NEW YORK – Harvard University football senior defensive lineman
Truman Jones has earned the 2022 Asa S. Bushnell Cup as the Ivy League Co-Defensive Player of the Year, becoming the Crimson's first winner of the award since 2015, the Ivy League announced in a ceremony at the New York Athletic Club on Monday afternoon.
Jones gained First Team All-Ivy unanimously and captured the Bulger Lowe Award given to the New England Defensive Player of the Year this past fall. Jones gained Phil Steele Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year and First Team Phil Steele All-Ivy League. A New England Football Writers All-New England Team pick, he led the Ivy league in tackles for loss (13.0) and ranked third in sacks (6.0). In the NCAA FCS rankings, he stood fourth in blocked kicks (three), 23
rd in tackles for loss per game, and 41
st in sacks per game. Selected to play in the 2023 Hula Bowl, Jones totaled 40 tackles and six quarterback hurries in 2023.
Gallery: (12-12-2022) Football: Bushnell Cup Presentation
"I want to thank the coaches, particularly Coach Murphy and the Harvard football staff," Jones said. "They believed in me. They saw something that I didn't necessarily see in myself. They allowed me to come to a place like Harvard to develop myself."
A biomedical engineering concentrator with plans to attend medical school following his playing career, Jones gained Academic All-Ivy, College Sports Communicators Academic All-District, and William V. Campbell Trophy semifinalist accolades this past season.
Senior running back
Aidan Borguet joined Jones as a Bushnell Cup finalist. For the first time since the Ivy League began to honor both an offensive and defensive player of the year in 2010, Harvard had a finalist for the Bushnell Cup on both sides of the ball.
"If you had a way to quantify their leadership, their toughness, their resiliency, their grit, the great mentors they are to their younger teammates, they would be in the 99
th percentile,"
Tim Murphy, The Thomas Stephenson Family Head Coach for Harvard Football, said. "I would like to ask all the parents to please stand up of these amazing kids, you've done a great job."
Borguet gained recognition as a finalist for the Walter Payton Award, given to the top offensive player in the nation in the FCS. A unanimous First Team All-Ivy selection, he earned Phil Steele First Team All-Ivy League and New England Football Writers All-New England Team honors, while also garnering College Sports Communications Academic All-District accolades as a government concentrator.
This past fall, Borguet ran for 1,182 yards, ranking fifth all-time in program history and becoming the eighth student-athlete in program history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season. Borguet ranked ninth in the FCS in rushing yards per game (118.3), 15
th in rushing yards (1,183), and 21
st in all-purpose yards per game (124.10). He led the Ivy League in rushing yards (1,183), rushing yards per game (118.3), rushing attempts (206), while standing third in the conference in rushing touchdowns (10) and yards per carry (5.7). For his career, Borguet rushed for 2,429 career yards, standing eighth in program history.
For the 12
th consecutive year, the Ivy League and the National Football Foundation (NFF) partnered to co-host the presentation of the Asa S. Bushnell Cup, which honors the Ivy League Football Players of the Year. This year's event – held at the famed New York Athletic Club – was sponsored by the Pasadena Tournament of Roses.
About the Asa S. Bushnell Cup
The Asa S. Bushnell Cup is an annual award initiated in 1970, which honors Asa S. Bushnell, Princeton '21, and Commissioner of the Eastern College Athletic Conference from 1938 to 1970. Presented by the Eastern Association of Intercollegiate Football Officials, the Bushnell Cup is awarded by vote of the Ivy League's eight head football coaches to the players who display outstanding qualities of leadership, competitive spirit, contribution to the team, and accomplishments on the field.
From 1970 to 2010, the Bushnell Cup recognized a Player of the Year (or Co-Players of the Year if there was a tie in the voting). Beginning with the 2010 season, the award is presented as a part of the festivities surrounding the National Football Foundation Annual Awards Dinner in New York City with four finalists named a week prior to the presentation.
Beginning with the 2011 season, the award recognizes Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, honoring both as Bushnell Cup recipients. Two offensive players and two defensive players are named Player of the Year finalists a week prior to the presentation.
Harvard All-Time Bushnell Cup Winners
1973: Jim Stoeckel '74, QB
2001: Carl Morris '03, WR
2002: Carl Morris '03, WR
2004: Ryan Fitzpatrick '05, QB
2008: Chris Pizzotti '09, QB
2010: Gino Gordon '11, RB
2011: Josue Ortiz '12, DT
2012: Colton Chapple '13, QB
2013: Zack Hodges '15, DE
2014: Zack Hodges '15, DE
2015: Scott Hosch '16, QB
2022:
Truman Jones '23, DL
