1994 Bobby Dodd National Lineman of the Year
Kory Minor, Bishop Amut High School (La Puerta, California). DE 6’3″ 240 lbs.
With his All-America smile and his off-field demeanor, Kory Minor, the Bobby Dodd Award Winner as Lineman of the Year for 1994, does not come across as a headhunter until he snaps on his helmet. Then, he takes on another persona.
The 6-foot-3, 240-pound defensive end from Bishop Amut High School in La Puerta, California, who has inked a football grant-in-aid with Notre Dame, becomes “The Hulk” when the whistle blows and the game gets underway.
Minor used his size and 4.5 speed over 40 yards to compile an amazing 20 1/2 sacks, 31 solo tackles and 53 assists from the end position. He also caused five fum-bles and recovered six fumbles.
“He’s very talented. He’s got a lot of physical tools,” said Minor’s coach Tom Salter. “And he’s a very hard worker. That’s what impress-es people.”
Salter said that even though Minor was “thin as a freshman,” the coaching staff “knew he was going to be very special.” And special he has become. Before set-tling on Notre Dame,
KORY MINOR he closely considered the likes of Washington, Southern Cal, UCLA and Arizona.
The honors he has received have come far and wide as did the recruiters. Just recently he was honored by the Ohio Touchdown Club as its Player of the Year. The USA Today named him Defensive Player of the Year. He was a Gatorade All-State pick for leading Salter’s program to a third place finish in California’s largest division. Bishop Amut, which was ranked as the No. 1 team in the nation until the last game, finished 13-1 and ended the sea-son ranked seventh in the coun-try by USA Today.
Minor seems to have it all going for him, according to his coach. “He’s a great leader, just a great person,” Salter said. “He’s an excellent role model, a 3.0 stu-dent.”
Perhaps the best thing about Minor is that his accolades haven’t gone to his head. “He’s a very likable kid. Everyone likes him. He’s got a great smile. He’s just a very good per-son.”
The highest compliment paid the school record-holder in sacks and 300-pound bench-presser may have come from his teammates. “He was voted by every player as our team cap-tain,” Salter said.
Congratulations, Kory, for being the eighth lineman to receive this prestigious award. We hope your future is as bright as your past and that you will treasure this honor and remem-ber fondly your visit to Atlanta.
You have set a stan-dard of excellence that is a credit to you, your family and school. We will follow your progress in years to come, and hope that with perseverance and dedication your goals and expectations will be reached.