Tyler Sullivan, a senior on the Statesman football team, recently captured the Charles S. Kerg Award at the 49th annual Green & White Awards at the Bologna Performing Arts Center. The Kerg is presented annually to DSU Athletics' top male & female senior student-athlete.
Sullivan, a Louisville, Miss. native, finished the 2016 season with the highest single-season completion percentage in DSU history, completing 69% of his passes (174 of 252). Sullivan also owns the Delta State career record in that category, completing 64.6% of his passes (744 of 1,152) from 2013-2016.
He finished his career second in Delta State record books with 9,157 yards passing and 9,684 yards of total offense, and he added 76 touchdowns while averaging 269.3 yards passing per game for the Green-and-White.Â
Sullivan was a National Football Foundation Campbell Trophy Finalist this past season, an award given to the very best football scholar-athlete in the nation across all levels of NCAA and NAIA competition, and received an $18,000 post graduate scholarship in being one of 12 finalists.
He served as a Student Athlete Advisory Council representative and was heavily involved in the Pearman Elementary reading program and Presbyterian Day School reading program. Sullivan also served as a St. Paul soup kitchen volunteer and helped with numerous other events including Make-A-Wish Foundation, Keep Cleveland Beautiful and Trunk or Treat.Â
Established by former Head Coach and Athletic Director Horace McCool, the Charles S. Kerg Award was named after the former Sports Editor at the Delta Democrat Times. At a time when very few media outlets paid attention to Delta State athletics, Charles Kerg followed Delta State religiously, always making sure that Statesmen and Lady Statesmen student-athletes and their programs received the coverage they deserved.
When the award was established, Coach McCool's intent was to see that the award went to the all-around student-athlete who not only excelled on the field but in the classroom and in the community.
One of the most influential supporters in the history of the DSU athletic program, Charles Kerg's dedication serves to this day as not only an inspiration but a model for how dedicated we can be to both our program and the community as a whole.
