With the Big Ten prematurely ending its season–only Illinois has not yet finished their regular season–they also become the first conference to release it’s end of year awards.  And it’s beyond obvious the respect and admiration that the coaches and media members have for some of Penn State’s players.

First, and as you probably guessed from the title of this post, Jared Odrick was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year by the coaches.  Interestingly enough, though he was named the best defensive player and, obviously, a first team all conference selection by the coaches, the media only voted him to the second team All-Big Ten, behind O’Brien Shofield of Wisconsin and Ryan Kerrigan of Purdue, with Greg Jones taking the media’s DPOY award.  Though we didn’t match up against either of those teams, I watched them play on numerous occasions, and neither was as disruptive as Odrick was on a regular basis.  Bad job, media, and good job coaches for putting them in their place.  Odrick finished the year with 41 tackles, 10 for a loss, and led all Nittany Lions with 6 sacks from his defensive tackle position.

Also among defensive players, Navorro Bowman was named to the first-team all conference in both polls despite playing only 9 games.  Though he missed 3 games, Bowman more than made up for it with his production in the other 9, with 84 tackles, 15.5 for a loss, to go along with 3 sacks, 2 interceptions, and 2 fumbles.  He returned one fumble and one interception for a touchdown, as well.

Sean Lee, who started just 7 games and played in just 9, was named to the second team All-Conference by both polls as well.  Lee added 80 tackles for the Lions, 10 for a loss, with 2 sacks and an interception.  He also broke up 8 passes, usually with big hits over the middle, and when on the field was usually the best defensive player for Penn State.  Lee was given a sportsmanship award by the coaches for his determination in fighting back from a serious knee injury.

Jeremy Boone was named the second-team punter in both the media and by the coaches, with Zoltan Mesko besting him in each poll.  Josh Hull also found himself on the second team defense, as voted by the media.  Hull was the one healthy linebacker for Penn State all year, and though he wouldn’t have seen so much playing time if Michael Mauti hadn’t torn up his knee in the preseason, he was solid in the middle, with 110 tackles for the Lions.  Not bad for a walk-on from a small town in rural Pennsylvania.

Among the honorable mention players on the defense were four Penn Staters, including Jack Crawford, who excelled in his first year as a starter, with 13.5 tackles for a loss and 5.5 sacks.  Ollie Ogbu, D’Anton Lynn, and Drew Astorino rounded out that group, and with all four returning next year, and all but Ogbu with two remaining years of eligbility left, Penn State has some nice pieces to work with moving forward, even as many impact seniors move on, to the NFL or to graduation.

As far as the offense goes, Penn State was almost as decorated.

Daryll Clark, who was the first team all-conference quarterback a year ago, retained his position, and was named the best quarterback in the conference by both the media and the coaches.  However, Clark did not claim his first Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year award, as John Clay took that honor in both the coaches and media polls, and deservedly so.

Evan Royster found himself next to Clay on both the media and coaches All-Conference teams, as two running backs are named to each team.  Though Royster rushed for almost one yard more per carry than did Clay, his 8 total touchdowns paled in comparison to Clay’s 13.

Stefen Wisniewski found himself named to both first teams in his senior season, and was joined by Dennis Landolt in the Coaches poll.  Landolt was on the second team offensive line as chosen by the Big Ten media.

One Penn Stater might have a gripe with these selections, as Andrew Quarless may have been snubbed when it came to the end of year awards.  Though Garrett Graham deserved his first-team placement, honorable mention Andrew Quarless had more catches, more yards, and more touchdowns than did Iowa’s Tony Moeaki, who slotted above him in each poll.  Though Moeaki is a formidable blocker, Quarless came a long way in that regard this year.  Either way, Quarless will almost certainly be drafted higher than Moeaki in next April’s NFL draft.

Despite a phenomenal first season as a starter, Derek Moye was named an honorable mention by the media.  While his 45 catches, 732 yards, and 5 touchdowns look great, they don’t compare with the stats of some of the wide receivers in the pass-first offenses of Minnesota, Indiana, and Purdue.

Releated Posts:

1. The Penn State All-Decade Team: Defensive Tackles
2. Counting Down the Lions: #3
3. The Penn State All-Decade Team: Defensive Ends
4. 44 for 44: Paul Posluszny
5. Guess Who’s Back, Back Again…

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