Alex Thornton named first-ever Bennie Abram LEGACY Award recipient
Adam Gore/LetsGoICC.com

FULTON – Sophomore wide receiver Alex Thornton has been named the 2010 Bennie Abram L.E.G.A.C.Y Award recipient.

The first-ever recipient of the award was chosen by the ICC football coaching staff. The award will annually be given to the player the coaching staff feels best reflects the life and legacy of former Indian defensive back Bennie Abram.

“Bennie was a young man that possessed a lot of great traits that you look for in athletes and people in general,” said ICC head coach Jon Williams.

“He displayed a lot of leadership, effort, gratitude, a strong passion for academics, his character was impeccable, and in essence Bennie was a yeoman (a common man). If you were to spell those words out you come up with the acronym ‘legacy’ and that’s why we chose to create this award and call it the Bennie Abram L.E.G.A.C.Y Award.”

Abram, who transferred to play football at the University of Mississippi as a junior, passed away in February after collapsing during the first day of team workouts.

Thornton will be honored at halftime of ICC’s home-opener against Hinds on Thursday, September 2 in a special presentation from Abram’s parents, Bennie and Erma Abram.

“We as coaches feel like Alex represents all the things that Bennie displayed over the course of his life,” said Williams. “This award means a lot to us and I’m sure it means a lot to his family. We are just happy to have been able to be a small part of Bennie’s life.”

The award will be given to a sophomore that maintains a grade point average of 3.0 or above and the recipient will serve as a captain throughout the season. A plaque will be enshrined in the ICC football field house with the players names engraved each year to help preserve the spirit Abram brought to Itawamba Community College.

The player selected for the award will also wear a patch with Abram’s number “30” on it while the team will wear a “BA” logo on their helmet in honor of their fallen teammate this season.