Tyler Wins Ivy's Highest Individual Honor - The Bushnell Cup

NEW YORK – Jeremiah Tyler wrapped up a dream senior season with one of the highest accolades he could win.

The best Ivy League Defensive Player.

Tyler was named the Bushnell Cup winner for the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year on Monday afternoon.

"First, I want to thank God, who is the head of my life," said Tyler. "Without him, I would not be here or have these gifts. I'm truly appreciative of everything he's done for me. Second, I want to thank my parents for their ultimate sacrifices, their patience and love and continued support through all my endeavors."

Tyler was also grateful for everyone that helped in his journey at Princeton.

"To the coaches, I appreciate everything you've done for me," said the senior captain. "Words can't describe the things you've done and I'm super appreciative of everything. Coach Verbit, Surace and Mendenhall, you guys are basically my three other fathers who are on campus. I want to thank the Ivy committee for making this season possible and the PVC and PFA for building the team around the team. Finally, to my teammates, thank you so much for always believing in me. We came to work every day, grinding, bleeding and sweating together. Taking this past year off, everyone knows the struggle we went through. We were able to come closer because of that and I'm truly grateful for you guys."

"I'm so happy for Jeremiah," said Princeton head coach Bob Surace. "He not only had an excellent season worthy of the Bushnell Cup and a career that will go down as one of the finest in program history, but he was an outstanding leader. I have great respect for Princeton's deep history and tradition. Jeremiah deserves to be among the select best that have played here. We have to go back a long way to find an individual defensive player that was so valuable to team success. In Jeremiah's four years on the field, he won three Ivy League titles and our record was 35-5."

The announcement …. ??????#NA22AUBound ???? pic.twitter.com/Yn4C8TqcSF
— Princeton Football (@PrincetonFTBL) December 13, 2021

Tyler was a first-team All-Ivy selection and named a finalist for the 2021 Stats Perform FCS Buck Buchanan Award. He produced a team-high 58 tackles, adding seven for a loss this year. The senior captain also had two sacks, a fumble recovery for a touchdown and six pass breakups.

Princeton finished the season 9-1, earning an Ivy League title. Princeton University hosted the bonfire last month, a storied celebration after the football team beats Harvard and Yale in the same season.

Presented annually since 1970, The Asa S. Bushnell Cup honors its namesake, a 1921 Princeton alumnus and the commissioner of the Eastern College Athletic Conference from 1938 to 1970. The Bushnell Cup is awarded by a vote of the Ivy League's eight head football coaches to the players who display outstanding qualities of leadership, competitive spirit, contribution to the team and accomplishments on the field.

From 1970 to 2010, the Bushnell Cup recognized an Ivy League Player of the Year (or co-Players of the Year if there was a tie in voting). Beginning with the 2010 season, the award was presented as part of the festivities surrounding the NFF Annual Awards Dinner with four finalists named a week prior to the presentation. Beginning with the 2011 season, the award began recognizing Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, honoring each as a recipient of the Bushnell Cup.

Tyler is the 13th Princeton winner of the Bushnell Cup in program history and is the first Princeton winner since John Lovett in 2018.

Bushnell Winners — Jeremiah Tyler joins a prestigious list of Princeton winners since 2012.

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