I thought I'd do my own little tribute to the 2009 Season, and I'll start with the unsung heroes from all three phases of the game: offense, defense and special teams. Unsung heroes are guys that may not get a lot of recognition, but are essential to running a successful college football program. They might do the dirty work, grind out the tough yards, or have a thankless job within the gameplan. In other words, the heroes that I pick won't be superstars, but they're probably the most important guys on the field. Today we'll start off with offense:

It might have been easier to pick an unsung hero in past seasons when the Hokie offense was not nearly as dynamic and didn't have as many statistical stand outs. In other words, there wasn't much of a spotlight thrown out to any one player, so there were a lot of options that would fit the "unsung hero" description. However, this season there were weapons all over the field for Bryan Stinespring, and they were used well for most of the season. You can't pick a guy like RMFW or Jarrett Boykin, because they just made plays on a consistent basis and were recognized regularly for their contributions to the offense.

The Hokie offensive line has been a group that's received a lot of criticism in the past, and saw their share this season, but there was one guy that was extremely steady, and was the linchpin to Ryan Williams' record-breaking season: Sergio Render.

Render was the kind of guy that didn't seek the limelight during his five years in Blacksburg, but he was definitely one of the best lineman to ever wear the Maroon and Orange. Sergio's specialty was run blocking, and he certainly paved the way for Ryan Williams to have an EXTREMELY successful freshman season. He was named to the all-ACC second team, and allowed the Hokie offense to be very versatile in the run game. Sergio is a gifted pulling guard, and his mobility allowed Bryan Stinespring to vary his blocking schemes to open up space for his talented stable of running backs. On top of that, Sergio was a solid leader and a great person for Frank Beamer's program. Without Render, there's no way that the Hokie offense would have been as effective, and they'll certainly miss his locker room presence.

Congratulations to the FFODC 2009 Offensive Unsung Hero, Sergio Render. I'm sure you'll miss drinking Wahoo tears when you're cashing those big NFL checks.

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