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BUFFALO, NY - Five University at Buffalo football players walked off with the team's major awards at the annual UB Athletic Awards banquet at Samuel's Grande Manor.

Andre Forde

Senior Andre Forde (Penfield, NY/Penfield) was named Most Valuable Player; junior Jeff Mills (Wilkes-Barre, PA/Coughlin) received the Dominic Grossi Award; senior Dan Lindsay (Henrietta, NY/Rush-Henrietta) won for Most Improved; senior punter Scott McMahan (Huntington Beach, CA/Oceanview) earned the Coaches Award and freshman Aaron Leeper (Jamestown, NY/Jamestown) earned Top Newcomer kudos from head coach Jim Hofher and his staff.

Forde, a recent free agent signee of the Indianapolis Colts, had an electrifying senior year. He broke the school record with 1,553 all-purpose yards despite missing two full games to injury. Forde led the team with 54 receptions for 748 yards, caught seven touchdown passes, ran for another and returned a punt 83 yards for a score in the opener versus Lehigh. In UB's 34-11 win at Rutgers, Forde caught a career-best three touchdown passes. He also matched the school record with 12 catches for 202 yards and two touchdowns at Ohio

Jeff Mills

Mills, meanwhile, is a two-year starter at offensive tackle and has twice been named to the Verizon Academic All-District I team. He won the Grossi award which goes to a UB football player who "has displayed athletic prowess, academic excellence and sportsmanship." Grossi, a 1943 graduate of UB, hailed originally from nearby Lockport and lost his life in action on March 8, 1945 while serving with the U.S. Marine Corps during the assault on the island of Iwo Jima. Grossi received a Presidential Unit Citation for his extraordinary heroism while serving the United States Navy.

Lindsay, a senior flanker, caught 13 passes for 142 yards, blocked a punt and made 11 special teams tackles in his final year. A former walk-on, Lindsay earned a scholarship for his final two seasons from the UB coaching staff.

Dan Lindsay

McMahan had an outstanding senior season to earn the Coaches Award. The California native set new single-season marks for total punts (81) and punting yards (3,258) while ranking among the conference leaders in punting average. His 40.2 yard average was fourth-best in Bulls' history and he had a 70-yard punt versus Connecticut and a Marshall Stadium record 62-yard kick on the road.

Leeper, meanwhile, became Buffalo's first major-award winner in its four-year association with the Mid-American Conference. Leeper set school freshman records of 917 yards rushing, 1,267 all-purpose yards and 10 touchdowns en route to earning MAC Freshman of the Year honors. Leeper scored on his first-ever carry in the season-opener versus Lehigh and ran for 153 yards on a career-high 34 carries in his first start at Rutgers.