ST. LOUIS — RB Martin Ruiz of Youngstown State has been named the Missouri Valley Football Conference Newcomer of the Year and MVFC Freshman of the Year. He heads a list of 22 student-athletes named to the 2013 Missouri Valley Football Conference All-Newcomer Team. League coaches, sports information directors and a media panel selected the team.
Ruiz established Youngstown State freshman records with 192 carries, 1,094 yards and 15 touchdowns, and he averaged 91.2 yards per game and 5.7 per carry. He had four 100-yard rushing performances, three of which were in MVFC play, which include a high of 199 against Western Illinois. In league play, Ruiz rushed for 831 yards on 147 attempts and scored eight touchdowns, and he averaged 103.9 yards per game. The freshman had 1,585 all-purpose yards (235 on 10 kickoff returns and 20 receptions for 256 yards) and scored touchdowns in nine of 12 games. He became just the fourth freshman in league history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season, and his 1,094 total is second-best all-time.
Ruiz is a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award, given to the top freshman in the Football Championship Subdivision. He's the second MVFC player to win both awards and joins former Penguins Marcus Mason, Ferlando Williams, Brandon Summers, Kamryn Keys and Kurt Hess to be honored as either a Newcomer or Freshman of the Year.
OFFENSE
RB Malcolm Agnew, Southern Illinois 5-9 205 Jr. Chesterfield (Mo.) DeSmet Jesuit High / Oregon State
RB J.C. Baker, Western Illinois 5-8 190 Jr. Yuma (Ariz.) Barstow High / Arizona Western CC
RS LeMonte Booker, Indiana State 5-11 190 Fr. Orland Park (Ill.) Carl Sandburg High
RB Trevor Bouma, South Dakota 5-11 215 Fr. LeMars (Iowa) Gehlen Catholic High
QB Brion Carnes, UNI 6-1 200 Jr. Bradenton (Fla.) Manatee High / Nebraska
WR Riley Donovan, South Dakota 6-1 185 Fr. Kasson (Minn.) Kasson-Mantorville High
PK Thomas Kinney, Southern Illinois 5-8 174 Jr. McHenry (Ill.) Johnsburg High / Winona State
WR Lance Lenoir, Jr., Western Illinois 6-0 180 Fr. Crete (Ill.) Crete Monee High
QB Trenton Norvell, Western Illinois 6-5 220 Fr. Daytona Beach (Fla.) Seabreeze High / Cincinnati
RB Martin Ruiz, Youngstown State 5-11 195 Fr. Tampa (Fla.) Robinson High
QB Blake Winkler, Illinois State 5-11 185 Fr. Frankfort (Ill.) Lincoln-Way East High
DEFENSE
DB Jarrid Bryant, South Dakota 6-4 195 Sr. Corona (Calif.) Salisbury Prep / Arizona State
S Brandon Cheaton, Missouri State 6-3 200 Jr. Middletown (Del.) Caravel Academy / Los Angeles Pierce College
LB Dylan Cole, Missouri State 6-0 220 Fr. Rogersville (Mo.) Logan-Rogersville High
DB Makinton Dorleant, UNI 5-11 185 So. Naples (Fla.) Lely High / Maryland
LB Auston Johnson, South Dakota 6-0 240 Jr. Chico Hills (Calif.) High / El Camino College
DT Cole Langer, South Dakota State 6-2 255 Fr. Dell Rapids (S.D.) High
DB Ray Mitchell, UNI 6-1 197 Jr. Irving (Texas) MacArthur High / Kansas
DB Tate Omli, UNI 5-11 210 Jr. Brookville (Kan.) Ell Saline High / Butler Community College
DE/LB David Perkins, Illinois State 6-2 235 So. South Bend (Ind.) Washington High / Ohio State
FS Jameel Smith, Youngstown State 6-0 205 Fr. Miami (Fla.) Norland High
LB Jameer Thurman, Indiana State 6-0 195 Fr. Chicago (Ill.) Proviso West High
2013 NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR BALLOTING (top vote getters)
62 -- Martin Ruiz, Youngstown State
43 -- J.C. Baker, Western Illinois
19 -- Jameer Thurman, Indiana State
16 -- Makinton Dorleant, UNI
2013 FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR BALLOTING (top vote getters)
78 -- Martin Ruiz, Youngstown State
23 -- Jameer Thurman, Indiana State
19 -- Trenton Norvell, Western Illinois
17 -- Trevor Bouma, South Dakota
13 -- Blake Winkler, Illinois State
PREVIOUS NEWCOMERS OF THE YEAR
1994 Buck Phillips, CB, WIU
1995 Jason Cannon, WR, MSU
1996 Vince Bruno, LB, WIU
1997 Aaron Stecker, RB, WIU
1998 David Bowens, DL, WIU
1999 Charles Tharp, RB, WIU
2000 Teddy Sims, LB, SIU
2001 Julian Reese, QB, INS
2002 M. Abdulqaadir, RB, SIU
2003 Terrance Freeney, RB, UNI
2004 Brandon Jacobs, RB, SIU
2005 Marcus Mason, RB, YSU
2006 Darian Williams, RB, UNI
2007 Ferlando Williams, WR, YSU
2008 Brandon Summers, QB, YSU
2009 Antoine Wilkinson, LB, MSU
2010 Tirrell Rennie, QB, UNI
2011 Jewel Hampton, RB, SIU
2012 Sawyer Kollmorgen, QB, UNI
2013 Martin Ruiz, RB, YSU
PREVIOUS FRESHMEN OF THE YEAR
1999 Dusty Burk, QB, ILS
2000 Lee Russell, OLB, WIU
2001 Tom Petrie, QB, UNI
2002 Joel Sambursky, QB, SIU
2003 Justin Haddix, QB, WKU
2004 Eric Sanders, QB, UNI
2005 Tom Nelson, DB, ILS
2006 Brandin Jordan, LB, SIU
2007 Cody Kirby, QB, MSU
2008 Kamryn Keys, RB, YSU
2009 Matt Brown, QB, ILS
2010 Kurt Hess, QB, YSU
2011 Austin Sumner, QB, SDSU
2012 Sawyer Kollmorgen, QB, UNI
2013 Martin Ruiz, RB, YSU