With the CFSL season having come to a close, the seasonal award winners have been decided, and so we’ll run through them in order.
OPOTY: HB Frost Carlson, OHIO STATE
While Carlson never quite reached the National Championship game during his tenure with the Buckeyes, what he has done is nothing short of impressive. Carlson led the league in rushing yards with 1,259. He also led the league in broken tackles with 50. Carlson has been the model of consistent dominance, eclipsing 1,000 rushing yards every single season, while also having at least 40 broken tackles and for the last three seasons has had double digit rushing touchdowns in each. Carlson recorded his highest total this season with 18 and it’s what helped him to finally earn that Offensive Player of the Year trophy.
DPOTY: LB Mark Calloway, AUBURN
When the season opened, Calloway was defaulted into the conversation for Defensive Player of the Year. Calloway then went on to have an impressive season, and would finish with the league lead in tackles at 111. 25 tackles for a loss, an interception, five pass breakups, and a pretty crucial fumble recovery in the National Championship game. Granted, anything he did in the National Championship game wasn’t factored in as voting had concluded, but it didn’t matter. What Calloway accomplished in the regular season and during Auburn’s magical playoff run was enough to cement him as the Defensive Player of the Year.
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER: QB Walker Mills, TEXAS
Walker Mills ran away with this award, and deservedly so. His leap from his time at Penn State to what he accomplished with Texas is astounding. Furthermore, he rebounded during the season, taking the 0-3 Longhorns to their second consecutive SEC title and first round bye in the playoffs. Mills had a completion percentage of 64.3%, 1,073 passing yards, eight passing touchdowns, five interceptions, 1,141 rushing yards and nine rushing scores. That was last season. This season Mills completed 71.3% of his passes for 1,955 yards with 19 touchdowns and only two interceptions. Mills then added 1,184 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns. He improved in every single aspect, and deserved this award.
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: HB Cain Robinson, USC
The newly added Freshman of the Year award saw several great candidates, but the Trojan tailback was exceptional. He didn’t score on the ground until week three, and went on to rush for 1,082 yards and scored 11 rushing touchdowns from week three on. That’s impressive stuff, and even moreso when considering that he was one of the best in ripping off runs of 20+ yards this season, and will likely be an Offensive Player of the Year candidate for seasons to come. This season and his big play ability cemented him as Freshman of the Year.
AD OF THE YEAR: BLACKPAW, USC
Several great candidates, two of which were new to the Athletic Director game, taking teams into their infantile seasons. But BlackPaw proved different. Not only did he guide his locker room and generate a great deal of buzz from his guys, but also guided his young team to a National Championship game in his first year as an Athletic Director. It’s a large part as to why his team had the best team spirit this season. This is something that has never really been done since the CFSL’s own infantile season and BlackPaw is aiming to win a title in his second season at the helm of the Trojans.
Assistant of the year: GRIN311, assistant hC, ohio state
Nowadays, many athletic directors are seeking guys who are capable of aiding in both recruiting and gameplanning and among them, a select few had some impressive outings. Take grin311, otherwise known as Tom Pence, who helped guide Ohio State to their second straight Big Ten title and a first round bye. Tom has been impressive both in recruiting and has been effective in assisting from a gameplanning position. Now, he looks to take the reins of Florida State and be the guy in charge.
FAN OF THE YEAR: OKST56, aka “big country”
The CFSL is built upon the fans who make each game and each season incredibly inpactful. Guys who go above and beyond for not only their teams but for the league. It is why this award can have so many candidates in any given season, because the passion of the fans is something that is refreshing, and what inspires the front office and head honchos of the league to go further, to raise the bar. This season, OKST56 and his Crimson Chronicle were awarded the Fan of the Year trophy. OKST56 is among the most active in league chat but is also at nearly every single CFSL game, not just his own, but across the league as a whole. And this season, has proven to be the most deserving of the fans who were present this season.
