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Purdue’s Kory Sheets Named Walter Camp 2008 Connecticut Player of the Year
NEW HAVEN, CT – Former Bloomfield High School standout Kory Sheets, a senior running back from Purdue University, has been named by the Walter Camp Football Foundation as its 2008 “Connecticut Player of the Year,” presented by Charter Oak Insurance & Financial Services (http://www.charteroakinsurance.com).
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. It is the second time that Sheets has earned the honor (2006) and he is just the third player (former Connecticut QB Dan Orlovsky and former Wisconsin LB Tarek Saleh) to win it multiple times.
“We are pleased with the selection of Kory Sheets as our Connecticut Player of the Year,” Foundation president John Barbarotta said. “Kory was a versatile offensive force for the Boilermakers and joins some impressive company as a two-time recipient.”
This season, Sheets led the Boilermakers (4-8) in touchdowns (17), rushing yards (1,131) and all-purpose yardage (1,643). An honorable mention All-Big Ten selection, Sheets ranked second in the conference in touchdowns (17) and fifth in rushing (94.2 yards per game). Sheets had three 100-yard rushing efforts on the season, including a season-high 180 yards against Oregon. Sheets finished his collegiate career with several school records, including touchdowns (54), rushing touchdowns (48) and all-purpose yards (4,944). Sheets (3,341 yards) ranks second to former Boilermaker and NFL standout Mike Alstott on the Purdue career rushing list.
Sheets is a resident of Manchester. Before attending Purdue, Sheets had an accomplished high school athletic career at Bloomfield. He was named the Hartford Courant’s Connecticut Player of the Year after leading the Warhawks to the 2003 Class S state championship and also was an All-State track & field performer. Sheets joins current NFL All-Pro and Indianapolis Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney (Syracuse, 2001) as former Bloomfield High School standouts to capture Walter Camp’s Connecticut Player of the Year honor. Sheets is also the second Purdue player (Niko Koutouvides, 2002) recognized with the award.
Sheets, along with major award winners - former NFL stars Tim Brown, Morten Andersen and Len Dawson – and members of the 2008 Walter Camp All-America team will be honored at the organization’s national awards banquet on Saturday, January 17, at the Yale University Commons in New Haven. In addition, the Foundation will hold its annual Fan Fest on Friday, January 16, at the New Haven Athletic Center from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Dinner ($275.00) and Fan Fest tickets ($10.00) can be purchased by calling (203) 288-CAMP.
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."
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