Football Awards Presented at Annual Banquet

Jan. 21, 2006

LUBBOCK, Texas - In a vote taken by the Red Raider Football team, running back Taurean Henderson was selected as the squad's Most Valuable Player for the 2005 season. Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach presented the honor to Henderson at the annual Football Awards Banquet at Hemmle Hall on the Texas Tech campus Saturday evening.

Henderson, who finished his career with five NCAA records, set five school records during his senior season. The versatile back tied a single-season record with 22 touchdowns and set career marks in points (414), touchdowns (69) and receptions (304). His point total ranks third all-time in NCAA history as does his receptions total. During his four-year career, he caught a pass in 51-straight games, establishing a new NCAA mark, and scored multiple touchdowns in 21 games.

Quarterback Cody Hodges and free safety Dwayne Slay claimed offensive and defensive MVP honors, respectively. En route to leading the Red Raider offense to the national passing title, Hodges turned in the sixth-best single game passing performance in NCAA history with 643 yards against Kansas State. He finished the season with 4,238 passing yards and 31 touchdowns, including a last-minute scoring strike to Joel Filani at Nebraska to give the Red Raiders the win.

Slay earned All-America first team honors from SI.com after recording a Big 12 record eight forced fumbles and a team-leading 114 tackles. His bone-jarring hits made him a fixture in highlight reels throughout the season, and several of the forced fumbles led to game-changing momentums for the team during the season.

Hodges, Slay, offensive lineman E.J. Whitley, defensive back Khalid Naziruddin and defensive end Keyunta Dawson were recognized for their contributions as team captains, while offensive lineman Bryan Kegans was honored with the Academic Award.

Running back Ceasar Martinez and linebacker Ryan Hale were named the offensive and defensive Scout Team MVP's, while Naziruddin received the team's Most Courageous Award and Most Conditioned Award. Naziruddin completed his second and final season as a starter after transferring from Division II Howard Payne University in 2004. He was among the team leaders in tackles each of the last two seasons and was an inspiration to his teammates during off-season training.

Newcomer honors went to inside receiver Robert Johnson, who made the transition from quarterback after sitting out as a redshirt in 2004. Johnson jumped onto the scene with 129 yards and a touchdown on nine catches in his first game and followed with eight receptions for 209 yards. He finished the season as one of the nation's most explosive receivers and was among the Big 12's leading receivers.

Among the position awards, Vincent Meeks picked up the Defensive Back Award, after leading the team with three interceptions and finishing among the leading tacklers with 48 stops. Dawson earned the Defensive Line Award after a solid season in which he finished fourth on the team with 62 tackles and logged three and a half tackles for loss and two and a half sacks. Linebacker John Saldi was recognized with the award for his position. Saldi was outstanding during his final campaign, leading the Red Raider charge in the backfield with eight and a half tackles for loss and three sacks.

Offensively, Joel Filani was presented the Wide Receiver Award after turning in one of the greatest seasons by a receiver in school history. Filani set a Tech and Big 12 single-game record with 255 receiving yards against Kansas State and finished the season with 1,048 yards and eight touchdowns. Henderson was honored with the Running Back Award, while Whitley picked up Offensive Line Award honors.

Sophomore placekicker Alex Trlica was a key cog in the Red Raiders' success this season. Awarded the Special Teams Award, Trlica set a Tech single-season scoring record for a kicker with 99 points and ranks fifth all-time in NCAA history among kickers who have not missed an extra point with 115 made PATs.

Defensive tackle Fred Thrweatt was honored with the Most Improved Award after playing an integral role in Tech's rotation on the defensive front. The Red Raider defense was among the best in the Big 12 this season and ranked among the nation's top 25.

TEAM AWARDSAcademic - Bryan KegansCaptains - Keyunta Dawson, Cody Hodges, Khalid Naziruddin, Dwayne Slay, E.J. WhitleyMost Courageous - Khalid NaziruddinOffensive Scout Team - Caesar MartinezDefensive Scout Team - Ryan HaleSpecial Teams - Alex TrlicaMost Conditioned - Khalid NaziruddinMost Improved - Fred ThrweattNewcomer - Robert JohnsonDefensive Back - Vincent MeeksWide Receiver - Joel FilaniLinebacker - John SaldiOffensive Back - Taurean HendersonDefensive Line - Keyunta DawsonOffensive Line - E.J. WhitleyDefensive MVP - Dwayne SlayOffensive MVP - Cody HodgesTeam MVP - Taurean Henderson

Football Awards Presented at Annual Banquet

Players Mentioned

Keyunta Dawson

Keyunta Dawson

Joel Filani

Joel Filani

Ryan Hale

Taurean Henderson

Taurean Henderson

Cody Hodges

Cody Hodges

Robert Johnson

Robert Johnson

Bryan Kegans

Bryan Kegans

Caesar Martinez

Vincent Meeks

Vincent Meeks

Khalid Naziruddin

Khalid Naziruddin

John Saldi

John Saldi

Dwayne Slay

Dwayne Slay

Alex Trlica

Alex Trlica

E.J. Whitley

E.J. Whitley

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