Young wins Maxwell award
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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top>ORLANDO, Fla. -- Texas quarterback Vince Young won the Maxwell Award as the nation's top player, beating out fellow Heisman Trophy finalists Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart of Southern California.
Young leads the nation in passing efficiency with a 168.6 rating. He has passed for 2,769 yards and 26 touchdowns, and leads the Longhorns in rushing with 850 yards.
The Maxwell Award was once considered a good way to predict who would win the Heisman, but not recently. The past five winners, including Oklahoma's Jason White last season, did not win the Heisman. The last player to win both the Maxwell and the Heisman was Wisconsin running back Ron Dayne. Young was the third Texas player to win the Maxwell Award.
Davey O'Brien Award
Vince Young of Texas won the Davey O'Brien Award on Thursday night as the nation's top quarterback, beating out Southern California's Matt Leinart and Notre Dame's Brady Quinn.
Young leads the nation in passing efficiency with a 168.6 rating. He has passed for 2,769 yards and 26 touchdowns, and leads the Longhorns in rushing with 850 yards.
Jason White of Oklahoma won the O'Brien Award the past two seasons. Young is the first Texas quarterback to win the award.
Doak Walker Award
Reggie Bush won the Doak Walker Award on Thursday night to become the first Southern California player to be honored as the nation's top running back.
A Heisman Trophy finalist, Bush beat out Washington State's Jerome Harrison and Memphis' DeAngelo Williams.
Bush, a junior, leads the nation in all-purpose yards with 217.6 per game and has scored 18 touchdowns. He rushed for a career-high 1,658 yards, averaging 8.9 yards per carry.
Cedric Benson of Texas won the award last season.
Fred Biletnikoff Award
Mike Hass of Oregon State won the Fred Biletnikoff Award on Thursday night as the nation's best receiver.
Hass, the NCAA's leader in receiving yards (139.3 per game) beat out Dwayne Jarrett of Southern California and Jeff Samardzija of Notre Dame.
Hass owns school records for career receptions (220) and single-season receptions (90). His 3,924 yards of career receiving is a school record and he is the first receiver in Pac-10 history to have three 1,000-yard seasons and the 10th in NCAA history.
Braylon Edwards of Michigan won the award last season. Wyoming receiver Jovon Bouknight was among the semifinalists for the award.
Outland Trophy
Minnesota center Greg Eslinger won the Outland Trophy on Thursday night as the nation's top lineman to become the first Gophers player to win the award since 1962.
The other finalists were Oregon defensive tackle Haloti Ngata and Auburn offensive tackle Marcus McNeill.
Eslinger is part of an offense that averaged a school record 497.8 yards this season and ranked third in the nation in rushing with 279.9 yards per game. He is the third Minnesota player to win the Outland, joining tackle Bobby Bell in 1962 and guard Tom Brown in 1960.
Jim Thorpe Award
Texas safety Michael Huff won the Thorpe Award as the best defensive back in the country on Thursday night.
Huff beat out Virginia Tech cornerback and Clemson cornerback Tye Hill to become the first Longhorns player to win the award.
Huff has 97 tackles and two interceptions for the second-ranked Longhorns. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound senior holds school records for most career interceptions returned for a touchdown with four and most touchdowns scored by a defensive player with five. Auburn's Carlos Rogers won the award last season.
Lou Groza Award
Oregon State's Alexis Serna won the Groza Award as the country's best kicker on Thursday night, beating out Mason Crosby of Colorado and Had Dean of Clemson.
Serna leads the NCAA in career field goal percentage among active kickers (83.3) and leads all kickers this season with 101 points.
His 6-for-6 performance against Washington this year broke a school record and tied the Pac-10 record.
Serna is the first kicker from Oregon State to win the award. Ohio State's Mike Nugent won the Groza Award last season.
Ray Guy Award
Wake Forest's Ryan Plackemeier won the Ray Guy Award on Thursday night as the nation's top punter.
Plackemeier leads the nation in net punting (41.38) and average yards per punt (47.2).
