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 WCU's Bill Bleil was named 2001 Southern Conference Football Coach of the Year. |
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Nov. 26, 2001
ASHEVILLE, NC - The Southern Conference today announced that Western Carolina's Bill Bleil has been named its 2001 Football Coach of the Year by the league's head coaches.
Also announced today were the SoCon's Offensive Player of the Year (Georgia Southern's Adrian Peterson), Defensive Player of the Year (Georgia Southern's Freddy Pesqueira), Freshman of the Year (VMI's Titus Green) and the Jacobs Blocking Award recipient (Furman's Donnie Littlejohn).
Bleil earns his first Coach of the Year honor after leading the Catamounts to a 7-4 record and a fourth place finish in the SoCon at 5-3. WCU had been picked to finish sixth in preseason balloting by the coaches and seventh by the media. Bleil, in his fifth season, led WCU to its best record since 1992 and just its 11th seven-win season in 68 years of football. Highlights from the 2001 season include the Catamounts winning at East Tennessee and Chattanooga for the first time since 1992, while defeating Wofford for the first time since the Terriers joined the SoCon in 1997. Through Western Carolina's strong rushing attack, which ranked 22nd in the nation, the Cats led the SoCon in first downs (227) and time of possession (32:34). The Catamount defense, which only allowed five passing touchdowns to lead the nation, ranked third in I-AA in pass defense (130.8 yards per game). Georgia Southern head coach Paul Johnson was second in the voting.
Peterson, a 5-10, 210-pound senior, finished his regular season career as Division I-AA's all-time rushing leader with 6,559 career yards. He also scored an astounding 87 touchdowns and set both the Georgia Southern and Southern Conference records for career rushing yards. Peterson finished second in the SoCon rushing race in 2001 by a mere 33 yards this season after leading the league in rushing in 1998 and '99. Peterson's teammate, quarterback J.R. Revere finished second in the voting and Furman tailback Louis Ivory was third.
Pesqueira, a 6-1, 250-pound junior defensive tackle, anchored a Georgia Southern defense that set a school record for the fewest points allowed in a season. He was among the Southern Conference leaders with 92 tackles, 14 tackles for loss and two sacks. Appalachian State defensive tackle Ryan Watson was second by a single point and the 2000 Defensive Player of the Year, Furman linebacker Will Bouton, finished third.
Green, from VMI, earned Freshman of the Year honors as he excelled as a return specialist. The 5-9, 175-pound rookie finished third in the SoCon in kickoff returns at 24.4 yards per return and set a school record for return yards in a season. He also caught 20 passes for 157 yards and had nine punt returns for 74 yards. Furman's Brian Bratton finished second in the voting.
Furman's Donnie Littlejohn was awarded the Jacobs Blocking Trophy. The 6-3, 272-pound senior offensive tackle opened holes for Louis Ivory who led the SoCon in rushing for the second straight season. The Paladins also allowed the fewest sacks of any team in the SoCon this season with 11. Appalachian State's Wayne Smith was second in the Jacobs voting.
Bleil becomes the third Catamount coach to earn the honor, joining Bob Waters (Media Coach of the Year in 1983) and Steve Hodgin (Coaches and Media Coach of the Year in 1992). Bleil is the second Western Carolina coach to be honored this fall. WCU's Debbie Hensley was named 2001 Southern Conference Women's Soccer Coach of the Year by her peers after leading the Catamounts to a share of the conference regular season title in just their third year of existence.
