2008 Woodie Awards
RSSDiamond tackles competition for Hawks
By Brendan Manko
Issue date: 10/16/07 Section: Sports
Junior middle linebacker Tim Diamond received numerous awards for his game-winning play two weeks ago in Lehigh's 20-13 victory over Harvard University.
A game that looked like it would be settled in overtime took a dramatic turn when Diamond forced a backward pass from Harvard senior quarterback Chris Pizzotti resulting in a fumble. Junior defensive lineman Paul Bode then grabbed the ball and ran it in for the eventual game-winning score with only seconds remaining on the clock.
Diamond's final statistics for the game included 22 tackles, one sack, a fumble recovery and the forced fumble. In honor of his effort, he received many accolades including Patriot League defensive player of the week, College Sporting News Player of the week and Sports Media Entertainment Network co-linebacker of the week in the Football Championship Subdivision.
Despite the awards, Diamond said he is more concerned about the outcomes of the Mountain Hawks' season.
"Winning awards is nice, but winning the game is most important," Diamond said. "Lehigh has a winning tradition and I am happy to be a part of it."
Diamond is a team-oriented player. He credited his success against Harvard to great coaching and everyone else on the defense executing Defensive Coordinator David Kotulski's gameplan strategy.
"The defensive-line did a great job coming up on the offensive-line and creating space for the linebackers to roam," Diamond said. "They continually put me in a good position to make plays."
Diamond's teammates consider him an under-the-radar type of player.
"We have a lot of flashy players on defense who make gestures to the crowd when they only make one tackle a game," senior offensive tackle Brendan Caffrey said. "Timmy is all over the ball and is able to stay modest."
Diamond's 22 tackles were the most recorded by a Lehigh player since alumni Sam Brinkley tallied 22 in 1997 in a Hawks' game at Bucknell University.
A game that looked like it would be settled in overtime took a dramatic turn when Diamond forced a backward pass from Harvard senior quarterback Chris Pizzotti resulting in a fumble. Junior defensive lineman Paul Bode then grabbed the ball and ran it in for the eventual game-winning score with only seconds remaining on the clock.
Diamond's final statistics for the game included 22 tackles, one sack, a fumble recovery and the forced fumble. In honor of his effort, he received many accolades including Patriot League defensive player of the week, College Sporting News Player of the week and Sports Media Entertainment Network co-linebacker of the week in the Football Championship Subdivision.
Despite the awards, Diamond said he is more concerned about the outcomes of the Mountain Hawks' season.
"Winning awards is nice, but winning the game is most important," Diamond said. "Lehigh has a winning tradition and I am happy to be a part of it."
Diamond is a team-oriented player. He credited his success against Harvard to great coaching and everyone else on the defense executing Defensive Coordinator David Kotulski's gameplan strategy.
"The defensive-line did a great job coming up on the offensive-line and creating space for the linebackers to roam," Diamond said. "They continually put me in a good position to make plays."
Diamond's teammates consider him an under-the-radar type of player.
"We have a lot of flashy players on defense who make gestures to the crowd when they only make one tackle a game," senior offensive tackle Brendan Caffrey said. "Timmy is all over the ball and is able to stay modest."
Diamond's 22 tackles were the most recorded by a Lehigh player since alumni Sam Brinkley tallied 22 in 1997 in a Hawks' game at Bucknell University.
