The 2009 All-Big 12 football awards have been announced, with some nice surprises for Husker fans.
Ndamukong Suh was named Defensive Player of the Year and Defensive Lineman of the Year. He and Texas quarterback Colt McCoy were the only unanimously-selected players on the first team. Is that appropriate or what?
Nebraska placed four on the first-team All-Big 12 list, all from the defense including defensive linemen Suh and Jared Crick. Cornerback Prince Amukamara and safety Larry Asante from the secondary. The selections should give pause to Texas fans who are convinced the Blackshirts are lacking in pass defense.
Roy Helu made second team, as did Alex Henery as placekicker. Phillip Dillard gets rewarded with a second-team placement at ilnebacker, a great recognition of how far he's come since spring.
Mack Brown as coach of the year..... I'm not sold on that. Brown has all the players, had a pathetically easy non-conference schedule, and didn't have to deal with the NCAA suspending any star players. The guy had an easy path to where he is now. Why coach of the year for him?
Interesting to note that Texas did not have a single offensive or defensive lineman selected on the first team. Instead Chris Hall and Adam Ulatoski dropped to second on offense, and Sergio Kindle and Lamarr Houston are regulated to second team defense.
The complete list of awards is after the jump.
2009 INDIVIDUAL AWARD WINNERS
| Coach of the Year | Mack Brown, Texas |
| Offensive Lineman of the Year | Russell Okung, Oklahoma State |
| Defensive Lineman of the Year | Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska |
| Offensive Freshman of the Year | Christine Michael, Texas A&M |
| Defensive Freshman of the Year | Aldon Smith, Missouri |
| Special Teams Player of the Year | Brandon Banks, Kansas State |
| Defensive Newcomer of the Year | David Sims, Iowa State |
| Offensive Newcomer of the Year | Daniel Thomas, Kansas State |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska |
| Offensive Player of the Year | Colt McCoy, Texas |
2009 ALL-BIG 12 FOOTBALL FIRST TEAM
| Offense | ||||
| Pos. | Player | School | Class | Hometown/Previous School(s) |
| QB | Colt McCoy ** | Texas | Sr. | Tuscola, Texas/Jim Ned |
| RB | Daniel Thomas | Kansas State | Jr. | Hilliard, Fla./NW Mississippi CC |
| RB | Keith Toston | Oklahoma State | Sr. | Angleton, Texas/Angleton |
| FB | Bryant Ward | Oklahoma State | Jr. | Stillwater, Okla./Stillwater |
| WR | Jordan Shipley | Texas | Sr. | Burnet, Texas/Burnet |
| WR | Danario Alexander | Missouri | Sr. | Marlin, Texas/Marlin |
| WR | Dezmon Briscoe | Kansas | Jr. | Dallas, Texas/Cedar Hill |
| TE | Jeron Mastrud | Kansas State | Sr. | Beaverton, Ore./Southridge |
| OL | Russell Okung ^ | Oklahoma State | Sr. | Houston, Texas/Bush |
| OL | Trent Williams ^ | Oklahoma | Sr. | Longview, Texas/Longview |
| OL | Nick Stringer | Kansas State | Sr. | Topeka, Kan./Hayden |
| OL | Brandon Carter | Texas Tech | Sr. | Longview, Texas/Spring Hill |
| OL | Nate Solder | Colorado | Jr. | Buena Vista, Colo./Buena Vista |
| PK | Grant Ressel | Missouri | So. | Jackson, Mo./Jackson |
| KR/PR | Brandon Banks | Kansas State | Sr. | Garner, N.C./Bakersfield College |
| Defense | ||||
| DL | Ndamukong Suh ** | Nebraska | Sr. | Portland, Ore./Grant |
| DL | Gerald McCoy ^ | Oklahoma | Jr. | Oklahoma City, Okla./Southeast |
| DL | Von Miller | Texas A&M | Jr. | DeSoto, Texas/DeSoto |
| DL | Brandon Sharpe | Texas Tech | Sr. | Lyons, Ga./Fresno City CC |
| DL | Jared Crick | Nebraska | So. | Cozad, Neb./Cozad |
| LB | Sean Weatherspoon ^ | Missouri | Sr. | Jasper, Texas/Jasper |
| LB | Jesse Smith | Iowa State | Sr. | Altoona, Iowa/Southeast Polk |
| LB | Travis Lewis | Oklahoma | So. | San Antonio, Texas/Robert E. Lee |
| DB | Earl Thomas | Texas | So. | Orange, Texas/West Orange Stark |
| DB | Perrish Cox | Oklahoma State | Sr. | Waco, Texas/University |
| DB | Dominique Franks | Oklahoma | Jr. | Tulsa, Okla./Union |
| DB | Prince Amukamara | Nebraska | Jr. | Glendale, Ariz./Apollo |
| DB | Larry Asante | Nebraska | Sr. | Alexandria, Va./Hayfield/Coffeyville CC |
| P | Derek Epperson | Baylor | Jr. | Southlake, Texas/Keller |
** - Unanimous Selection
^ - Repeat first team selection from last season.
