Thursday, October 19, 2017
San Diego senior defensive end Jonathan Petersen received more good news Wednesday with the announcement he is one of six players that have been added to the STATS FCS Buck Buchanan Award Watch List.
The Buchanan Award, first awarded in 1995 and presented to the FCS defensive player of the year, has sent past winners such as Dexter Coakley, Rashean Mathis, Jared Allen, Arthur Moats and Kyle Emanuel on to the NFL. A national panel of over 150 sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries will vote on 25 finalists following the regular season.
Petersen ranks first amongst all FCS players in both sacks (9 total; 1.5 per game) and forced fumbles (5; 0.83 per game). He is tied for second amongst FCS players in tackles for loss (12.5 total; 2.08 per game). With 34.5 career sacks, he will break USD’s all-time record of 35 held by Eric Bakhtiari (2004-2007) with his next sack. Petersen entered the 2016 campaign as USD’s all-time leader in forced fumbles with 10. Already with five this season, he has extended that total to 15.
Joining Petersen on this season’s list is Jared Farley, LB at Northern Iowa; Ahmad Gooden, DE at Samford; Mario Jenkins, LB at Idaho State; Warren Messer, LB at Elon; and Sione Teuhema, LB at Southeastern Louisiana. Petersen also joins former Torero defensive ends Blake Oliaro (2012), Mario Kurn (2011 & 2010) and Eric Bakhtiari (2007) as candidates for the Buck Buchanan Award.
Preseason nominees for the watch list were defensive ends Pat Afriyie of Colgate, Keontre Anderson of Jackson State, Andrew Ankrah of James Madison, Anthony Ellis of Charleston Southern, P.J. Hall of Sam Houston State, Kurt Holuba of Princeton, Darius Jackson of Jacksonville State, Greg Menard of North Dakota State and Ebenezer Ogundeko of Tennessee State; linebackers Nick DeLuca of North Dakota State, Garrett Dolan of Houston Baptist, Darius Leonard of South Carolina State, Christian Rozeboom of South Dakota State and Brett Taylor of Western Illinois; cornerbacks Davontae Harris of Illinois State and Tremon Smith of Central Arkansas; safeties Mike Basile of Monmouth, Marlon Bridges of Jacksonville State, Cole Reyes of North Dakota, Rob Rolle of Villanova and Kailik Williams of The Citadel.
Also this season, STATS will present the Walter Payton Award (FCS offensive player of the year), Jerry Rice Award (FCS freshman player of the year), Eddie Robinson Award (FCS coach of the year) and Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
With their win over Morehead State this past weekend, the Toreros set a new PFL mark for consecutive league victories with 16. Besides this season, the Toreros also won 15 consecutive PFL contests during the 2005-07 seasons, including an unbeaten 2006 PFL title campaign.