel. Jean participated in the East/West Shrine All-Star Game on January 22 and was reported to be the wide receiver sleeper to be taken in the 2011 draft by ESPN's Todd McShay. On the season, Jean was an example of how hard work pays off. Jean led FAU in receptions and yards, was fourth in the SBC in receptions per game (5.3) and led the league in yards per game (82.3). Jean is 45th nationally in receptions per game and No. 25 in yards per game. His rankings are even more impressive considering he was double-teamed nearly every game. He had three games with more than 100 receiving yards (UAB, FIU and Middle Tennessee State University) and posted 99 yards versus Michigan State University and ASU. He made the hard catches look easy with every catch earned with defenders closely covering him. Eight of Jeff Van Camp's 17 touchdowns went to Jean. The Special Team MVP award was presented to Mickey Groody, who was a repeat honoree from 2009 as well as the SBC punt leader in average as a junior. He ended the 2010 campaign No. 5 nationally with a punt average of 45.80. The Owls special team net punting average was 38.6, which placed the unit No. 17 nationally. The next closest SBC team was listed at No. 37. At season's end, Groody earned first-team SBC honors and was also named Honorable Mention All-American by CollegeFootballNews.com. Groody punted 72 times for the Owls and just 30 of the punts were returned by the opponents. He had two games with punts of 70-plus yards, including his career high of 73 against FIU. His second was a 72-yard punt against Troy in the final game of the 2010 season. Three times in 2010 his game punt average was above 50 (University of North Texas, University of Texas and Troy).
Most Improved was given to Joe Bailey, who is in good company after Jean earned the award in 2009. Bailey, a redshirt freshman, was part of an offensive line that saw new starters at every position and as many as three different starters at center. On the year Bailey played in every game, drew two starts. He joined the team in 2009 as a true freshman walk-on, earned a scholarship by the end of the 2010 summer and started the season opener, versus UAB, at right tackle. His second start came against ULM.
The Student-Athlete MVP honor was awarded to junior Marcus Bartels. Bartels, another repeat award winner after earning the non-scholarship award in 2009, was listed No. 1 or 2 much of the 2010 campaign and finished the season third behind tackles leader Michael Lockley and Eugene with 104 total tackles, ranked No. 55 nationally in total tackles. Bartels recorded two interceptions in 2010 versus FIU, one preserved the victory. In just three seasons Bartels has accumulated 216 total tackles. He will return in 2011 to anchor the defensive backs.
Tim Raber, FAU's long snapper, earned the team's non-scholarship award. Raber was responsible for every long snap in 2010. Through his efforts the special team was able to conclude the season ranked No. 17 in net punt average. There were just three blocked punt attempts in 70 attempted and one blocked kick in 13 tries. Raber also recorded five tackles, including two at ASU which changed their defensive alignment to double coverage on the speedy snapper.
The "Ramon Rickards Bone Award", the team's most personalized award, was awarded to Yourhighness Morgan. The redshirt sophomore played in 10 games and recorded 47 tackles including 4.5 for a loss of 11 yards. While the accumulation of tackles is a sign of Morgan's overall work, the award is given to the player who consistently delivered the bone crushing play, a hit that made the opponents hesitate in his presence. He captured the game "Bone Award" for his short yardage hit versus the University of Louisiana. It was hits like this, more than his total tackles, which earned Morgan the coveted award named in honor of inaugural team member Ramon Rickards.
FAU will begin "Spring Drills" on Wednesday, March 30 and will conclude with the Spring Game on Saturday, April 23. The team will enter both conditioning and spring practice with the knowledge that they will be the first team to play a game in FAU's on-campus stadium, currently under construction.
FAU's 30,000-seat stadium is the centerpiece of FAU's Innovation Village, located in the north central area of campus. Home of the Owl football team, the open-air stadium, a $70 million project, is slated to feature 6,000 premium seats, including 24 suites, 26 loge boxes, 1,000 premier club seats and 4,000 priority club seats, and the latest, state-of-the-art amenities.
To purchase season tickets call, 1-866-FAU-Owls.
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