Thus far after the 2010 college football regular season, eight Southeastern Conference football student-athletes and coaches have won 12 national individual awards. Nine SEC student-athletes were finalists for nine individual national awards as well.
Fourteen SEC football student-athletes are finalists or nominees for seven more individual awards that remain to be announced.
Auburn’s Cam Newton has claimed three individual honors, being named the recipient of the Maxwell Award (nation’s best player), Walter Camp Award (nation’s best player) and the Davey O’Brien Award (nation’s best quarterback). LSU’s Patrick Peterson and Arkansas’ D.J. Williams won two honors each. Peterson took the Chuck Bednarik Award (nation’s best defensive player) and the Jim Thorpe Award (nation’s top defensive back) while Williams claimed the John Mackey Award (nation’s best tight end) and the Disney Spirit Award (top inspirational story).
Other SEC individual student-athlete winners included Florida’s Chas Henry (Ray Guy Award as nation’s top punter), Auburn’s Nick Fairley (Rotary Lombardi Award as nation’s outstanding lineman) and Alabama’s Greg McElroy (CoSIDA/ESPN Academic All-American of the Year).
Auburn’s Gene Chizik earned the Home Depot Coach of the Year honors and Tigers offensive coordinator Gus Malzahan was given the Frank Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant coach.
RECIPIENTS
CHUCK BEDNARIK AWARD (Nation’s best defensive player) – Patrick Peterson, LSU
RAY GUY AWARD (Nation’s best punter) – Chas Henry, Florida
MAXWELL AWARD (Nation’s best player) – Cam Newton, Auburn
WALTER CAMP AWARD (Nation’s best player) – Cam Newton, Auburn
DAVEY O’BRIEN AWARD (Nation’s best quarterback) – Cam Newton, Auburn
JIM THORPE AWARD (Nation’s best defensive back) – Patrick Peterson, LSU
JOHN MACKEY AWARD (Nation’s best tight end) – D.J. Williams, Arkansas
ROTARY LOMBARDI AWARD (Nation’s outstanding lineman) – Nick Fairley, Auburn
FRANK BROYLES AWARD (Nation’s top assistant coach) – Gus Malzahan, Auburn
DISNEY SPIRIT AWARD (Top inspirational story) – D.J. Williams, Arkansas
HOME DEPOT COACH OF THE YEAR (National Coach of the Year) – Gene Chizik, Auburn
CoSIDA/ESPN ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN OF THE YEAR – Greg McElroy, Alabama
OTHER FINALISTS
ARA SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD (On and off-field character) – John Stokes, Vanderbilt
CHUCK BEDNARIK AWARD – Nick Fairley, Auburn
BILETNIKOFF AWARD (Nation’s best receiver) – Alshon Jeffery, South Carolina
RAY GUY AWARD – Drew Butler, Georgia
BUTKUS AWARD (Nation’s best linebacker) – Justin Houston, Georgia
WILLIAM V. CAMPBELL TROPHY (Nation’s top scholar-athlete) – Greg McElroy, Alabama; Derek Sherrod, Mississippi State
BRONKO NAGURSKI AWARD (Nation’s top defensive player) – Justin Houston, Georgia; Nick Fairley, Auburn; Patrick Peterson, LSU
RIMINGTON TROPHY (Nation’s best center) – Ryan Pugh, Auburn
EDDIE ROBINSON AWARD (National Coach of the Year) – Gene Chizik, Auburn
WUERFFEL TROPHY (Awarded for community service, academic and athletic achievement) – Greg McElroy, Alabama
AWARDS TO BE DETERMINED
HEISMAN TROPHY (Nation’s top player) – Cam Newton, Auburn (Finalist)
MANNING AWARD (Nation’s top quarterback) –Ryan Mallett, Arkansas; Cam Newton, Auburn (finalist)
LOWE’S SENIOR CLASS AWARD (Top Senior Student-Athlete) – Ryan Pugh, Auburn (finalist)
LOTT IMPACT TROPHY (Nation’s top defensive impact player) – Patrick Peterson, LSU (finalist)
PAUL HORNUNG AWARD (Nation’s most versatile player) – Randall Cobb, Kentucky (finalist)
BURLSWORTH TROPHY (Outstanding player who began career as walk-on) – Nick Reveiz, Tennessee (finalist)
RUDY AWARD (Nation’s top inspirational and motivational player) – Gary Beemer, Florida; Dylan Breeding, Arkansas; Garrett Chisholm, South Carolina; DeQuin Evans, Kentucky; Emmanuel Gatling, Mississippi State; Daniel Graff, LSU; Will Lowery, Alabama; Nick Reveiz, Tennessee; Ashton Richardson, Auburn (nominees).
SEC AWARD NOTES
* - With Cam Newton earning the Maxwell and Camp Awards, an SEC student-athlete has now earned national player of the year honors in each of the last four seasons. Florida QB Tim Tebow earned the Heisman and Maxwell Awards in 2007 and the Maxwell in 2008 and Alabama RB Mark Ingram was the recipient of the Heisman Award in 2009. Arkansas RB Darren McFadden was also the Walter Camp Award winner in 2007.
* - In the 29 individual awards being given this season, the SEC has had at least one recipient in 22 of them in the last five seasons - since 2006. Two awards – the Paul Hornung (most versatile player) and the Burlsworth Trophy (outstanding player who began career as a walk-on) – are in its first year in 2010. The SEC has not had a winner of the Biletnikoff Award (wide receiver), Lou Groza (placekicker), Johnny Unitas (senior quarterback), Ted Hendricks (defensive end) and the ARA Sportsmanship Award in the laast five seasons.
* - In its history, the Southeastern Conference has earned 14 national player of the year honors (Heisman, Camp, Maxwell Trophies).
The list includes:
Frank Sinkwich, HB, Georgia – 1942 Heisman
Charley Trippi, HB Georgia – 1946 Maxwell
Billy Cannon, HB, LSU – 1959 Heisman
Steve Spurrier, QB, Florida – 1966 Heisman
Pat Sullivan, QB, Auburn – 1971 Heisman; 1971 Camp
Herschel Walker, RB, Georgia – 1982 Heisman; 1982 Camp
Bo Jackson, RB, Auburn – 1985 Heisman; 1985 Camp
Danny Wuerrfel, QB, Florida – 1996 Heisman; 1996 Maxwell; 1996 Camp
Peyton Manning, QB, Tennessee – 1997 Maxwell
Eli Manning, QB, Ole Miss – 2003 Maxwell
Tim Tebow, QB, Florida – 2007 Heisman; 2007 Maxwell; 2008 Maxwell
Darren McFadden, RB, Arkansas – 2007 Camp
Mark Ingram, RB, Alabama – 2009 Heisman
Cam Newton, QB, Auburn – 2010 Maxwell; 2010 Camp