Recipient
of the 2000 Walter Payton Award as the top offensive player in NCAA I-AA football,
Ivory joins former Paladin greats Stanford Jennings and Jeff Blankenship as
the only Furman players to have their jerseys retired.January 18, 2001
FURMAN RETIRES IVORY'S NO. 34;
BOUTON
NAMED MOST VALUABLE AT FOOTBALL BANQUET
GREENVILLE -- Furman All-America tailback Louis Ivory became only the third player in the school's 96-year football history to have his jersey (No. 34) retired in ceremonies at the program's annual banquet Friday night on campus.
Recipient
of the 2000 Walter Payton Award as the top offensive player in NCAA I-AA football,
Ivory joins former Paladin greats Stanford Jennings and Jeff Blankenship as
the only Furman players to have their jerseys retired.
A two-time Southern Conference Offensive Player-of-the-Year selection, the Fort Valley, Ga., native rushed for a league best 1,492 yards and 19 touchdowns this year after running for a conference record 2,079 yards and 16 scores in 2000. He finished his career as Furman's all-time leading rusher (5,871 yards) and scorer (330 points), and tallied a school record 31 100-yard rushing performances.
Two-time league defensive player-of-the-year and All-America linebacker Will Bouton was presented Furman's Paladin (MVP) Award for the 2001 season. The Greenville product tallied a team leading 141 tackles on a nationally-ranked defense that helped the Paladins to a 12-3 campaign and a share of the league championship and national runner-up finish. A starter in a school record 50 games, he finished his career ranked fourth on Furman's tackle list with 516 stops.
Bouton (No. 20) puts a big hit on Wofford quarterback Travis Wilson in the Paladins' 45-14 win over the Terriers on Nov. 10.
The complete list of 2001 season award winners:
Paladin Award (MVP) -- Will Bouton
Best Receiver -- Trent Sansbury
Best Offensive Back -- Louis Ivory
Best Offensive Lineman -- Chris Stewart
Best Defensive Back -- Josh Cooper and Richie Jackson
Best Defensive Lineman -- LeBryan Sperling
Best Linebacker -- Will Bouton Specialist Award -- Brian Bratton
Freshman Award -- Eric Emerson & Mike Killian
Hustle Award -- Brandon Berry
Purple Heart Award -- Ryan Spencer
Academic Award -- Andrew Knight
Christian Athlete Award -- Shelvis Smith
Robert B. King Award -- John Thrift
Captains' Awards -- Donnie Littlejohn, Chris Stewart, Louis Ivory, Shelvis Smith,
Will Bouton
Purple Pounder Award (Scout Team Player-of-the-Year) -- Brandon Mays