2009 ALL-BIG 12 FOOTBALL SECOND TEAM
| Offense | ||||
| Pos. | Player | School | Class | Hometown/Previous School(s) |
| QB | Jerrod Johnson | Texas A&M | Jr. | Humble, Texas/Humble |
| RB | Roy Helu Jr. | Nebraska | Jr. | Danville, Calif./San Ramon Valley |
| RB | DeMarco Murray | Oklahoma | Jr. | Las Vegas, Nev./Bishop Gorman |
| FB | Jamie McCoy | Texas A&M | Sr. | Midland, Texas/Lee |
| WR | Ryan Broyles | Oklahoma | So. | Norman, Okla./Norman |
| WR | Kerry Meier | Kansas | Sr. | Pittsburg, Kan./Pittsburg |
| WR | Brandon Banks | Kansas State | Sr. | Garner, N.C./Bakersfield College |
| TE | Riar Geer | Colorado | Sr. | Grand Junction, Colo./Fruita-Monument |
| OL | J.D. Walton | Baylor | Sr. | Allen, Texas/Allen/Arizona State |
| OL | Chris Hall # | Texas | Sr. | Irving, Texas/Irving |
| OL | Kurtis Gregory # | Missouri | Sr. | Blackburn, Mo./Santa Fe |
| OL | Adam Ulatoski | Texas | Sr. | Southlake, Texas/Carroll |
| OL | Brody Eldridge | Oklahoma | Sr. | La Cygne, Kan./Prairie View |
| OL | Lee Grimes | Texas A&M | Sr. | Brownwood, Texas/Brownwood |
| PK | Alex Henery | Nebraska | Jr. | Omaha, Neb./Burke |
| KR/PR | Perrish Cox | Oklahoma State | Sr. | Waco, Texas/University |
| Defense | ||||
| DL | Sergio Kindle | Texas | Sr. | Dallas, Texas/Woodrow Wilson |
| DL | Lamarr Houston | Texas | Sr. | Colorado Springs, Colo./Doherty |
| DL | Jeremy Beal # | Oklahoma | Jr. | Carrollton, Texas/Creekview |
| DL | Jaron Baston | Missouri | Sr. | Blue Springs, Mo./Blue Springs |
| DL | Daniel Howard | Texas Tech | Sr. | Wichita, Kan./Butler County CC |
| LB | Joe Pawelek | Baylor | Sr. | San Antonio, Texas/Smithson Valley |
| LB | Roddrick Muckelroy | Texas | Sr. | Hallsville, Texas/Hallsville |
| LB | Phillip Dillard | Nebraska | Sr. | Tulsa, Okla./Jenks |
| DB | Jamar Wall | Texas Tech | Sr. | Plainview, Texas/Planview |
| DB | Quinton Carter | Oklahoma | Jr. | Las Vegas, Nev./Cheyenne |
| DB | Brian Jackson | Oklahoma | Sr. | De Soto, Texas/De Soto |
| DB | Jordan Lake | Baylor | Sr. | Houston, Texas/Memorial |
| DB | Cha'pelle Brown | Colorado | Sr. | La Puente, Calif./Los Altos |
| DB | Trent Hunter | Texas A&M | So. | Katy, Texas/Katy |
| P | Tress Way | Oklahoma | Fr. | Tulsa, Okla./Union |
A tie in voting created an additional second-team offensive line and defensive back spot.
