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Thursday, December 18, 2008
Let’s take time out for our annual ACC, SEC Awards
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
With the hubbub going on with the coaching carousel, we haven’t had a chance to hand out our post-season awards in the SEC and ACC. So let’s take a break and honor the folks who made this a season we will always remember. We’ll finish the week with our Bowl Preview on Friday and then take a break for Christmas.
If you disagree with any of these ACC or SEC awards, then give me yours.
ACC AWARDS
Offensive Player of the Year: Could it be anyone other than Georgia Tech’s Jonathan Dwyer? Dwyer was concerned that he would not be playing a conventional tailback position in Paul Johnson’s new offense. He’s not concerned any more. Dwyer became a big-time player with 1,328 yards rushing, which led the ACC. Dwyer was the only player who was a unanimous selection on the All-ACC offense. Honorable mention: Russell Wilson, QB, N.C. State; Hakeem Nicks, WR, North Carolina; C.J. Spiller, RB, Clemson.
Defensive Player of the Year: DE Everette Brown, Florida State. Brown, a junior, was virtually unblockable in the second half of the season. He finished third in the nation with 12.5 sacks and 20.5 tackles for loss. A redshirt junior, Brown is projected to be a first-round draft choice if he comes out so Seminole fans had better enjoy him while you can in the Champs Sports Bowl on Dec. 27. Honorable Mention: Mark Herzlich, LB, Boston College; Aaron Curry, LB, Wake Forest; Michael Johnson, DE, Georgia Tech.
Rookie of the Year: Russell Wilson, QB, N.C. State. Wilson, a redshirt freshman from Richmond, Va., became the first freshman ever to be named first-team All-ACC quarterback. He was brilliant in the second half of the season and enters the Papajohns.com Bowl with a string of 226 passes without an interception. Honorable Mention: Darren Evans, RB, Virginia Tech; Jacory Harris, QB, Miami.
Coach of the Year: This one’s easy. Paul Johnson brought an entire new offensive system to Georgia Tech from Navy and many wondered if he could implement it in just one season. The Yellow Jackets went 9-3 and beat Georgia and finished ahead of Georgia in the final BCS standings. Johnson will get a lot of votes for national coach of the year. Honorable Mention: Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech; Jeff Jagodzinski, Boston College. Beamer caught a lot of heat after Virginia Tech’s 27-22 loss to East Carolina in the opener. He did one of his better coaching jobs to lead the Hokies to another ACC championship. Boston College was picked to finish fourth in its division without Matt Ryan. Coach Jags won the division despite inconsistent play at quarterback.
Game of the Year: Georgia Tech 45, Georgia 42. Nobody gave Georgia Tech a chance when the Yellow Jackets trailed 28-12 at halftime in Athens. But Tech came back to win and snap the Bulldogs’ seven-game winning streak. It also put a big shot of life back into what had become a stale rivalry. Honorable mention: North Carolina 28, Miami 24. What looked like a winning touchdown pass for Miami bounced off of Kayne Farquharson into the arms of UNC’s Tremaine Goddard on the last play of the game.
SEC AWARDS
Offensive Player of the Year: Tim Tebow, QB, Florida. Tebow didn’t win this second straight Heisman but nobody did more for his team than Tebow did for Florida this season. After Florida’s 31-30 loss to Ole Miss on Sept. 27 Tebow vowed that no one would play harder than he would for the rest of the season. From then on Tebow was a force of nature. With Florida down 20-17 in the SEC championship game against No. 1 Alabama, Tebow led his team to a 31-20 win with the sheer force of his will. Now Florida is playing for its second national championship in three seasons. Honorable mention: Georgia running back Knowshon Moreno led the SEC in rushing (1,338 yards) behind an offensive line that had to be patched together all season because of injuries. When Florida wide receiver Percy Harvin was healthy, he was always the best player on the field.
Defensive Player of the Year: Eric Berry, DB, Tennessee. Berry wasn’t just the best defensive player in the SEC, he was the best defender in the nation this season. Even with Tennessee in the throes of a losing season, Berry was a warrior each and every week. He should have won the Thorpe Award, which goes to the nation’s best defensive back (It went to Malcolm Jenkins of Ohio State). He had seven interceptions for an SEC-record 265 return yards this season. After only two seasons Berry owns the SEC career record with 487 interception return yards. Honorable mention: Florida linebacker Brandon Spikes was not only the best player on Florida’s defense, he was the Gators’ inspirational leader as well; Alabama NT Terrence Cody had an incredible impact on the Crimson Tide defense this season.
Rookie of the Year: A.J. Green, WR, Georgia. This was a tough call but Green, a true freshman from Summerville, S.C., just had a magnificent rookie season. Green caught 55 passes for 951 yards and led the SEC in receiving yardage per game (79.2). For a freshman the guy runs great routes and simply catches everything. If he stays healthy, he could be the best receiver in Georgia history by the time he is through. Honorable mention: Wide receiver Julio Jones was one of the most hyped players in the country when he arrived at Alabama. Jones more than lived up to the hype with 46 catches for 723 yards on a team that didn’t throw the ball that much.
Coach of the Year: Nick Saban, Alabama. Truth be told, Alabama is at least one year ahead of schedule in terms of being an SEC power again. But after a tough first season in 2007, everybody at Alabama bought into what Saban was selling in 2008. Alabama was a tough, resourceful team that got better in the areas where they had to get better in order to compete for the championship. There were still some gaps in talent but Saban and his staff maximized every ounce of ability they had on this team. Honorable mention: Houston Nutt, Ole Miss. We said before the season started that because of Nutt Ole Miss would be the most improved team in the SEC. The Rebels went 3-9 last season and were 8-4 with a win over Florida in 2008. Ole Miss is headed to the Cotton Bowl to play Texas Tech.
Game of the Year: Florida 31, Alabama 20 (SEC championship game, Dec. 6): Both teams clinched their divisions early and so there was a lot of hype of this first-ever SEC championship game pitting 1 vs. 2. The game more than lived up to the hype as Florida rallied from a 20-17 deficit in the fourth quarter to win. Honorable Mention: Ole Miss 31, Florida 30 (Sept. 27 in Gainesville). Tim Tebow was stopped short of a first down to stop Florida’s final drive and the Gators suffered their only loss of the season. Arkansas 31, LSU 30 (Nov. 28 in Little) Rock. Casey Dick threw the winning touchdown pass with only 22 seconds left.
