Micah Kiser Wins 2017 Dudley Award

Dec. 10, 2017

Richmond, Va. – Virginia senior inside linebacker Micah Kiser (Baltimore, Md.) was named the winner of the 2017 Dudley Award as the state’s top Division I collegiate player. The announcement was made at the annual Dudley Award Banquet in Richmond. The other finalists were linebacker Tremaine Edmunds of Virginia Tech and quarterback Kyle Lauletta of Richmond.

In addition to winning the Dudley Award, Kiser was also honored by the Touchdown Club of Richmond as the state’s Linebacker of the Year. UVA safety Quin Blanding (Virginia Beach, Va.) was named the Defensive Back of the 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.

“I am extremely honored and humbled to be selected the best player in Virginia this year,” Kiser said. “It was a great year for football in the Commonwealth and there were so many talented players who are deserving of this honor. I know what Bill Dudley means to Virginia football. He is a significant part of our program’s history, so that makes winning this award very special.”

Kiser is the eighth Cavalier to win the Dudley Award. Previous UVA winners include quarterback Shawn Moore (1990), quarterback Matt Blundin (1991), defensive end Mike Frederick (1994), tailback Tiki Barber (1996), safety Anthony Poindexter (1997), wide receiver Billy McMullen (2001) and defensive end Chris Long (2007).

In addition to the Dudley Award, earlier this week Kiser was named the winner of the National Football Foundation’s William V. Campbell Award as the nation’s football scholar-athlete. He has also been selected a second-team All-American by the Walter Camp Football Foundation and SB Nation.

Kiser ranks No. 1 in the ACC and tied for No. 4 in the nation with 134 tackles. His 134 stops tie his 2016 output and Wali Rainer (1998) for No. 4 on UVA’s single-season tackle list. He is No. 5 all-time at UVA with 400 career tackles and owns 20 career double-digit tackle games in 36 career starts. Kiser’s 385 tackles since the start of the 2015 season are the most in the nation during that span. He has been named a first-team All-ACC linebacker for three seasons in a row.