Karim finishes third for Walter Payton Award
12/17/2009 | 12:00:00 | Football
By Jason Clay
www.SIUSalukis.com
Dec. 17, 2009
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Southern Illinois running back Deji Karim finished third in the voting for the Walter Payton Award, which was presented to Appalachian State quarterback Armanti Edwards here Thursday night for being named as the most outstanding player in FCS College Football.
Karim, a 5-11, 200-pound senior, played two years at Northeast Oklahoma A&M before coming to SIU in 2007, is the second Southern Illinois running back to be named a finalist for the award; joining Arkee Whitlock who finished third in the 2006 voting. Four other Salukis have finished in the Top 10 of the voting, with running back Larry Warner's 10th-place finish in 2008 being the most recent.
"It was just an honor to be here and represent my teammates back at home," Karim said. "I was speechless and at the same time I was delighted when I found out I was a finalist. Any time that you race with those two other players, you got to be humble and I'm very happy to be mentioned with their names. I have the upmost respect for them."
In his introductory speech, head coach Dale Lennon said that Karim's time as a Saluki has been special and that he will go down as one of the greatest running backs in school history.
"I'm very proud of Deji and there is yet another chapter for him to write and I look forward to watching him," Lennon said of Karim, who is graduating from Southern Illinois University on Saturday. "Tonight was a special night and they definitely gave an honor to what Deji accomplished on the season and in his career."
Edwards, the first repeat winner in the history of the award, ran away with 55 first-place votes and 431 total points. Elon wide receiver Terrell Hudgins had 16 first-place votes and 268 points while Karim had 14 first-place votes and 259 points.
Karim has been very humble throughout the season and awards process, a position he never thought he would be in after missing the entire 2008 season with a knee injury; that was supposed to be his final year as a Saluki. Battling through the pains of a slow-healing knee and the rehabilitation process, Karim contemplated ending his football career.
Through the guidance of his mother, Tai, and SIU Athletic Trainer, Lee Land, Karim stuck to his rehab and regained the strength in his knee to compete for the starting tailback job that was left vacant by the graduation of the all-American Warner.
A native of Oklahoma City, Karim was SIU's starting running back in the 2009 season opener at Marshall. However, it wasn't until the second game of the year that the Salukis knew they had something special. His 82-yard kickoff return for a touchdown the first time Southern Illinois touched the ball signaled to Lennon that he had something special.
He went finish the Southwest Baptist game with 310 all-purpose yards and 210 rushing, one of his two, 200-yard rushing games in 2009. His performance against the Bearcats sparked SIU's 11-game winning streak that led to the 2009 Missouri Valley Football Conference Championship and a seventh-straight FCS Playoff appearance.
Karim's 1,694 yards rushing in 2009 led the FCS and is the third most in a season in SIU history, behind Karlton Carpenter's 1,892 yards (1998) and Arkee Whitlock's 1,828 yards (2006). He broke the Southern Illinois school record by racking up 2,339 all-purpose yards this year.
His 20 total touchdowns on the year are the second most in the country and his 18 rushing touchdown also rank No. 2 nationally. Adding in his eight touchdown runs in 2007, and Karim finishes his career with 26 touchdown runs - tied for the fifth-most in school history.
His season was defined by eye-popping statistics. Karim averaged 7.1 yards on 240 carries and had 21 rushes that went for 20 yards or more. He became the first player in all of Division I Football (FCS and FBS) to have two 90-plus yard runs in the same season since the NCAA starting tracking the longest runs from scrimmage seven years ago. Karim had a 92-yard touchdown run against Western Illinois and broke his own school record three weeks later against Illinois State with a 93-yard TD blast at McAndrew Stadium.
He finished that Illinois State game with three touchdowns and 273 yards rushing, which is the highest mark put up by any FCS running back this season.
