NEWPORT NEWS, VA - With the 2009 Christopher Newport football season now less than three months away, several pre-season honors and rankings released recently included the Captains.
The Sporting News Football Preview magazine, released nationwide on Tuesday, has ranked CNU #14 in the nation in its pre-season poll. The Captains will open the 2009 season on September 5th at Wesley, ranked #15 in the same publication.
Christopher Newport's TUNDE OGUN has received more pre-season acclaim. CNU's dominating running back is on the Sporting News' pre-season All-America team. Last week, Ogun was named pre-season All-America and pre-season Offensive Player of the Year by Consensus Draft Services. Ogun, who is heading into his senior season, received numerous honors following an amazing junior season. He became the first CNU player to be named All-America following his junior season…and was also named Virginia's Player of the Year by the Richmond Touchdown Club and Richmond Times-Dispatch. The honor goes to the Commonwealth's top player in the Division II, Division III, and NAIA ranks.
Ogun, a native of Richmond, was also honored as the USA South's Offensive Player of the Year, and was the South Region Player of the Year. He led the Captains by setting school and conference records for yards rushing in a season with 1794 yards (179 yard average per game) and finished third in the nation in rushing last season. Ogun also scored 17 touchdowns for CNU.
Christopher Newport is coming off another successful season in 2008, finishing 8-2 and advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time in eight years. CNU football is heading into the ninth season of play since the inception of the program, and the Captains are now 57-27 in 84 games played for a winning percentage of almost 68 percent.
