News Archive (archives homepage)
Aaron Hernandez Named Walter Camp Connecticut Player of the Year
Hernandez is a native of Bristol and attended Bristol Central before enrolling at the University of Florida
NEW HAVEN, CT – Former Bristol Central High School standout Aaron Hernandez, a junior tight end from the University of Florida, has been named by the Walter Camp Football Foundation as its 2009 “Connecticut Player of the Year.”
Awarded annually to the top college football player who is a resident of the state of Connecticut, the Connecticut Player of the Year is selected by the all-volunteer membership of the Walter Camp Football Foundation.
“We are pleased to announce Bristol native Aaron Hernandez as our Connecticut Player of the Year,” Foundation president Alphonse Paolillo, Jr. said. “Aaron has been an offensive force for the high-scoring Gators and we are honored to recognize him for his outstanding season.”
This season, Hernandez leads the third-ranked Gators (12-1) in receptions (59) and ranked first among tight ends in the Southeastern Conference in receptions, receiving yards (739) and receiving yards per game (56.8). Hernandez has four touchdown receptions on the season, including two in a win over Florida State on November 28. He also had a career-high eight catches for 85 yards in the SEC Championship Game against Alabama on December 5. Hernandez became the first UF tight end since 1990 to record eight catches in a single game.
For his efforts, Hernandez earned first team All-SEC honors and was recently awarded the John Mackey Award as the nation’s best collegiate tight end. In his 38-game collegiate career, Hernandez has made 102 receptions for 1,271 yards and 11 touchdowns. A resident of Bristol, Hernandez had an accomplished high school athletic career at Bristol Central where he played two sports (football and basketball). Hernandez set Connecticut state records for receiving yards (1,807) and TDs (24) during his senior season (2006). He also tied a state record for career touchdown receptions with 31 and was named the 2006-07 Gatorade Football State Player of the Year. He was also named Player of the Year by the Hartford Courant and New Haven Register.
Hernandez, Walter Camp Player of the Year Colt McCoy (Texas) and members of the 2009 All-America team will be honored at the organization’s national awards banquet on Saturday, January 16, 2010 at the Yale University Commons in New Haven. In addition, the Foundation will honor three individuals – NFL Hall-of-Famer John Elway (Stanford), former NFL All-Pro David Fulcher and ABC broadcast personality Robin Roberts (Southeastern Louisiana) – with major awards. The Foundation is offering a "Holiday Ticket Promotion" for the National Awards Dinner. Buy two tickets for $400 (you save $150) before December 25. Please call (203) 288-CAMP (288-2267) for more information.
Walter Camp, “The Father of American football,” first selected an All-America team in 1889. Camp – a former Yale University athlete and football coach – is also credited with developing play from scrimmage, set plays, the numerical assessment of goals and tries and the restriction of play to eleven men per side. The Walter Camp Football Foundation – a New Haven-based all-volunteer group – was founded in 1967 to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and to continue the tradition of selecting annually an All-America team.
Walter Camp, "The Father of American football," first selected an All-America team in 1889. Camp — a former Yale University athlete and football coach — is also credited with developing play from scrimmage, set plays, the numerical assessment of goals and tries and the restriction of play to eleven men per side. The Walter Camp Football Foundation — a New Haven based all volunteer group — was founded in 1967 to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and to continue the tradition of selecting annually an All America team.
About the Foundation
"Walter Camp was one of the giants of football in the United States. He stands with Stagg, Rockne, Thorpe, Warner, Heffelfinger in the imprint they made upon the game. He stands first among them, for it was he who sired the game as it is played in the United States, the game that evolved from the rugby football of England. He played in the first Yale-Harvard game of rugby in 1876. From then on, his was the fertile, inventive mind and guiding leadership that brought about the evolution of the American style of football."
More about Walter Camp