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Princeton University Athletics
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Roger Hughes To Earn Johnny Vaught Head Coach Honor At All-American Football Foundation Banquet Monday Night
March 05, 2007 | Football
Roger Hughes, who guided the 2006 Princeton football team to a magical Ivy League championship season and the program's best record in 40 years, will be honored Monday night at the All-American Football Foundation's 83rd Banquet of Champions with the Johnny Vaught Head Coach award. Three of Hughes' top seniors will also be honored during the evening: Bushnell Cup winner Jeff Terrell will receive the Colonel Earl [Red] Blaik's Scholarship Leadership Award, while first-team All-Ivy selections Tim Strickland and Colin McDonough will receive All-America honors.
Hughes, who has led Princeton to 17 wins in the last 21 games, guided a Princeton team picked to finish sixth in the league to a share of the Ivy League title, Princeton's first since 1995. The Tigers went 9-1, their first nine-win season since Hall of Famer Cosmo Iacavazzi led the 1964 team to a 9-0 record. Princeton won nine games despite never leading a team by more than 14 points, and two wins came in overtime. Princeton also rallied for fourth-quarter comeback wins over two of its biggest rivals, Harvard and Yale; that feat earned Princeton its first campus bonfire since 1994.
Terrell is the sixth player in Princeton football history to win the Asa S. Bushnell Cup, and he is only the second quarterback to win the honor for the Ivy League Player of the Year. His predecessor at the position, 1989 graduate Jason Garrett, came via The University School in Hunting Valley, Ohio. Terrell will now share company with Garrett and some of the other legendary names of the Princeton football program, thanks to one of the most memorable individual performances in Orange and Black lore. Terrell completed 195 of 331 passes (58.9%) for 2,445 yards and 17 touchdowns, and he rushed for four other touchdowns, including one that will never be forgotten by any in attendance. His 2,445 passing yards rank fifth in a single season, and his 2,717 total yards (rushing and passing) rank third in a season.
McDonough, the first Princeton player to ever earn All-Ivy honors four times, led the league in punting with a 43.6-yard average, second-best all-time at Princeton and fifth-best in Division I-AA this season. His career average of 39.6 yards per punt is second-best in Tiger history. McDonough's best performance came in the thrilling 31-28 win over Harvard, when he averaged 48.5 yards per punt and booted three kicks over 60 yards and a fourth that went 59 yards.
Strickland also completed a career honor this season; he became the only Princeton football player to ever start each game of his four collegiate seasons. The defensive back and 2005 All-Ivy selection saved his best for last, leading the nation with 17 passes defensed. Like Artis, he earned Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week honors after a two-interception performance against Lehigh, and he finished third on the team with 46 tackles, including 31 solo stops. Strickland and Artis have been starters since their freshman seasons and were at their best in the second half against Yale, when Princeton completed its most dramatic comeback in a season filled with. Both were assigned to man coverage with little help as the Tigers stuffed the box to contain the run, and both were near perfect in those final 30 minutes. Strickland ends his career with 12 interceptions and 43 passes defensed.
The Banquet of Champions will be held at the Princeton Hyatt Regency, beginning at 6 p.m. The All-American Football Foundation is a tax exempt, non-profit organization founded in 1994.