BATON ROUGE — All-America Marcus Spears picked up another honor on Sunday, this time the Baton Rouge native was named the winner of the 2004 Charles McClendon Most Valuable Player, which goes to the team’s top player – both on and off the field, for his efforts during the Tigers’ 9-2 season.
Spears, along with a number of his teammates, were recognized and honored for their accomplishments during the 2004 season at the annual LSU Football Banquet, which was held on campus on Sunday.
Spears, who has already been sited by the America Football Coaches Association as a first-team All-America, shared the Percy E. Roberts Outstanding Defensive Player Award with fellow All-America Corey Webster.
In all, Spears collected honors for the Up Front Award, which goes to the outstanding interior lineman; the National L-Club Captain’s Awards, which goes to the permanent team captains; the George M. Wallace Award, which goes to the defensive player with the most tackles and production points during the season.
In 11 games in 2004, Spears recorded 48 tackles, 17 tackles for losses and nine sacks. He also had 21 quarterback pressures, intercepted a pass that he returned 35 yards for a touchdown and forced two fumbles.
The Percy E. Roberts Outstanding Offensive Player Awards went to running back Joseph Addai and offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth. Addai ranked second on the squad with 653 rushing yards and three touchdowns and he added another 22 receptions for 280 yards and four scores.
The Gridiron Club Special Teams Player of the Year honors went to Justin Vincent, Chris Jackson and Ali Highsmith.
Senior Ben Wilkerson received the most inspirational award, while sharing the Charles Coates Student-Athlete of the Year Award with Dorsett Buckels.
Rudy Niswanger, a first-team academic All-America in 2004, was named the Academic Tiger of the Year along with Shawn Jordan, Ryan Gaudet and Gant Petty. Niswanger maintains a 4.0 grade point average in pre-medicine, while Jordan has a 3.67 gpa, Gaudet a 3.63 gpa and Petty a 3.2 average.
The following is a list of LSU’s 2004 award winners:
Bengal Belles Unsung Hero:
Kirston Pittman
Melvin Oliver
Ronnie Prude
Keith Zinger
Charles Coates Student-Athlete:
Ben Wilkerson
Dorsett Buckels
Academic Tiger of the Year:
Rudy Niswanger
Shawn Jordan
Ryan Gaudet
Gant Petty
Alvin Roy Strength and Conditioning Award:
Nate Livings
Cameron Vaughn
Rudy Niswanger
Travis Daniels
Outstanding Underclassmen Lineman:
Andrew Whitworth
Kyle Williams
David Jones
Claude Wroten
Outstanding Underclassmen Back:
Alley Broussard
Buster Davis
LaRon Landry
Jessie Daniels
Up Front Award (Outstanding Interior Lineman):
Marcus Spears
Andrew Whitworth
National L-Club Captain’s Award:
Marcus Spears
Marcus Randall
Ben Wilkerson
Andrew Whitworth
Butch Duhe Character Award:
Travis Daniels
Rudy Niswanger
Kenny Hollis
Skyler Green
Chancellor’s Perseverance Award:
Marcus Randall
Cameron Vaughn
Lionel Turner
Joseph Addai
Gridiron Special Teams Player of the Year Award:
Justin Vincent
Chris Jackson
Ali Highsmith
Most Inspirational:
Ben Wilkerson
George M. Wallace Defensive Award:
Marcus Spears
Percy E. Roberts Outstanding Offensive Player:
Joseph Addai
Andrew Whitworth
Percy E. Roberts Outstanding Defensive Player:
Marcus Spears
Corey Webster
Distinguished Alumnus:
Billy Baggett