Walter Camp Foundation, Inc.

Yale University’s Mike McLeod Named 2007 Walter Camp “Connecticut Player of the Year”

Yale University’s Mike McLeod Named 2007 Walter Camp “Connecticut Player of the Year”. Former New Britain High School star will be honored on January 12.

NEW HAVEN, CT – Former New Britain high school standout Mike McLeod, a junior running back from Yale University, has been named by the Walter Camp Football Foundation as its 2007 “Connecticut Player of the Year” presented by Charter Oak Insurance & Financial Services (http://www.charteroakinsurance.com).

Awarded to the top college football player who is a resident of the state of Connecticut, the Connecticut Player of the Year is voted on by the Walter Camp Football Foundation membership.

McLeod had a record-breaking season for the Bulldogs (9-1, 6-1 in the Ivy League) setting school season records for rushing yards (1,619) and touchdowns (23). McLeod achieved his impressive totals despite playing the final five games with a broken bone in his right toe.

Among his standout performances included a then-school record 256-yard, five touchdown effort in a win at Holy Cross on September 29. McLeod broke his own single-game rushing mark two weeks later on October 13 when he rushed for 276 yards against Lehigh.

The recipient of the 2007 Asa A. Bushnell Cup which is given to the Ivy League Player of the Year, McLeod was also named to the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Football Championship Subdivision All-America team.

The 5-foot-11, 200-pound McLeod owns Yale career records for touchdowns (48), rushing yards (3,672), rushing attempts (817), and all-purpose yards (4,383). In addition, McLeod owns an Ivy League record 18 consecutive games with a touchdown.

Before attending Yale, McLeod had an accomplished scholastic career at New Britain – helping the Golden Hurricanes to three state titles. He was named the State’s Player of the Year by both the New Haven Register and Hartford Courant after rushing for 1,800 yards and 39 touchdowns in 2004.

McLeod is also the third Yale player (Rich Diana, 1981 and Peter Mazza, 2000) and the fifth Ivy Leaguer (Chris Zingo, Cornell - 1993 and Richard Comizio, Penn - 1987) to earn this honor.

Other recipients of the Connecticut Player of the Year include two-time winner and current Detroit Lions quarterback Dan Orlovsky (Connecticut, 2003 & 2004), former BYU and San Francisco 49er great Steve Young (1983), and current NFL All-Pro and Indianapolis Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney (Syracuse, 2001). McLeod and all of the major award winners as well as the members of the 2007 Walter Camp All-America team will be honored at the organization’s national awards banquet on Saturday, January 12 at the Yale University Commons in New Haven.

In addition, the Foundation will hold its annual Fan Fest on Friday, January 11 at the New Haven Athletic Center from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Dinner ($275.00) and Fan Fest tickets ($10.00) can be purchased by calling (203) 288-CAMP.

Connecticut Player of the Year

Presented to the top college football player who is a resident of the state of Connecticut. The award is voted on by the Walter Camp Football Foundation membership.

(List sorted by Year, Recipient, School, Hometown)

• 2007 Mike McLeod Yale New Britain
• 2006 Kory Sheets Purdue Manchester (Bloomfield HS)
• 2005 John Sullivan Notre Dame Greenwich
• 2004 Anttaj Hawthorne Wisconsin Hamden
• 2004 Dan Orlovsky Connecticut Shelton
• 2003 Dan Orlovsky Connecticut Shelton
• 2002 Niko Koutouvides Purdue Plainville
• 2001 Dwight Freeney Syracuse Bloomfield
• 2000 Peter Mazza Yale Cheshire
• 1999 Bobby Myers Wisconsin Hamden
• 1998 Carl Bond Connecticut Hamden
• 1997 Kyle McIntosh Syracuse Cheshire
• 1996 Tarek Saleh Wisconsin Woodbridge (Notre Dame-WH HS)
• 1995 Tarek Saleh Wisconsin Woodbridge (Notre Dame–WH HS
• 1994 Jason Miska Auburn Bridgeport (ND-Fairfield HS)
• 1993 Chris Zingo Cornell Fairfield (Fairfield Prep)
• 1992 Curtis Eller Villanova Stratford
• 1991 Corey Vincent Holy Cross Shelton
• 1990 Rob Thomson Syracuse Southington
• 1989 Terry Wooden Syracuse Farmington
• 1988 Glenn Antrum Connecticut Ansonia
• 1987 Bill Romanowski Boston College Vernon
• 1986 Richard Comizio Pennsylvania New Fairfield
• 1985 Tom Patton Holy Cross Meriden
• 1984 no recipient
• 1983 Steve Young Brigham Young Greenwich
• 1982 Mike Marshall Southern Connecticut Bridgeport
• 1981 Rich Diana Yale Hamden http://www.waltercamp.org

Walter Camp, "The Father of American football," first selected an All-America team in 1889. Camp — a former Yale University athlete and football coach — is also credited with developing play from scrimmage, set plays, the numerical assessment of goals and tries and the restriction of play to eleven men per side. The Walter Camp Football Foundation — a New Haven based all volunteer group — was founded in 1967 to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and to continue the tradition of selecting annually an All America team.