# - Repeat second team selection from last season.
2009 ALL-BIG 12 HONORABLE MENTION
| Baylor | Justin Akers, TE; David Gettis, WR; Jason Lamb, DL; J.D. Walton, Off. Lmn of Yr.; Kendall Wright, WR |
| Colorado | Jake Behrens, FB; Jalil Brown, DB; Benjamin Burney, DB; Marquez Herrod, DL; Scotty McKnight, WR; Ryan Miller, OL; Jeff Smart, LB; Jimmy Smith, DB; Rodney Stewart, RB |
| Iowa State | Michael Brandtner, P; Kelechi Osemele, OL; Paul Rhoads, Coach of Yr.; Alexander Robinson, RB; Reggie Stephens, OL |
| Kansas | Tanner Hawkinson, OL; Jake Laptad, DL; Todd Reesing, QB; Alonso Rojas, P; Darrell Stuckey, DB |
| Kansas State | Jeffrey Fitzgerald, DL; Tysyn Hartman, DB; Joshua Moore, DB; Bill Snyder, Coach of Yr |
| Missouri | Danario Alexander, Off. Ply. of Yr.; Carl Gettis, DB; Jake Harry, P; Dan Hoch, OL; Jared Perry, WR; Kevin Rutland, DB; Jasper Simmons, DB & Def Nwcmr. of Yr.; Aldon Smith, DL; Derrick Washington, RB |
| Nebraska | Dejon Gomes, DB & Def Nwcmr. of Yr.; Eric Hagg, DB; Alex Henery, P; Jacob Hickman, OL; Mike McNeill, TE; Matt O'Hanlon, DB; Niles Paul, WR; Barry Turner, DL |
| Oklahoma | Jeremy Beal, Def Ply of Yr.; Chris Brown, RB; Ryan Broyles, PR/KR; Keenan Clayton, LB; Auston English, DL; Landry Jones, Off. Fr. of Yr.; Jonathan Nelson, DB; Gerald McCoy Def. Lmn. of Yr. & Def Ply of Yr.; Ryan Reynolds, LB; Adrian Taylor, DL; Trent Williams, Off. Lmn of Yr |
| Oklahoma State | Hubert Anyiam, WR; Ugo Chinasa, DL; Patrick Lavine, LB; Swanson Miller, DL; Zac Robinson, QB; Andre Sexton, LB; Quinn Sharp, P |
| Texas | Emmanuel Acho, LB; Sam Acho, DL; Curtis Brown, DB; Blake Gideon, DB; Kyle Hix, OL; Michael Huey, OL; Sergio Kindle, Def. Lmn. of Yr.; Hunter Lawrence, PK; Alex Okafor, Def. Fr. of Yr.; Keenan Robinson, LB; Jordan Shipley, PR/KR; Charlie Tanner, OL |
| Texas A&M | Ryan Epperson, P; Jeff Fuller, WR; Cyrus Gray, RB & PR/KR; Michael Hodges Def Nwcmr. of Yr.; Jerrod Johnson, Off. Ply. of Yr.; Patrick Lewis, OL; Kevin Matthews, OL; Jamie McCoy, TE; Von Miller Def. Lmn. of Yr. & Def Ply of Yr.; Uzoma Nwachukwu, WR & Off. Fr. of Yr.; Jordan Pugh, DB; Ryan Tannehill, WR; Garrick Williams, LB |
| Texas Tech | Baron Batch, RB; Bront Bird, LB; Cody Davis, Def. Fr. of Yr.; Alex Torres, Off. Fr. of Yr.; Colby Whitlock, DL; Marlon Winn, OL |