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MUNCIE,
Ind. -- Blair Kramer (Maumee, Ohio/St. John’s Jesuit H.S.),
a senior member of the Ball State University football team, was
selected by his teammates as the winner of the 2005 John
Magnabosco Award, which goes to the Cardinals’ most valuable
player. The Magnabosco Award is named in honor of Ball State’s
head football coach from 1935-52. Magnabosco is the winningest
football
coach in Ball State history with 68 victories. |
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Kramer,
who was an All-Mid-American Conference Second-Team selection,
started 10 games at defensive end for the Cardinals this season,
and led the team with 13 tackles for loss and a team-high five
sacks. He ranks sixth in the MAC in tackles for loss. Kramer
had a career-high seven tackles at Eastern Michigan, and
managed a career-best three tackles for loss in the season finale
vs.Central Michigan. Kramer played in all but one game in
his four-year career, and started 21 of the final 22 games in his
career. |
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Kramer also received Ball State’s Academic Award, and was
selected by his teammates as a co-recipient of the Captains Award.
Kramer shared this year’s Ray Louthen Award with teammates
David Denham (Indianapolis, Ind./Pike H.S.),
David Gater
(Kendallville, Ind./East Noble H.S.)
and Joshua Taylor
(Matteson, Ill./Bolingbrook H.S.). Kramer was earlier named to
the Academic All-MAC First Team and the ESPN The Magazine Academic
All-District Five Team, which is selected by the College Sports
Information Directors of America. A finance major with a 3.55
grade-point average on Ball State’s 4.0 scale, Kramer’s
selection to the Academic All-District Team marks the fourth time
in five seasons Ball State has had at least one district choice.
The Ray Louthen Award is given in honor of Ball State’s former
head football coach (1962-67), athletics director (1970-81) and
baseball coach (1959-70). |
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Charles Wynn (Sylvania, Ohio/Northview H.S.), a fifth-year
senior tailback, joined Kramer as a recipient of the team’s
Captain’s Award. Ball State named individual game captains all
season, and the team voted on this year’s Captain’s Award at the
conclusion of the year. Wynn started eight games for the
Cardinals and led the team in rushing yards (533), rushing
attempts (127) and tied for team-high honors in rushing touchdowns
(3). He rushed for a career-high 122 yards at Northern Illinois
after rushing for a then career best 111 yards vs. Bowling Green.
Wynn gained 1,215 yards in his carer on 293 rushes with
eight TDs. |
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freshmen B.J. Hill (Lanham, Md./Riverdale Baptist H.S.) and
Dante Love (Cincinnati, Ohio/Withrow H.S.) were named
co-recipients of Ball State’s John Hodge Award as the team’s most
outstanding freshman. The Hodge Award is given in the memory of
the 1974 Cardinal Varsity Club Chairman who died in 1977. The CVC
is an organization of benefactors to Ball State’s intercollegiate
athletics program. |
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Hill had 18 punt returns for 200 yards and one touchdown. His
11.1 average ranks 24th in the country in the latest NCAA
statistics plus was second in the MAC. In addition, Hill
was Ball State’s second leading rusher with 82 carries for 420
yards and two touchdowns. His 5.1 yards-per-carry average was the
best among Ball State’s tailbacks in 2005. |
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Love ranked fourth on the team in receiving with 19 catches
for 185 yards and three touchdowns. He also managed 19 rushes for
89 yards and a 4.7 average. In addition, Love led Ball
State with 22 kickoff returns for 546 yards and one touchdown. He
ranks 23rd in the nation in kickoff returns with a 25.83 average. |
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duo of Hill and Love became the first for Ball State
to return both a kickoff and punt for touchdowns in the same
season since 1965. Hill returned a punt 54 yards for a
score against Akron, while Love managed a 96 yard kickoff
return for a TD at Ohio. |
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Junior
quarterback Joey Lynch received the Mark Hays Inspiration
Award after starting 11 games at quarterback and setting the Ball
State single-season record for touchdown passes with 18. Lynch
completed 198-of-314 passes for 1,982 yards and a .631 passing
percentage. His 1,982 passing yards ranks as the third best
single-season mark in BSU history, while the 314 attempts ranks
second and
the 198 completions is second |
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Redshirt freshman punter Chris Miller (Libertyville,
Ill./Carmel H.S.) received the Bill Reynolds Special Teams
Award. This award is given in the memory of Reynolds, who spent 31
years as a volunteer in the Ball State athletics department with
an emphasis on the football program prior to his death in the
summer of 2000. |
| An
All-MAC First-Team selection, Miller punted 68 times for
2,977 yards and ranks first in the MAC and 11th in the nation with
a 43.78 average. He placed 20 punts inside the opponents 20-yard
line, and had a career-long punt of 60 yards at Western Michigan
Oct. 8, and vs. Akron Nov. 5. Miller’s 2,977 punt yards
ranks as the fifth-best single-season mark in Ball State history,
while his 68 punts are the seventh most in a single year in Ball
State annals. His 43.78 punt average ranks as the fourth best in
Ball State history. Miller punted for 430 yards vs. Bowling
Green Sept. 10, and that mark ranks as the eighth highest
single-game mark in Ball State history. His 425 punt yards at Iowa
Sept. 3, is the ninth best single-game total in Ball State’s
record books. |
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Corey McGee (Jackson, Miss./Jackson H.S.) and Sam Woodworth
(Elkhart, Ind./Elkhart Central H.S.) were named the recipients
of the Bill Meitzler Scout Team Players of the Year. McGee,
a true freshman running back, received the offense award, while
Woodworth, a linebacker, received the award for the defense. |
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Wendell Brown (Detroit, Mich./Martin Luther King H.S.), a
sophomore linebacker, received the Elite 11 Champion Award. This
award is based on a point system for special team’s play
throughout the year. Brown played in all 11 games with 10
starts and tallied 52 tackles, three tackles for loss, one sack
and two pass breakups. |
