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Football Announces 2006 Award Winners

Naaman Roosevelt

Receiving awards from the football staff were freshman Naaman Roosevelt (Buffalo, NY/St. Joseph’s Collegiate), seniors Chad Upshaw (Southport, CT/St. Joseph’s), Steven King (Hempstead, NY/Uniondale), Jeff Bublavi (Norwood, PA/Interboro) and junior Jamey Richard (Weston, CT/Weston).

Roosevelt earned the Top Newcomer Award after a stellar freshman campaign. Originally recruited as a quarterback, Roosevelt made a seamless transition to wide receiver for the Bulls. He ranked second on the team in receiving yardage with 429 yards on 31 catches. He scored two touchdowns. However, Roosevelt’s biggest impact came on special teams. He set the school record for single-season kickoff return average (25.9 ypr) and his 1,306 all-purpose yards was ninth-best all-time in a single season. He took his first career kick return for 94 yards and a touchdown. It was UB’s first kickoff returned for a touchdown since the 1989 season.

Chad Upshaw

Upshaw earned the Most Improved Player Award. Upshaw led the Bulls in receptions with 35 for 419 yards. His 12-yards-per-catch average was over two yards better than his yards-per-catch average last season (9.7). He had a season-high six catches for 83 yards and hauled in a 19-yard touchdown against Central Michigan. He finished his career by catching a pass in 22 straight games and his 94 career catches was one shy of the school record for receptions by a tight end.

Steven King

King earned the Coaches’ Award. The senior captain played both fullback and tailback for the Bulls. He ranked second on the team in rushing with 199 yards on 55 carries. He tied for the team lead with six touchdowns. He added 13 receptions for 52 yards. He scored two touchdowns on only three carries at Akron and ran for 52 yards on eight carries and scored a touchdown against Central Michigan.

Jeff Bublavi

Bublavi was named the team’s Most Outstanding Player. The senior linebacker started all 12 games and led the Bulls in tackles with 110. His tackle total was the 10th highest single-season effort in school history. He added 6.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. He had 10 or more tackles in four games, including a season-high 14 tackles at Bowling Green.

Jamey Richard

Richard was the winner of the Dominic Grossi Award. The award is presented to the UB football player who has displayed athletic prowess, academic excellence and sportsmanship. Richard, a team captain, started all 12 games at center and has now started 23 consecutive games for the Bulls. Richard anchored an offensive line that helped the UB offense produce 2,136 passing yards, the most for a Buffalo team since 2001. He was named the UB offensive player of the week following both the Auburn and Boston College games.

UB, under the direction of first-year head coach Turner Gill, finished its season with a 2-10 overall record and a 1-7 mark in the MAC. Buffalo earned victories over Temple and Kent State.