Football

George Finishes as Runner-Up for Eddie Robinson National Coach of the Year Award


• Eddie Robinson Award Release

In results of balloting for the 2024 Eddie Robinson Award, presented by Stats Perform to the FCS National Coach of the Year, Tennessee State's Eddie George finished as the runner-up for the award among 15 national finalists.

George tallied 115 points (6 first-place, 9 second-place, 12 third-place, 4 fourth-place and 5 fifth-place votes) to finish behind the winner, Montana State's Brent Vigen (173 points).

A national, 56-member panel voted on the award which is in its 38th season and named for legendary Grambling State coach Eddie Robinson. In will be presented at the Stats Perform FCS National Awards Banquet on Jan. 4 in Frisco, Texas – the eve of the FCS championship game.

George, the Big South-OVC Coach of the Year who is now in his fourth season at TSU, guided the Tigers to a 9-3 overall regular season record and 6-2 mark in the Big South-OVC, which earned the Tigers a share of its first Conference crown since 1999. The team also earned an at-large berth to the FCS Playoffs, the first since the team since 2013, falling in a close game at Montana.

In addition to the Eddie Robinson Award, the Walter Payton Award (FCS Offensive Player of the Year), Buck Buchanan Award (FCS Defensive Player of the Year), Jerry Rice Award (FCS Freshman Player of the Year), Urban Edge Network HBCU+ National Player of the Year and FedEx Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete of the Year will be presented at the Stats Perform awards banquet.

2024 Eddie Robinson Award Voting Results
Following is a breakdown of the voting results. A first-place vote was worth five points, a second-place vote four points, a third-place vote three points, a fourth-place vote two points and a fifth-place vote one point. The final number is the combined point total.

1. Brent Vigen, Montana State: 25-6-5-1-7-173 
2. Eddie George, Tennessee State: 6-9-12-4-5-115
3. Tim Plough, UC Davis: 7-10-9-3-2-110
4. Jim Fleming, Rhode Island: 5-12-2-3-4-89 
5. Mike Jacobs, Mercer: 3-5-4-14-4-79 
6. Chennis Berry, South Carolina State: 7-1-4-5-2-63 
T7: Russ Huesman, Richmond: 0-2-8-2-1-37 
T7. Keith Patterson, Abilene Christian: 1-3-2-3-8-37 
9. Jon Poppe, Columbia: 1-3-2-4-4-35
10. Kevin Cahill, Lehigh: 1-1-3-1-4-24 
11. Adam Lechtenberg, Central Connecticut State: 0-2-2-4-1-23
12. T.C. Taylor, Jackson State: 0-2-1-3-4-21
13. Brock Spack, Illinois State: 0-0-1-7-3-20
14. Clint Killough, UIW: 0-0-1-2-7-14 
15. Brandon Moore, San Diego: 0-0-0-0-0-0