Kurt Hess Named MVFC Freshman of the Year

St. Louis, Mo. -- Youngstown State redshirt freshman quarterback Kurt Hess was named the Missouri Valley Football Conference's Freshman of the Year, the league announced on Wednesday.

Hess, who was also named to the All-Newcomer squad, set a freshman school record with 2,117 yards passing by completing 179-of-304 attempts and had 12 touchdowns. He joins running back Kamryn Keys (2008) as a Youngstown State conference Freshman-of-the-Year selection.

Penguins joining Hess on the All-Newcomer team by freshman tailback Adaris Bellamy and redshirt freshman punter Nick Liste.

Hess's season featured five consecutive 200-yard passing performances, becoming the first quarterback in school history to accomplish the feat. He helped lead the Penguins to a school record 412 total offensive yards per contest. A gritty competitor he played the final five games with a broken bone in his left wrist.

Bellamy tied the school record for rushing touchdowns by a freshman with 11. He joins former Penguins standout Adrian Brown as freshman who scored 11 rushing touchdowns in a season. Bellamy finished the year with 545 yards on 110 carries and had four multi-touchdown games, including a season-high three at Western Illinois.

Liste, an honorable-mention all-league pick, is the third YSU punter to be named to the all-newcomer squad joining Ben Nowicki (2007) and Joe Bishop (2003). Liste averaged 41.4 yards per kick, the third-best single-season average in YSU history. He had a career-long 69-yard kick at Missouri State and had six punts of 50 yards or longer.

UNI junior quarterback Tirrell Rennie was named the MVFC's Newcomer of the Year.

On Tuesday, YSU senior placekicker Stephen Blose was named first-team Academic All-Missouri Valley Football Conference.

#12 QB Kurt Hess, 6-3, 220, RFr., Dayton, Ohio; Chaminade-Julienne High
Completed 179-of-304 passes for 2,117 yards and 12 touchdowns…became the first quarterback to throw for 200 yards in five straight games and first freshman in school history to pass for more than 2,000 in a season…also set freshman marks for attempts and completions…had five multi-touchdown passing games…season-high 263 yards passing on 26-of-46 effort at South Dakota State…had 22 completions against North Dakota State and 21 at Penn State…had 141 yards rushing on 62 carries and scored three touchdowns…in MVFC play, completed 134-of-243 passes for 1,646 yards and 10 touchdowns…rushed for 107 yards on 49 carries and three scores.

#5 TB Adaris Bellamy, 5-10, 215, Fr., Dunedin, Fla.; Dunedin High
Rushed for 545 yards on 110 carries and scored 11 touchdowns…tied the YSU freshman for rushing touchdowns in a season…had four multi-touchdown games, including three-score performance at Western Illinois…had two TDs against Central Connecticut State, Southern Illinois and Indiana State…had a season-high 156 yards on 21 carries against North Dakota State…had a long run of 33 against South Dakota State…also had TDs against UNI and NDSU…rushed for 421 yards on 84 carries and scored seven touchdowns in MVFC play…caught 10 passes for 59 yards.

#81 P Nick Liste, 5-10, 180, RFr., Niles, Ohio; Niles McKinley High
Honorable-Mention All-MVFC selection...had 41 punts for 1,698 yards, an average of 41.4 per boot…had six kicks of 50 yards or longer and 21 that were more than 40 yards…averaged at least 40 yards a kick in nine games…placed 15 inside the opposition's 20-yard line…had a career-long 69-yard punt at Missouri State the seventh-longest punt in school history…the 41.4 average was third best in a season in YSU history…in league play, averaged 41.8 yards on 29 kicks…had a 12-yard rush at South Dakota State…had two solo tackles.