University of Richmond Athletics
McBride Earns Second CAA Football Defensive Player Of Week Honor
Nov. 15, 2010
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND - For the second time this season, senior LB Eric McBride has earned CAA Football Defensive Player of the Week honors after collecting 13 tackles and forcing two of Richmond's seven turnovers as the No. 21 Spiders beat Rhode Island, 15-6, on Senior Day at Robins Stadium.
McBride, who is a leading candidate for the Buck Buchanan Award that is awarded to the top defensive player in the FCS, currently ranks second in CAA Football in tackles (11th in the FCS) and moved to second on Richmond's all-time tackles list with Saturday's performance.
As McBride helped key the second-half shutout of the Rams, the Spiders kept their hopes of a forth-straight playoff berth alive and clinched the team a sixth-consecutive winning season. The senior class also earned its 41st victory, to tie last year's class as the winningest in school history.
The senior from nearby L.C. Bird High made the most of his final regular-season home game and 53rd-consecutive start with his 13 tackles, an interception and a forced and recovered fumble on the same play. He returned his fourth career interception 20 yards.
With 441 career tackles, McBride moved to second on Richmond's all-time list and trails the nearly untouchable 643 by former standout LB Eric Johnson (1989-92). McBride is averaging 11.2 tackles per game and has posted six double-digit tackle games this season, including a career-high 18 twice.
McBride's honor is his second of the season (Oct. 18) and his third career weekly award.
Richmond (6-4, 4-3), which has won two-consecutive games and four of its past five, heads to William & Mary next Saturday and battle for the Capital Cup in the 120th playing of the South's Oldest Football Rivalry. The regular-season finale kicks off from Zable Stadium at 3:30 p.m. and will be televised live on The Comcast Network.