Football Names Captains, Presents Team Awards at Annual Banquet

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia football program celebrated its 2024 season with its annual banquet on Saturday at George Welsh Indoor Practice Facility. The Cavaliers recognized members of the 2024 team with an array of program awards and unveiled their 2024 team captains.

2024 Captains
Brian Stevens
Malachi Fields
Jonas Sanker
Kameron Butler
Daniel Sparks (two-time captain – 2023 & 2024)
*Captains are voted by the team at the conclusion of the 2024 season 

OFFENSIVE AWARDS
Offensive MVP Award – Malachi Fields
Offensive Impact Players –Brian Stevens, Noah Josey, and Tyler Neville
Offensive Rookie of Year – Kam Courtney
Most Improved Offensive Player – Dakota Twitty and Jack Witmer
12th Man Award – Tony Muskett and Xavier Brown

DEFENSIVE AWARDS
Defensive MVP Award – Jonas Sanker
Defensive Impact Player Award – Kam Butler, Jahmeer Carter and Kempton Shine
Defensive Rookie of the Year Award – Jam Jackson
Most Improved Defensive Player Award – Anthony Britton
12th Man award – Trey McDonald and Kendren Smith

SPECIAL TEAMS AWARD
Most Improved Special Teams Player of the Year – Davis Lane Jr.
Specialist Rookie of the Year – Landon Danley
Special Teams Player of Year – Payton Bunch

PROGRAM AWARDS

Jim Daves Media Award – Tyler Neville
This honor recognizes the UVA football student-athlete that displays excellence in cooperation and dignity with the media. The award is named in honor of Jim Daves who spent 19 years as Virginia Football’s Director of Communications from 2005-2023.

H.E.A.R.T Award – Kam Butler, Brian Stevens and Jonas Sanker
The core values of the Virginia Football program are Humility, Effort, Accountability, Respect and Toughness. The recipient of the H.E.A.R.T. award not only embodies the program’s core values but also was very dependable, resilient, committed and provided extremely valuable leadership to the team.

The 1.15.41 Legacy Award – Dillon Tennyson
In November of 2022 the Virginia Football program was changed forever with the tragic passing of No. 1 Lavel Davis Jr., No. 15 Devin Chandler and the No. 41 D’Sean Perry. Members of the UVA Football community have been tirelessly working to turn tragedy into triumph. The 1.15.41 Legacy Award goes to the individual that embodies strength, unity, selflessness and service.

Mike Hollins Perseverance and Courage Award – Mike Hollins

Cavalier Code Man of Service Award – Grady Brosterhous
Through the pillars of Character, Opportunity, Duty, and Engagement, The Cav CODE Man of Service Award is given to a player who demonstrates exceptional character, seizes all opportunities that come his way, understands his duty of being a true man of service, and engages with not only his teammates but the greater community around him.

ACADEMIC AWARDS
The Academic Awards recognizes the UVA players for academic achievement for their respective classes.

First Years – Ethan Minter
Second Years – Hayden Rollison 
Third Years – Robbie Engelberg
Fourth Years – Michael Diatta
Graduate Students – Brian Stevens

NSCA Strength & Conditioning All-America Nominees – Kam Butler, Jahmeer Carter, Malachi Fields, Jonas Sanker, Brian Stevens
The National Strength and Conditioning Association All-American Athlete of the Year program recognizes the collegiate athletes whose athletic accomplishments reflect their dedication to strength training and conditioning. These athletes are also recognized for their academic achievement, personal accomplishments, and their integrity as student athletes. If selected, this year’s nominees will be displayed permanently in the weight room.

Strength & Conditioning Dedication Award – Jahmeer Carter (Defense), Brian Stevens (Offense)
The Strength & Conditioning Dedication Award recognizes the Virginia Football players whose commitment, work ethic, and leadership in training serves as an example to other players. These scholar-athletes place the team above individual accomplishments and are committed to excellence in all areas of training and performance enhancement. This award is voted on by their teammates.

Iron Hoo Competition Winners – Kendren Smith (Speed Group), Chico Bennett Jr. (Big Speed Group), Bryce Purnell (Power Group)

The Iron Hoo Competition is a culmination of players’ off-season training testing numbers. The players earn points in various weight room and field-testing metrics based on their performance compared to their peers. The events are power clean, back squat, bench press, vertical jump, broad jump, 20-yard sprint, and pro agility drill.

Power Hour Award – Robbie Engelberg
The Power Hour Award recognizes the player whose commitment, work ethic, consistency, and leadership in training served as an example to other players. This award is voted on by the team members in the Power Hour group comprised of a group of developmental players who train with the strength & conditioning staff four days per week during the season.

Accountability Challenge Champion Award – Team 6 “No Strike Zone” – Payton Bunch (Capt.), Jimmy Christ (Capt.), Henry Duke (Capt.), Malachi Fields (Capt.), Chris Tyree (Capt.), Anthony Britton, Grady Brosterhous, Xavier Brown, Jewett Hayes, Jam Jackson, Henry Omohundro, Cole Surber and Ben York
Each January, the rising seniors meet with the Strength & Conditioning staff to draft every player on the team into 10 accountability teams. The seniors serve as captains of each team. All accountability teams begin with 150 points, representative of a national championship season. Throughout the year, each team is awarded points for positive behavior such as community service and academic excellence. Each team is also deducted points for actions below program standards. The points are totaled, and at the end of the year the winning team is honored.