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Twice As Nice

Kory Sheets named the "Connecticut Player of the Year" by the Walter Camp Foundation.

Kory Sheets is just the third player to be recognized twice as the "Connecticut Player of the Year" by the Walter Camp Football Foundation.

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Dec. 24, 2008

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue running back Kory Sheets, the Boilermakers' all-time leading touchdown scorer, has been named by the Walter Camp Football Foundation as its 2008 "Connecticut Player of the Year" presented by Charter Oak Insurance & Financial Services (www.charteroakinsurance.com). The honor marks the second time the Manchester, Conn., native has been recognized as the Nutmeg State's top player, having also been feted after the 2006 season.

"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."

Sheets, who graduated from Purdue this December with a major in organizational leadership and supervision, wrapped up his Boilermaker career by becoming just the fifth player in school history to rush for over 1,000 yards in a single season.

He finished the 2008 season with a career-high 1,131 yards on 234 carries and a Purdue single-season-record 16 rushing touchdowns. He posted three 100-yard games on the ground, including a season-high 180 yards against No. 16 Oregon, and scored two or more touchdowns six times in 12 games played.

In his career, Sheets scored a school-record 54 total touchdowns as a Boilermaker - 48 rushing (also a Purdue career record), five receiving and one on special teams. Also, he is only the third Purdue running back in school history to rush for over 3,000 yards in a career, ending his collegiate playing days as the Boilermakers' second-leading rusher all-time with 3,341 yards.

He was previously recognized by the Walter Camp Football Foundation in 2006 after leading Purdue with 769 yards rushing and 13 touchdowns. He also caught 27 passes for 201 yards as a junior and was named the team's Special Teams Player of the Year after averaging 22.8 yards on 17 kickoff returns.

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. Sheets joins former Connecticut QB Dan Orlovsky and former Wisconsin LB Tarek Saleh as the only two-time winners in the award's 28-year history.

Sheets is a resident of Manchester, Conn. Before attending Purdue, he 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 and is also the second Purdue player (Niko Koutouvides, 2002) recognized with the award.

Sheets, along with major award winners - Tim Brown, Morten Andersen and former Boilermaker quarterback 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.


Year     Recipient, Pos.	School			Hometown
2008     Kory Sheets, RB	Purdue			Manchester
2007     Mike McLeod, RB	Yale			New Britain
2006     Kory Sheets, RB	Purdue			Manchester
2005     John Sullivan, OL	Notre Dame		Greenwich
2004     Anttaj Hawthorne, DL	Wisconsin		Hamden
2004     Dan Orlovsky,  QB	Connecticut		Shelton
2003     Dan Orlovsky,  QB	Connecticut		Shelton
2002     Niko Koutouvides, LB	Purdue  		Plainville
2001     Dwight Freeney, DE	Syracuse		Bloomfield
2000     Peter Mazza, LB	Yale			Cheshire
1999     Bobby Myers, DB	Wisconsin		Hamden
1998     Carl Bond, RB		Connecticut		Hamden
1997     Kyle McIntosh, RB	Syracuse		Cheshire
1996     Tarek Saleh, LB	Wisconsin		Woodbridge
1995     Tarek Saleh, LB	Wisconsin		Woodbridge
1994     Jason Miska, LB	Auburn  		Bridgeport
1993     Chris Zingo, LB	Cornell			Fairfield
1992     Curtis Eller, DE	Villanova		Stratford
1991     Corey Vincent, DL	Holy Cross		Shelton
1990     Rob Thomson, DB	Syracuse		Southington
1989     Terry Wooden, LB	Syracuse		Farmington
1988     Glenn Antrum, WR	Connecticut		Ansonia
1987     Bill Romanowski, LB	Boston College  	Vernon
1986     Richard Comizio, RB	Pennsylvania		New Fairfield
1985     Tom Patton, DE		Holy Cross		Meriden
1984     no recipient
1983     Steve Young, QB	Brigham Young   	Greenwich
1982     Mike Marshall, DB	Southern Connecticut	Bridgeport
1981     Rich Diana, RB		Yale			Hamden

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