By: Brian Howard, Sports Information Director
NEW ORLEANS, La. | Grambling State University senior linebacker
De'Arius Christmas received one of two United States Marine Corps Excellence in Leadership Awards during Friday's Bayou Classic Coaches Luncheon at the Hyatt Regency. Southern's Jaron Johnson received the other award.
Before the big battle on the field on Saturday, Grambling State and Southern football teams, administrators and supporters gathered for the 45th Annual Bayou Classic Coaches' Luncheon. The leadership awards recognize players that display some of the same qualities of the Marine Corps: integrity, decisiveness and dependability.
Christmas, who is a National Football Foundation (NFF) William V. Campbell Trophy and STATS FCS Buck Buchanan Defensive Player of the Year Finalist, personifies the scholar-athlete ideal, leading Grambling State in tackles while working toward an engineering degree. The Vicksburg, Miss., native deservedly becomes the Tigers' second NFF National Scholar-Athlete, and their first since 1972.
Boasting a 3.82 GPA as an engineering technology major, Christmas is on pace to graduate in May 2019 and aspires to work at his hometown's research and development laboratory. The SWAC All-Academic Team selection was named the 2017 Grambling State Student-Athlete of the Year across all sports. His other academic accolades include the Athletics Director's Academic Honor Roll, the President's List and the Dean's List.
For the second consecutive season, Christmas is the Tigers' leading tackler, posting 42 stops in 2018 along with 8.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. He has twice been named the SWAC Defensive Player of the Week this season, including his performance against Alabama State where he returned an interception 66 yards for a touchdown. Christmas's other weekly honor came when he led Grambling State with eight tackles while recording two sacks and an interception in a win over Texas Southern.
A two-year team captain, Christmas, who is the son of Tina Qualls and Derrick Christmas, led Grambling State with 88 tackles in 2017 en route to earning Third Team All-America status. The 2017 SWAC Defensive Player of the Year also garnered first team all-conference recognition while guiding the Tigers to consecutive 11-win seasons and SWAC titles. Christmas led Grambling State to a victory in the 2016 Celebration Bowl, which denotes the HBCU national champion, and he guided the Tigers to an appearance in the 2017 edition.
A three-year volunteer with the Special Olympics, Christmas has participated in events with the Vicksburg Packers, including giving a speech for the city's leadership team. A transfer from East Mississippi Community College, he was featured on the first season of the Netflix docuseries "Last Chance U."
New Orleans Multi-Cultural Tourism Network (NOMTN) Scholarship Award
Grambling State long snapper
Trevor Fleming also earned an honor during Friday's luncheon. He was named the 2018 New Orleans Multi-Cultural Tourism Network (NOMTN) recipient. The second annual scholarship will be $1,000 to each university recipient and are to be redeemed during the upcoming spring semester.
Bayou Classic MVP Club
Eddie G. Robinson was posthumously inducted into the MVP Club.
Robinson holds the distinction as the second-most winningest head football coach in NCAA Division I history and the third most overall. From 1985-2011, Robinson held the NCAA Division I record for most wins, which has since been broken by former Penn State head coach Joe Paterno.
For 56 years, from 1941 to 1942 and against from 1945-1997, Robinson was the head coach at Grambling State. During that stretch, he built the Tigers into a college football powerhouse. Robinson retired in 1997 with a career record of 408-165-15, and coached every single game from the field. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1997.
Lifetime Achievement Award
Doug Williams received the Grambling State University Lifetime Achievement Award.
Williams attended Grambling State, where he played for legendary head coach Eddie Robinson. He guided the Tigers to a 46-7 record as a four-year starter at quarterback and led Grambling State to three SWAC Championships. In addition, he was named the Black College Football Player of the Year twice.
In 1977, Williams led the NCAA in several categories, including total yards from scrimmage (3,249), passing yards (3,286), touchdown passes (38), and yards per play (8.6). Williams finished fourth that year in the Heisman Trophy voting, behind Earl Campbell, Terry Miller and Ken MacAfee.
After graduating from Grambling State, Williams was drafted in the first round (pick 17) by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He would spend four years with the Buccanneers, one year with the Oklahoma/Arizona Outlaws and three years with the Washington Redskins. He became the first black quarterback to play in a Super Bowl and earned Super Bowl MVP honors after the Redskins defeated the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXII.
After his time in the NFL, Williams, who is listed as one of the 80 Greatest Washington Redskins and has his named inducted into the Washington Redskins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers Ring of Honor, became the head football coach of Grambling State in 1998, succeeding Eddie Robinson. He led the Tigers to three consecutive SWAC titles from 2000-2002, before leaving to rejoin the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a personnel executive.
Williams, who with fellow Grambling State alumnus James Harris, founded the Black College Football Hall of Fame in 2009. He currently is the Senior Vice President of Player Personnel for the Washington Redskins.
Alumni Honoree
Daryl Washington was named the Grambling State University Alumni Honoree.
Washington was named Attorney of the Year in 2007 by the National Bar Association's Sports, Entertainment and Art Section.
Additionally, as the 2007-2008 Regional Director of Region V (Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas) for the National bar Association, his region received the Association's Outstanding Region of the Year Award. Washington, who was a member of the Grambling State football team, was presented the Southern University Law Center Distinguished Alumni Award at the 2011 National bar Association Convention.
Washington earned his J.D. degree from Southern University Law Center and his Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Grambling State University where he was a member of the football team.
Kickoff for the 45th Annual Bayou Classic between Grambling State and Southern is set for 4 p.m. at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The game can be seen live on the NBC Sports Network.
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