Dec. 16, 2002

Senior defensive lineman Juston Yelverton (Caesar Rodney H.S./Dover, Del.) of the Towson University football team has been named as the Doc Minnegan Award as the Tigers' Most Valuable Player.

A first team All-Patriot League selection, Yelverton was one of nine Tigers honored as special award winners at the Tigers' annual awards dinner on Sunday.

In addition, senior wide receiver Jamal White (Triton Regional H.S./Sicklersville, N.J.) was the winner of the Offensive Player of the Year award while senior defensive back Edmund Carazo (Meade H.S./Severn, Md.) was honored as the Defensive Player of the Year.

Senior wide receiver Brandon White (Old Mill H.S./Glen Burnie, Md.) was the winner of the Big Play Award and senior tight end Jon Grubb (Holy Trinity H.S./Rockville Centre, N.Y.) was named as the Tigers' Lineman of the Year.

For the first time ever, there were four winners of the Tiger Award, an award that is presented to a player who best exemplifies the qualities of a Towson football player. A quartet of seniors, fullback Troy Ellis (Norristown Area H.S./Norristown, Pa.), fullback Greg Gruver (Buena Regional H.S./Vineland, N.J.), defensive back Keith Meeney (Blair Academy/Colts Neck, N.J.) and defensive back Matt Prizzi (Lenape H.S./Mount Laurel, N.J.) shared the award.

Yelverton, who was a second team All-Patriot League selection last year, was third on the team with 67 tackles this season. He also tied for the team lead with six quarterback sacks and tipped six passes at the line of scrimmage. He finished his career with 163 tackles and 16 sacks.

One of the Tiger co-captains, he is only the third defensive lineman to win the Minnegan Award as the MVP. Nose guard Rodney Smith, '90 won the award in 1989 while All-American defensive end Andrew Hollingsworth, '01 was the Tigers' MVP in 2000.

A three-time All-Patriot League selection, Jamal White finished his career as the Patriot League's all-time pass receiving leader. In his college career, he caught 219 passes for 3,156 yards and 21 touchdowns. He was a first team All-Patriot League choice as a sophomore and senior. He was a first team All-American wide receiver as a sophomore when he caught 82 passes for 1,322 yards and eight touchdowns.

Carazo earned second team All-Patriot League honors after leading the league with seven interceptions. He also made 41 tackles and led the team with 13 pass breakups.

Brandon White was the Tigers' sixth-leading receiver with nine catches for 163 yards. He averaged nearly 20 yards per catch and scored one touchdown.

An outstanding blocker, Grubb caught 11 passes for 118 yards and one TD in his senior season. Under the direction of Coach Gordy Combs, the Tigers finished the season with a 6-5-0 overall record, their third winning season in four years.