Long Wins 2007 Dudley Award

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Richmond, VA Virginia senior defensive end Chris Long (Ivy, Va.) was named the winner of the 2007 Dudley Award as the state’s top collegiate player. Long was a unanimous selection, marking just the third time in the history of event that has occurred. The announcement was made at the annual Dudley Award Banquet in Richmond. The other finalists were linebacker Xavier Adibi of Virginia Tech and running back Tim Hightower of Richmond.

In addition to winning the Dudley Award, Long was also honored by the Touchdown Club of Richmond as the state’s Defensive Lineman of the Year for the second consecutive year.

“I’d like to start by saying all of the candidates are deserving of this award,” Long said. “As a representative of the University and the state of Virginia, I am proud to accept this prestigious award. It is truly an honor and I couldn’t have done any of this without my family, teammates and coaches. I am humbled to accept this award. I would like to thank the voters and congratulate the other players for their outstanding performances this year.”

The Dudley Award is named after former University of Virginia standout “Bullet” Bill Dudley and has been presented annually since 1990 to the player of the year at a state school. Each football-playing school in the Commonwealth is allowed to nominate one player. In 2004, a separate award was created for players at Division II and Division III schools. The Times-Dispatch sponsors the awards. A panel of 15 voters is used to select the Dudley Award winner.

Long joins Virginia’s Shawn Moore (1990) and Virginia Tech’s Lee Suggs (2000) as the only previous unanimous selections. Matt Blundin, Mike Frederick, Tiki Barber, Anthony Poindexter and Billy McMullen are the other Cavalier players who have won the Dudley Award.

The ACC’s Defensive Player of the Year, Long led the ACC and was third in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivison in sacks (14.0). This sack total equaled or surpassed the total recorded by 10 NCAA teams. Long also led his conference with 19.0 tackles-for-loss (tied for 10th in NCAA). One-quarter of Long’s 75 tackles this season were made behind the line of scrimmage.

In addition to the Dudley Award, earlier this week Long was named the winner of the Ted Hendricks Award as the nation’s top defensive end. He has also been selected a first-team All-American by three organizations The American Football Coaches Association, the Walter Camp Foundation and Rivals.com.