Team Awards Gala Held Saturday Night

FOOTBALL

Senior center Ben Jones of Centreville, Alabama; sophomore quarterback Aaron Murray of Tampa, Florida; sophomore linebacker Jarvis Jones of Columbus; senior punter Drew Butler of Duluth and redshirt freshman Kosta Vavlas of Tarpon Springs, Florida, took home the top awards at the University of Georgia football annual team Gala Saturday night at the Classic Center in Athens.

Ben Jones was named the recipient of the Vince Dooley Most Valuable Player of the Year Award, Aaron Murray was named the team’s Most Valuable Offensive Player, and Jarvis Jones received Most Valuable Defensive Player honors. Vavlas and Butler were named Most Valuable Special Teams players.

Sophomore guard Chris Burnette of LaGrange and sophomore linebacker Alec Ogletree of Newnan were named winners of the David Jacobs Award as the players who, by example, portray courage, spirit, character and determination.

Ben Jones was also named the team’s overall permanent captain for 2011. Junior tight end Orson Charles of Tampa, Florida, and senior guard Cordy Glenn of Riverdale were elected as the team’s offensive captains, senior defensive back Brandon Boykin of Fayetteville and Jarvis Jones were chosen as the defensive captains, and Butler was named the special teams captain.

The Leon Farmer Award for dedication to the strength and conditioning program was presented to Boykin and Ben Jones. Outstanding Scout Team Awards went to redshirt freshman quarterback Greg Bingham of Columbus (offense), redshirt freshman linebacker Corey Campbell of Hephzibah and senior cornerback Eric Elliot of Kennesaw (defense), and sophomore cornerback Luis Capella of Augusta (special teams).

Most Improved Player Awards were presented to senior tackle Justin Anderson of Ocilla and Glenn (offense); senior defensive end Abry Jones of Warner Robins and junior linebacker Mike Gilliard of Valdosta (defense); and redshirt freshman safety Connor Norman of Duluth (special teams).

Newcomer of the Year Award winners were redshirt freshman receiver Michael Bennett of Alpharetta, freshman receiver Chris Conley of Dallas, and freshman receiver Malcolm Mitchell of Valdosta (offense); freshman linebacker Amarlo Herrera of College Park and junior nose guard John Jenkins of Meriden, Connecticut (defense); and freshman defensive back Quintavius Harrow of Columbus (special teams).

Coaches Leadership Awards went to Charles, Murray and Ben Jones (offense), Boykin and senior defensive end DeAngelo Tyson of Statesboro (defense), and Butler (special teams).

The Governor’s Cup trophy for the victory over Georgia Tech was officially presented by Shelton Stevens from Healthcare of Atlanta.