Riddick Added To Buck Buchanan Award Watch List
November 19, 2013 | Football
The award will be presented along with the Walter Payton Award (Offensive Player of the Year), Eddie Robinson Award (Coach of the Year) and Jerry Rice Award (Freshman of the Year) on December 16 in Philadelphia, Pa.
Former Gardner-Webb All-America defensive end Brian Johnston was a finalist for the award in 2007 as a senior, finishing ninth in the final voting.
Riddick, a 6-foot-7, 240-pound All-America candidate, has enjoyed a stellar season through 11 games. He has registered 67 total tackles and set a new Big South single-season record with 8.5 sacks. He ranks second in the nation with 19.0 tackles for loss, and leads the nation in negative yardage recorded with 109. Riddick also has established a new career-high with 17 quarterback pressures.
The Akron, Ohio, junior has helped Gardner-Webb to 3-1 record against ranked teams in 2013, including a win this past Saturday against #12/13 Charleston Southern by a 27-10 score. In the three wins, Gardner-Webb has allowed only 20 combined points (6.7 per game) and has limited two of those three opponents to less than 20 yards rushing.
In the four games against ranked opponents in 2013, Riddick has totaled 28 tackles, 9.0 tackles for loss (minus-52 yards) and 3.5 sacks (minus-27 yards). He also has nine pressures in those four games.
In his second full season as a starter, Riddick has recorded new career-high totals in tackles, sacks and tackles for loss. He leads the Big South Conference in sacks and has helped Gardner-Webb perform a tremendous turnaround defensively in 2013.
The Runnin' Bulldogs rank No. 6 nationally in team total defense (296.4 ypg), 21st in rushing defense (121.1 ypg) and 14th in passing defense (175.3 ypg). GWU also ranks No. 8 in third down conversion defense and No. 9 nationally in first downs allowed.
Gardner-Webb (6-5, 1-3 Big South) travels to face old rival Presbyterian in Clinton, S.C., on Saturday to close out the 2013 regular season. Kickoff is set for 1:00 pm and will air live on WGWG-FM (88.3 / wgwg.org) and the Big South Network.
Other nominees on the Buchanan Award Watch List are: defensive linemen Brad Daly of Montana State, Terrence Fede of Marist, Zach Hodges of Harvard, Caraun Reid of Princeton, Robert Simpson of Mississippi Valley State, Davis Tull of Chattanooga and Colton Underwood of Illinois State; linebackers Quinn Backus of Coastal Carolina, Clarence Bumpas of Northern Colorado, Ronnie Hamlin of Eastern Washington, Stephon Robertson of James Madison, Justin Shade of Samford, Tyler Starr of South Dakota, Joe Thomas of South Carolina State, Lynden Trail of Norfolk State and Jordan Tripp of Montana; and defensive backs Jerome Couplin III of William & Mary, Caleb Schaffitzel of Missouri State and Marcus Williams of North Dakota State.
