The 2011 Knights came together one final time Sunday before the holiday break for the annual UCF Football Awards Dinner in the J. Rolfe Davis Recruiting Lounge at Bright House Networks Stadium. Picking up multiple honors were Josh Linam, Ronnie Weaver, Kemal Ishmael and Latavius Murray, who was selected as UCF’s Most Valuable Player.
Linam and Weaver grabbed the Captain’s Awards after the seniors were voted as captains by their teammates during the season. Linam also was named as UCF’s Outstanding Linebacker and the winner of the Academic Excellence Award, while Weaver was the Knights’ Outstanding Offensive Back.
Murray secured the Outstanding Offensive Player and MVP awards thanks to leading the team with 860 all-purpose yards – 549 rushing and 242 receiving along with a 69-yard kickoff return for a touchdown at Southern Miss. Along with eight rushing touchdowns, he posted the fourth-best rushing performance in UCF history when he raced for 233 yards at UTEP. In that victory over the Miners, Murray accounted for three overall touchdowns as that effort is now up for the Marines National Running Back Performance of the Year presented by Intersport.
On the defensive side of the ball, Ishmael carried home the Outstanding Defensive Back and Outstanding Defensive Player trophies. UCF’s free safety paced the Knights in tackles for the second-straight year, recording 81 in 2011. That was highlighted by four games where he amassed 10 tackles or more. Ishmael also had three break-ups and one forced fumble.
Voted on by the coaching staff, the complete list of awards is below.
2011 UCF Football Awards