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Hampden-Sydney College head football coach Marty Favret recently announced the program’s top award winners for the 2021 spring season.

Headlining the honorees are seniors Cole Becker of Spring Lake, North Carolina and Phil Pullen of Manassas, named Offensive MVP and Defensive MVP, respectively, along with classmate Tyler Howerton of Alexandria, recipient of the J. Stokeley Fulton Award for scholarship, leadership and athletic achievement.

Cole Becker started three of five games and rushed for a team-high 290 yards on 62 carries with two touchdowns, adding one reception for 12 yards. He was fifth in the ODAC in rushing yards, yards per game with 58 and yards per carry. Becker was named second team All-ODAC and finished his career with 603 yards rushing on 146 career carries with four career rushing touchdowns.

Phil Pullen, a team captain, started all five games with 19 tackles, including nine solo and 10 assists, with five tackles for loss, one sack, one forced fumble, two quarterback hurries and one pass breakup. He tied for eighth in the ODAC in tackles for loss. Pullen was named second team All-ODAC and finished his career with 99 total tackles, including 46 solo and 53 assists, 19 tackles for loss and five sacks.

Tyler Howerton, a team captain, started the final three games after missing the first two and helped anchor the offensive line from his left tackle position. Among his numerous awards, he was named one of 12 finalists among all NCAA divisions and the NAIA for the 2020 William V. Campbell Trophy, and is a Goldwater Scholar-the College’s first-ever physics department recipient-a member of the 2021 National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame (NFF) Hampshire Honor Society, the 2020 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class, a 2019 Academic All-America Division III Football First Team honoree, and the recipient of the President’s Award for Overall Academic Excellence, given to the senior at H-SC who stands highest in his class. Tyler was named First Team All-ODAC and VaSID All-State, was chosen as the ODAC/ Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year and majored in physics with a minor in mathematics-achieving a 4.0 GPA-starting all 32 games at the college.

Most Improved honors went to junior linebacker Peyton Carneal of Hayes and senior defensive end Tyler Lohman of Centreville.

Peyton Carneal started all five games and was third on the team with 25 tackles, including 10 solo and 15 assists, with two tackles for loss, one sack, one interception, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and one quarterback hurry.

Tyler Lohman started all five games and was fifth on the team with 22 tackles, including seven solo and 15 assists, with team-highs of 6.5 tackles for loss, four sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries, along with one pass breakup and one quarterback hurry.

Rookie of the Year honors were awarded to freshmen Will Pickren of Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina on defense and Melik Frost of Bluffton, South Carolina on offense.

Will Pickren started all five games at safety and led the Tigers in tackles with 39, including 20 solo and 19 assists, with four tackles for loss, one interception and two pass breakups. He tied for sixth in the ODAC in interceptions, ranked seventh in tackles and tackles per game (7.6), while tied for 14th in pass breakups. Will was named first team All-ODAC and VaSID All-State, as well as the ODAC Rookie of the Year and the VaSID Defensive Rookie of the Year.

Melik Frost played in all five games and rushed for 215 yards on 63 carries (3.4) with a team-high five touchdowns, adding one reception for six yards and a successful two-point conversion. He was fourth in the ODAC in rushing touchdowns, eighth in rushing yards, ninth in yards per carry and 10th in yards per game (43).