NEW YORK, NY--The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame will reveal the league's offensive and defensive players at a 9 a.m. press conference on Tuesday, Dec. 6 at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City. The conference will be streamed live on ESPN3.

Redshirt junior linebacker Darius Leonard are among the finalist for MEAC Defensive Player of the Year.

Leonard (6-3, 220) the Lake View, SC native and Preseason FCS STATS All-America and MEAC Defensive Player of the Year selection had a stellar season for the Bulldogs finishing with a team-high 124 tackles (78 solo), 14.5 tackles for loss for 64-yards, 3.5 sacks for 32 yards, two (2) interceptions for 64-yards, three (3) pass breakups, five (5) pass deflects, four (4) forced fumbles, and two (2) blocked kicks. He ranked 5th nationally with Most Tackles in game (19 versus # 3 Clemson) and 6^th for Total Tackles in a season at 124. He was three (3) tackles shy of breaking the Career Tackles Record held by Donovan Richard with 284. Leonard was recently selected to the All-MEAC First Team and is a finalist for the STATS FCS The Butkus Award given to the nation's top linebacker.
 
Other finalist include on defense are Marquis Ragland from N.C. A&T State and for Offensive Player of the Year, senior's running back Tarik Cohen of N.C. A&T State and quarterback Malcolm Bell of North Carolina Central.

In August, the MEAC and NFF announced a partnership for the unveiling of the MEAC Offensive Player of the Year and the MEAC Defensive Player of the Year. The announcement, moderated by veteran journalist Bonnie Bernstein, will take place as part of the festivities surrounding the 59th NFF Annual Awards Dinner next Tuesday at the Waldorf Astoria. The finalists will also partake in a series of events along with fellow student-athlete award honorees from across all levels of football in addition to having the opportunity to network and meet national media personalities and college football stars of the past and present.
The respective athletic directors and head football coaches of the finalists will also attend the event.

MEAC Commissioner Dr. Dennis E. Thomas served nine years on the board of the National Football Foundation. The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame is a non-profit educational organization that runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in young people. With 120 chapters and 12,000 members nationwide, NFF programs include FootballMatters.org, the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, The William V. Campbell Trophy presented by Fidelity Investments, annual scholarships of more than $1.3 million and a series of initiatives to honor the legends of the past and inspire the leaders of the future.

The MEAC boasts 14 College Football Hall of Fame inductees, including Coach Earl Banks (Morgan State), Emerson Boozer (Maryland Eastern Shore), Roger Brown(Maryland Eastern Shore), Harry Carson (South Carolina State), Coach Jake Gaither(Florida A&M), Willie Galimore (Florida A&M), Coach Willie Jeffries (Howard, South Carolina State), Coach Billy Joe (Florida A&M), Willie Lanier (Morgan State), Coach Vernon "Skip" McCain (Maryland Eastern Shore), Tyrone McGriff (Florida A&M), Coach Doug Porter (Howard), Art Shell (Maryland Eastern Shore) and Donnie Shell(South Carolina State).
Several MEAC players have received coveted NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards, including Malcolm Benson (Hampton), Timothy Benson (Hampton), Michael Bland (Hampton), Roy Ellison (Savannah State), Jerrell Moore (South Carolina State), Willie Thompson (Morgan State) and James Thurman (Florida A&M).
HOW: 
A live-clean HD satellite feed will be available, courtesy of CBS Newspath, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. EST at Galaxy 16 Transponder 4B; Downlink 11769V; Data Rate 8.912; Symbol Rate 4.0; FEC 3/4. Or via the Vvxy fiber line at HD Circuit #4471 at the Waterfront (Ascent Media) in NYC. You may also contact your news service (ABC NewsOne; NBC NewsChannel; CBS Newspath; CNN Newsource, Fox Feed, etc.) for specific footage. Permission is granted for use for news purposes only during the customary 48-hour window. Satellite Trouble Shooting Contact is Phil Marwill at 917-579-4256.
 
NOTE 1:
The dinner ceremonies from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. EST can be watched via a livestream on ESPN3 by clicking here. A live-clean HD satellite feed with a 30-minute buffer before and after, courtesy of CBS Newspath, may also be found at Galaxy 16 Transponder 4B; Downlink 11769V; Data Rate 8.912; Symbol Rate 4.0; FEC 3/4. Or via the Vvxy fiber line at HD Circuit #4471 at the Waterfront (Ascent Media) in NYC. You may also contact your news service to request specific footage. The William V. Campbell Trophy winner will be announced live between 8:15 and 8:20 p.m. during the feed. Permission is granted for use for news purposes only during the customary 48-hour window.
 
NOTE 2:
Still photos from the morning press conference and the dinner will be available in a Dropbox accessible via this link. Media outlets looking for a specific photo not in the Dropbox may send an email to news@footballfoundation.com requesting a specific photo.