By Rob Schabert, Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Information

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – A projected key player on offense, he never blinked when he was asked to move to defense and learn a new position, and he provided strong senior leadership as well as consistently solid play throughout his final season as a Golden Eagle. It was the same leadership he has demonstrated all five seasons on the football squad.

That leadership has earned Stephen Bush selection as the winner of Tennessee Tech Athletics Unsung Leader Award for the month November.

“Throughout his entire career, Stephen Bush has been a true leader on this football team,” said Dewayne Alexander, acting head football coach who submitted the nomination. “He is not only a leader by his actions every day in practice, but also a vocal leader who continually strives to do what he can to make his team and his teammates better.”

Bush played in 32 games in his first three seasons, including a championship season on special teams in 2011 and two years in the backfield where he churned out 565 all-purpose yards as a ball carrier and receiver.

Off to a strong start in 2014 as a senior, he was a starter at runningback in the first three games before an injury put an abrupt halt to his season. He didn’t disappear, however, remaining a strong vocal leader on the sidelines, encouraging teammates in games and on the practice field. Despite playing in just three contests that year, he was selected as a team captain and won the team’s Unsung Hero Award.

He received medical redshirt status for 2014, and began rehabilitation toward a comeback in 2015. Unable to participate in spring drills, Bush nonetheless was a visible part of the squad. When the spring sessions were finished, the coaching staff decided to move Bush to safety where he was needed the most.

“Following spring drills, when it became apparent we needed help in the secondary, the staff asked Stephen if he would make the move from runningback, a position he had played the past four seasons, to the secondary to learn the safety position. He never hesitated to accept the challenge,” Alexander said. “He worked hard in the film room to learn the new position, while continuing to recover from the injury which had sidelined him for all of the 2014 season.”

So, Bush set about learning the new position and in August was lining up with the defense. He played in all 11 games and ranked sixth on the team in tackles with 49, including three tackles-for-loss. He led the OVC and the team with three fumbles forced, had one fumble recovery and two passes defended.

At the conclusion of the season, he was voted to the CoSIDA Academic All-District team for the second time in his career, alongside the honor he received in 2012 as a sophomore.

The son of Barry and Sharla Bush, Stephen is a 2011 graduate of Cookeville High School. He accepted his bachelor’s degree last December in accounting, and returned for his final season as a graduate student.

“Stephen proved to be an outstanding asset for our football program, doing everything he could in the classroom, in the weight room, in the film room and an on the field,” Alexander said. “He was never satisfied with being mediocre, and always worked to improve himself and his teammates. His example was extremely important on our team, with so many young players learning by watching him and following his example of hard work and dedication.”

The Unsung Leader Award was created in 2014-15 in order to recognize leadership by Tech’s student-athletes. An award presented each month throughout the academic year.

“This award recognizes leadership, which many times isn’t reflected in headlines or other ways,” said Director of Athletics Mark Wilson. “Sometimes it’s behind-the-scenes leadership that makes everybody better.

“These young men and women are leaders, pure-and-simple, not doing the right thing for recognition but to make themselves, their teammates, and their teams better,” Wilson said.  

One student-athlete each month, nominated by members of the athletics staff, is selected and recognized for exemplifying outstanding leadership qualities. The leadership can be shown on the field, in the weight room, at practice, in the classroom, in study hall, on campus, in the community, for a student club or organization.

This award honors a varsity student-athlete who has made a positive impact on their team and the Tennessee Tech community as a whole, through his or her dedication to demonstrating leadership traits, such as:
        * Keep Learning, Growing, and Improving
        * Follow Through with Excellence
        * Accomplish More than Expected
        * Inspire and Motivate Others

The first Unsung Leader Award for 2015-16 went to soccer player McKenzie McCloud for September, while the October award winner was Luke Woodason, a former football player who was sidelined by injury and served as a student assistant in 2015.

Unsung Leader Award winners in the initial season in 2014-15 were Ellen Conti (volleyball in September), Austin Tallant (football in October), Geoffrey Sambu (cross country in November), Courtney Smith (volleyball in December), Jordan Hopkins (baseball in January), Olivia Bennett (softball in February), Haley Davidson (golf in March), and Mariah Dean (basketball in April).