Football | 5/22/2020 8:17:00 AM

    NOTE: With the athletic world on hold, WLU Sports Information has joined forces with TopperStation to wake up a few echoes. We've dug up some of the original stories and, when available, full video replays of significant games and accomplishments from the not-so-distant past. We hope you enjoy these looks back and are able to stay safe until we see you again on the hilltop! #TopperNation #UnitedAsOne #GoWLU
 
    WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – West Liberty University offensive lineman Ben Staggs had a great senior season and is having an even better off-season.
    The news arrived on Christmas Eve that the Hilltoppers' standout left tackle has been named the winner of the 2009 Gene Upshaw Award as the NCAA Division II Lineman of the Year and invited to play for the East team in next month's prestigious 85th annual East-West Shrine Game in Orlando, Fla.
    Staggs was a unanimous first-team All-West Virginia Conference selection and the leading vote-getter among all offensive linemen on the All-Super Region One team. He earned second-team honors on the Daktronics NCAA Division II All-America Team and was also a second-team choice on the 76th annual AP Little All-America Team, which includes all players from NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA schools.
    A Hilltopper team captain, Staggs was the leader of a dominating offensive line for a West Liberty team that led the nation in total offense (549.7 ypg.), scoring (48.3 ppg.) and touchdowns (80) during the 2009 season. It is the only offensive line in NCAA Division II history to produce a 4,000-yard passer, three 1,000-yard receivers and a 1,000-yard rusher in the same season.
    The 6-4, 275-pound native of Wooster, Ohio received 16 of the 22 first-place votes on the ballot for the Gene Upshaw Award en route to becoming the first player in West Virginia Conference football history to be selected as the winner of a national award. The official announcement of the 2009 Gene Upshaw Award will come on Jan. 7 during the Awards Banquet for the Valero Cactus Bowl – the Division II All-Star Game – in Kingsville, Texas.
    Staggs' invitation to play in the 85th annual East-West Shrine Game adds his name to an elite list of football greats, such as John Elway, Tom Brady, Brett Favre, and 62 NFL Hall of Famers who have played in America's longest-running college football all-star game.
    The East-West Shrine Game – which kicks off at 3 p.m. (EST) on Jan. 23 in Orlando – annually features many of the highest-rated players in the projected NFL draft ranking. Staggs is one of a handful of NCAA Division II players ever named to an East-West Shrine Game roster.
    In April 2009, 90 percent of players from the 84th East-West Shrine Game were either drafted or signed as free agents by NFL clubs. A total of 307 East-West Shrine Game alumni were on 2009 NFL opening-day rosters.