Dec. 4, 2004
Football: Penguins Name Season Award Winners for 2004
    Youngstown -- Eight seniors and two underclassmen earned individual accolades at the 2004 Youngstown State football banquet that was held in the Chestnut Room at the Kilcawley Center on Saturday afternoon.
    Senior strong safety Mike Bracken was named the John Delserone Most Valuable Player while junior wide receiver Kyle Smith was selected as the outstanding offensive player and sophomore cornerback Jason Perry was the outstanding defensive player.
    Bracken, who was a first-team All-Gateway selection, was third on the team with 74 total tackles. He was second on the team with two interceptions, three pass breakups, and 36 solo tackles. He finished his career with 240 stops.
    Smith, who was an honorable-mention All-Gateway pick, caught a pass in every game to finish the year with 28 receptions. He had a team-high 444 yards while averaging a team-best 15.9 per grab. He is the first wide out to be named YSU's outstanding offensive player of the year since Elliott Giles in 1999 and is just the fifth wide receiver since 1985 to earn the award.
    Perry, who was an honorable-mention All-Gateway honoree, is the first non-junior or senior to be named the outstanding defensive player since redshirt freshman linebacker Kawonza Swan in 1996. Perry led Youngstown State in interceptions with three and pass breakups with five. He was fifth on the team with 59 total tackles, including 32 solo stops.
    Other award winners were all seniors: placekicker Nick Terracina (Jeff Wilkins/Paul McFadden Specialist of the Year), wide receiver Phil Larmon (Ron Stoops Inspirational Player), wide receiver Matt Rycraft (Dr. Spurgeon Torchbearer), tight end Mike Roberts (Jim Zdelar Offensive Lineman of the Year), nose tackle Nate Baston and defensive tackle Matt Briggs (Jermaine Hopkins Defensive Linemen of the Year) and linebacker Yancey Marcum (Robert Frost Outreach Man of the Year).
    Terracina became the third two-time Specialist of the Year recipient. Terracina made 11-of-16 field goals and was 31-of-31 on extra points for the year to join Mark Griffith (1998 and 1999) and Jeff Wilkins (1992 and 1993) as two-time winners.
    Roberts, a first-team All-Gateway selection, becomes the second tight end in last three years (Dennis Dlugosz in 2002) to be named the Offensive Lineman of the Year. It marks just the fourth time in school history a tight end has earned the honor. He caught 24 passes for 259 yards and three touchdowns.
    Baston and Briggs shared the Defensive Linemen-of-the-Year award. It marks the first time that two players have shared the award since Pat Danko and Brett Greer in 1991.
    Annually, the Four Square Club selects an offensive player and a defensive player of the game for one home game during the season. For their efforts against Slippery Rock, junior tailback Josh Cayson was named the Offensive Player of the Game while Perry was the Four Square Defensive Player of the Game.
    The Four Square Academic Players of the Year were redshirt freshman quarterback Tom Zetts and redshirt freshman safety Bob Perez. Both student-athletes own a 4.0 grade-point average.

2004 YSU Football Awards
Outstanding Offensive Player -- Kyle Smith, WR
Outstanding Defensive Player -- Jason Perry, CB
John Delserone Most Valuable Player -- Mike Bracken, SS
Ron Stoops Inspirational Player -- Phil Larmon, WR
Dr. Spurgeon Torchbearer -- Matt Rycraft, WR
Jim Zdelar Offensive Lineman of the Year -- Mike Roberts, TE
Jermaine Hopkins Defensive Lineman of the Year -- Nate Baston, NT and Matt Briggs, DT
Robert Frost Outreach Man of the Year -- Yancey Marcum, LB
Four Square Academic Players of the Year -- Bob Perez, FS  and Tom Zetts, QB
Paul McFadden/Jeff Wilkins Specialist of the Year -- Nick Terracina, PK