NEW YORK – North Carolina Central University senior defensive end
Darius Royster was announced as the 2019 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year during a press conference on Tuesday morning at the New York Hilton Midtown in New York City.
In a partnership with the National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame, the league's Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year were announced as part of the festivities surrounding the 62nd NFF Annual Awards Dinner. Royster and Florida A&M quarterback Ryan Stanley, the 2019 MEAC Offensive Player of the Year, will be recognized during the NFF Annual Awards Dinner, which will air on ESPN3 starting at 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday (Dec. 10).
A native of Chesapeake, Virginia, Royster topped the MEAC with 16.0 tackles for a loss, 9.0 sacks and three forced fumbles, and ranked ninth in the league with 75 tackles as the only defensive lineman positioned in the top-20.
Royster's 9.0 sacks (7 solo/4 assisted) are more than any other NCCU Eagle in the past 35 years, and his 75 tackles are the most among NCCU defensive linemen in 25 years.
During his senior campaign, Royster amassed a career-high 12 tackles versus Bethune-Cookman on Oct. 10, including 2.5 hits for a loss and 1.5 sacks. He registered a tackle for loss in 10 straight games from Sept. 7 through Nov. 16.
In his first game of the 2018 season, Royster broke the school record for most tackles for loss in a game with 6.0 stops behind the line of scrimmage versus Prairie View A&M in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge.
Royster graduated from NCCU in May 2019 with bachelor's degree in psychology, and he is currently studying for a second degree in criminal justice.
"I am so proud of Darius for winning the MEAC Defensive Player of the Year award," said NCCU football head coach
Trei Oliver. "When I arrived at NCCU in January, he was a walk-on not receiving any athletic aid. After spring ball, I saw that he was special and had the tools to be a game-changer. We awarded him a full scholarship, and he and his mother were so excited. From there I saw him gain 20 pounds of muscle in six months, and didn't lose a step. In my 20 years of coaching, I have never seen someone transform their body like Darius.
"He never complains. He just shows up every day with a positive attitude and works hard," Oliver added. "There were a lot of really good players in our conference this year, but statistically and as a person, this award could not have gone to a more deserving player."
The MEAC Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year awards were voted on by the MEAC's head football coaches and sports information directors.
Royster is the third NCCU Eagle to receive a player of the year award from the MEAC. In 1972, NCCU swept the conference awards with Alexander Jones being named MEAC Defensive Player of the Year, while Jefferson Inman was selected as the MEAC Offensive Player of the Year.
