By Jason Corriher

Marshall Sports Information

 

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Marshall redshirt junior linebacker Chase Hancock, a Beckley native, was named the Thundering Herd football’s Most Valuable Player for 2017 at the team banquet staged Friday night by the Big Green Scholarship Foundation.

Hancock, who was named a 2017 captain along with tight end Ryan Yurachek and kicker Kaare Vedvik, was named first-team All-Conference USA by the Pro Football Focus College division and second-team in a vote by the league’s head coaches. On the season, he has amassed 120 tackles with nine tackles for loss, seven pass breakups, two sacks and two fumble recoveries.

Quarterback Chase Litton and wide receiver Tyre Brady shared the team’s Offensive MVP award. Litton currently stands fourth in program history with 70 passing TDs and 710 completions. He sits fifth in the school’s career passing yardage records with 8,070. The only other Marshall quarterbacks to throw for at least 70 touchdowns and 8,000 yards are Rakeem Cato, Chad Pennington and Byron Leftwich.

Brady, who was named to the Biletnikoff Award Watch List this season, was named first-team all-conference by the league’s coaches after totaling a team-high 56 catches and 777 yards with seven touchdowns in just over nine games of action due to injury.

Ryan Bee was honored with the team’s Defensive MVP honor. The 6’7” Ashland, Ohio native was a warrior on Marshall’s front four, moving inside to play nose guard in 2017. He earned second-team all-league honors from the C-USA coaches after totaling 49 tackles with 6.5 tackles for loss, including 5.5 sacks, with a pass breakup and a blocked field goal at Charlotte.

Vedvik was named Special Teams MVP for a season that has seen him take on the punting, placekicking and kickoff duties for the Thundering Herd. A Ray Guy Award Watch List-er, the Stavanger, Norway native was named Conference USA’s first-team punter by the league’s coaches after leading the way with a 44.4 punting average, a total that ranks 14th nationally. He made national headlines this season by launching a 92-yard punt against Old Dominion, the longest in college football since Guy’s 93-yarder in 1972.

Other 2017 Herd awards:

Senior Scholar Award (highest GPA/toughest major) –Yurachek, senior.

Jim Conard Award (top offensive lineman) – Center Levi Brown, redshirt sophomore.

Offensive and Defensive Gridiron Gladiators (relentless, gives everything all of the time) – Left guard Jordan Dowrey, redshirt junior, and defensive end Blake Keller, redshirt senior.

Chad Pennington Award (offensive player on/off field who gives his all) – Wide receiver Marcel Williams, junior.

Tom Stark Award (defensive player on/off field who gives his all) – Safety Malik Gant, redshirt sophomore.

Scout Team Players of the Year (players that gave the opposite side of the ball the best “look” in practice) – Offense: Linebacker Domenick Murphy, freshman; Defense: offensive lineman Joey Maddox, redshirt sophomore.