| CU honor goes to LB Ben Miller |
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| Thursday, April 5, 2012 |
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LEBANON -– Cumberland senior football player Ben Miller is this year’s recipient of the Lindsey Donnell Award presented annually to a Bulldog student-athlete who excels in both academics and athletics. The award is given in honor of Lindsey Donnell, a former Bulldog football Little All-American and former professor at Cumberland University. The Gallatin native and former Green Wave star led the Bulldogs in tackles this past season with 85 along with nine tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, four interceptions, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. He posted five double-digit tackle performances, including 13 with 3.5 for loss at Union College. Miller recorded 78 tackles in 10 contests as a junior with a team-best 10.5 tackles for loss. He added two sacks, one interception and one forced fumble. Miller was named the Mid-South Conference Defensive Player of the Week three times in the last two seasons, including twice in 2011. He was a First Team All-MSC selection at linebacker in each of the last two years. Miller currently has a 3.55 grade-point-average in Criminal Justice at Cumberland. He is a two-time Mid-South Conference Scholar-Athlete and was named a Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athlete in 2011. Student-athletes must be a junior or senior academically and maintain a 3.50 grade-point-average to be eligible for the award. He was also named Academic All-District IV by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) as a senior as well. To be nominated, a student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.30 cumulative GPA (on a 4.0 scale) at his or her current institution. Nominated athletes must have participated in at least 50 percent of the team’s games at the position listed on the nomination form. Donnell set a national collegiate football record in 1936 with 1,500 rushing yards, a single-season record that stood until the 1960s. He graduated from Cumberland in 1936 and returned to teach English from 1960-62. The CU football stadium is named in his honor. Past Lindsey Donnell Award Recipients |
