Offensive Lineman Dawson Named Lifter of the Year

Lincoln, Neb. ----- Head Coach Frank Solich presented the annual 2001 Lifter of the Year award to sophomore offensive linemen Jon Dawson Saturday, March 31 during the team's pre-scrimmage meeting.

In just his third year, Dawson scored the second highest performance score for offensive linemen at the post-winter testing with 2,133 points. He has improved in all performance indicators and stepped up his Performance Index by over 400 points. He improved his 40-yard dash by .13 seconds to 5.24 seconds, and his 10-yard dash to 1.85, down .08 seconds. He added an inch to his vertical jump, 28.5, and dropped his pro-agility run .16 seconds to 4.37.

Not only did Dawson improve his index scores, his body composition also improved. Dawson gained 15 pounds, weighing in at 298, while maintaining a 13 percent body fat composition. Other nominees for the award were as follows:.

Junior rush end Demoine Adams finished the winter program with the fourth-best performance index at 2,562 points, which was also the highest score for rush ends. Since beginning his career at NU in 1998, Adams steadily improved his Performance Index, especially this winter as he improved by 317 points. He shaved .03 seconds off both his 10-yard and 40-yard dashes and greatly improved his pro-agility run over the six weeks of winter conditioning. His pro-agility time went from 4.20 seconds to 4.01 seconds, and improved his pro-agility points by 185. Adams completed the winter program with the team's top rush end scores in the 10-yard dash, 10-yard dash points, the 40-yard dash, 40-yard dash points, the pro-agility run and the vertical jump, and vertical jump points.

Sophomore defensive lineman Ryon Bingham has continually improved his body composition since arriving at NU. Although Bingham has steadily gained weight, he has also steadily lowered his body fat percentage. Currently, Bingham is at 8% body fat, which is the leanest of all the defensive linemen on the team. Bingham has also improved or remained consistent in all of the performance tests, with his greatest improvements being in the pro-agility run. Since his arrival at Nebraska, Bingham has improved his 40-yard dash time by .29 seconds and improved 196 points in his 10-yard dash points.

Senior defensive back Dion Booker continued to improve and maintain his performance scores, while maintaining a steady weight and body composition. Booker improved in all four performance indicators and had the second-highest Performance Index for defensive backs during the winter program. He improved his Performance Index from 2,039 points before winter conditioning to 2,491 points at post-winter testing, a difference of 452 points. His greatest improvement was in the pro-agility run, where he improved .38 seconds and recorded a time of 3.90 seconds.

Junior rush end Chris Kelsay currently holds performance position records in the pro-agility run, pro-agility points and for the 10-yard dash. Kelsay recorded a 3.90 pro-agility run, which is the fastest ever run by a rush end. The run also set the position record for pro-agility points with 970 points. He also holds the position record for 10-yard dash points, with 797 points. In his career at Nebraska, Kelsay has gained 11 pounds of lean body mass, and despite battling injuries, has made consistent improvements in the performance tests and has one of the highest Performance Index scores for rush ends recorded with 2,921 points.

Senior defensive lineman Casey Nelson made great strides in his body composition in the six weeks of winter conditioning. Nelson gained five pounds of total body weight while converting six pounds of body fat to muscle. Nelson also scored the team's second-best Performance Index for defensive linemen with 2,281 points, the best 10-yard dash at 1.70 seconds, and the best 10-yard dash points, 713 points, for defensive linemen. He improved his performance index from 2072 points in January to 2281 points in March, which is an improvement of 209 points.