Rod Windsor Named Spalding Rookie of the Year
Published on August 11, 2009 under arenafootball2 (af2) News Release
CHICAGO - Rio Grande Valley WR ROD WINDSOR has been named the 2009 Spalding Rookie of the Year, as selected by a vote of arenafootball2 head coaches and media members.
Windsor made quite an impact in his first af2 season. The 6-2, 208-pounder from Western New Mexico had arguably the best receiving season in af2 history with the Dorados in 2009. Windsor set four new league single-season records in his inaugural league campaign: scoring (362 points), receiving touchdowns (59), total touchdowns (59) and receptions (184). His efforts helped Rio Grande Valley earn a playoff berth on the strength of the club's 9-7 regular season standing (3rd in Southwest Division).
Former Tulsa WR DONOVAN MORGAN (2005) owned the previous league-high standards for total touchdowns (54) and points scored (346). Morgan shared the previous af2 record of 54 receiving TDs with Louisville's ROB MAGER (2006). Albany's COREY HILL was the league's previous single-season leader in receptions with 161 set in 2002 and 2003.
Windsor also recorded the second-highest, single-season receiving yards total in league history with 2,364 in 15 games played. His yard mark fell 29 yards short of the af2-record mark set this year by Quad City veteran WR JESSE SCHMIDT (2,393). The previous league record for receiving yards in a season of 2,086 yards set in 2000 by CARL BOND of Tallahassee.
Windsor was a four-time weekly league award winner in 2009. He earned the Big Game Catch of the Week for Week 1 and Week 8 and the Russell Athletic Offensive Player of the Week for Week 9 and Week 16. He was also recently named to the National Conference All-af2 First Team.
One week after setting four league single-season records, Windsor set two af2 postseason game records in the team's National Conference First Round playoff contest at Bossier-Shreveport. Despite the result (56-46 loss), he caught 18 passes for 211 yards and four TDs - all game-high marks. His 18 receptions and 211 yards receiving both set new postseason records.
The previous receptions record was 17. Former Louisville WR ROB MAGER caught 17 passes in the 2005 ArenaCup against Memphis (August 27). KELVIN DICKENS equaled the mark in 2007 with the Spokane Shock (vs. Louisville, August 4, 2007). The previous receiving yards record was 200 set by former Dorados' WR DWIGHT COUNTER (Rio Grande Valley at Memphis, August 19, 2005).
On Saturday, Windsor's receiving yards mark was eclipsed by Tulsa WR JEFF HUGHLEY's 241-yard total (14 catches) in the Talons' 59-34 Semifinal Round victory against the BattleWings.
The 2009 af2 playoffs continue this Saturday, August 15 with the American and National Conference Championship games. On the American side, the No. 1 seed Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers host the No. 6 seed Green Bay Blizzard at 7 PM ET. The No. 1 seed Spokane Shock host the No. 2 seed Tulsa Talons at 10 PM ET on the National side.
Tickets to the 2009 ArenaCup in Las Vegas are available by visiting www.orleansarena.com, all Coast Casinos box offices, The Galleria at Sunset or by calling 800-675-3267 and mention code: ARENACUP.
About Spalding
As a Division of Russell Corporation, the Spalding Group consists of three business units: Spalding in Springfield, MA; American Athletic, Inc. (AAI) in Jefferson, IA; and Huffy Sports, in Sussex, WI. The three companies, collectively combined, are now the largest basketball equipment supplier in the world. Spalding is the official basketball supplier of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), the official backboard of the NBA and NCAA, the official volleyball of the King of the Beach Volleyball Tour and the official football of the Arena Football League (AFL) and Pop Warner. For more information, visit www.spalding.com.
arenafootball2 Stories from August 11, 2009
- Dillon earns Big Game Catch of the Week - Spokane Shock
- Inagural af2 Hall of Fame Class to be Decided by Fan Vote - Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz
- Stevenson, Vena, Kizer, Dillon, Blackwell Earn Semifinal Round Honors - af2
- Rod Windsor Named Spalding Rookie of the Year - af2
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