West Virginia University Athletics

The leader of the defensive line and a third-year starter at nose tackle ... dominator who has a natural feel for the game ... great scheme player who competes every snap and rarely makes mistakes ... explosive with excellent hand placement ... well-schooled in the fundamentals, he picks up techniques easily ... great understanding of the overall defense ... his increased conditioning puts his play at a premium level ... 66 tackles, 14 TFL, four sacks last season ... Maryland game captain; eight tackles, a sack and two TFL ... five tackles in the win over Ohio included two TFL and a sack ... 11 tackles and two TFL in win over Kent State ... eight tackles at Maryland ... six tackles, one for a loss, against Virginia Tech ... four tackles and forced a Notre Dame fumble ... two TFL and a fumble recovery in the Rutgers win ... 10 tackles, one TFL, at Syracuse ... three tackles and a four-yard sack against Temple ... forced a Pitt fumble and had six tackles, a sack and two TFL against the Panthers ... Defensive Award: Boston College, Ohio, Kent State, Syracuse ... coaches voted him the John Russell Award as WVU's top lineman ... received the 2001 Iron Mountaineer Award by team vote as the top performer in the winter workout program ... starting nose guard with 40 tackles last season ... Whitey Gwynne Award from WVU coaches for unsung contributions ... best conditioned in his weight class after summer testing ... made his first college start vs. Boston College ... two solo stops against BC ... five tackles in Maryland win ... part of the fourth-quarter goal line stand that stopped the Terps at the 2-inch line ... six-yard sack at Temple ... eight tackles and a pair of sacks in the Idaho game ... suffered a sprained toe against the Vandals ... three tackles, two for a loss, at Virginia Tech ... three tackles in the Notre Dame game ... seven tackles against Syracuse ... four tackles and a QB hurry at Rutgers ... two solo tackles against East Carolina ... 24-yard interception on third-and-goal in the Pitt game ... defensive hustler: Temple ... Mountaineer Club ... backup to Antwan Lake at defensive end in 1999 ... two tackles in win over Miami (Ohio) ... a pair of solo tackles at Maryland ... started the Navy game, recording six tackles and forcing a fumble ... did not see varsity action in 1998 ... earned first team all-metro honors at Eleanor Roosevelt High ... snared 15 passes for 234 yards as a senior and logged 144 tackles and 14 sacks ... earned all-county honors as a junior ... a four-year starter who logged 28 career sacks as a defensive end and 32 touchdowns as a tight end ... all-state, all-county and team defensive player of the year and MVP ... a team captain for Coach Rick Houchens ... son of Dollie Upchurch ... born May 12, 1980 ... an academic senior majoring in engineering ... recipient of the James R. and James W. Waggy endowed scholarship.