Among those with 200 career attempts, he is the NCAA's career leading punter, with a career average of 45.26 yards.
The other finalists were Danny Baugher of Arizona and John Torp of Colorado. Baylor's Daniel Sepulveda won the award last season.
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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top>ORLANDO, Fla. -- Texas quarterback Vince Young won the Maxwell Award as the nation's top player, beating out fellow Heisman Trophy finalists Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart of Southern California.
Young leads the nation in passing efficiency with a 168.6 rating. He has passed for 2,769 yards and 26 touchdowns, and leads the Longhorns in rushing with 850 yards.
The Maxwell Award was once considered a good way to predict who would win the Heisman, but not recently. The past five winners, including Oklahoma's Jason White last season, did not win the Heisman. The last player to win both the Maxwell and the Heisman was Wisconsin running back Ron Dayne. Young was the third Texas player to win the Maxwell Award.
Davey O'Brien Award
Vince Young of Texas won the Davey O'Brien Award on Thursday night as the nation's top quarterback, beating out Southern California's Matt Leinart and Notre Dame's Brady Quinn.
Young leads the nation in passing efficiency with a 168.6 rating. He has passed for 2,769 yards and 26 touchdowns, and leads the Longhorns in rushing with 850 yards.
Jason White of Oklahoma won the O'Brien Award the past two seasons. Young is the first Texas quarterback to win the award.
Doak Walker Award
Reggie Bush won the Doak Walker Award on Thursday night to become the first Southern California player to be honored as the nation's top running back.
A Heisman Trophy finalist, Bush beat out Washington State's Jerome Harrison and Memphis' DeAngelo Williams.
Bush, a junior, leads the nation in all-purpose yards with 217.6 per game and has scored 18 touchdowns. He rushed for a career-high 1,658 yards, averaging 8.9 yards per carry.
Cedric Benson of Texas won the award last season.
Fred Biletnikoff Award
Mike Hass of Oregon State won the Fred Biletnikoff Award on Thursday night as the nation's best receiver.
Hass, the NCAA's leader in receiving yards (139.3 per game) beat out Dwayne Jarrett of Southern California and Jeff Samardzija of Notre Dame.
Hass owns school records for career receptions (220) and single-season receptions (90). His 3,924 yards of career receiving is a school record and he is the first receiver in Pac-10 history to have three 1,000-yard seasons and the 10th in NCAA history.
Braylon Edwards of Michigan won the award last season. Wyoming receiver Jovon Bouknight was among the semifinalists for the award.
Outland Trophy
Minnesota center Greg Eslinger won the Outland Trophy on Thursday night as the nation's top lineman to become the first Gophers player to win the award since 1962.
The other finalists were Oregon defensive tackle Haloti Ngata and Auburn offensive tackle Marcus McNeill.
Eslinger is part of an offense that averaged a school record 497.8 yards this season and ranked third in the nation in rushing with 279.9 yards per game. He is the third Minnesota player to win the Outland, joining tackle Bobby Bell in 1962 and guard Tom Brown in 1960.
Jim Thorpe Award
Texas safety Michael Huff won the Thorpe Award as the best defensive back in the country on Thursday night.
Huff beat out Virginia Tech cornerback and Clemson cornerback Tye Hill to become the first Longhorns player to win the award.
Huff has 97 tackles and two interceptions for the second-ranked Longhorns. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound senior holds school records for most career interceptions returned for a touchdown with four and most touchdowns scored by a defensive player with five. Auburn's Carlos Rogers won the award last season.
Lou Groza Award
Oregon State's Alexis Serna won the Groza Award as the country's best kicker on Thursday night, beating out Mason Crosby of Colorado and Had Dean of Clemson.
Serna leads the NCAA in career field goal percentage among active kickers (83.3) and leads all kickers this season with 101 points.
His 6-for-6 performance against Washington this year broke a school record and tied the Pac-10 record.
Serna is the first kicker from Oregon State to win the award. Ohio State's Mike Nugent won the Groza Award last season.
Ray Guy Award
Wake Forest's Ryan Plackemeier won the Ray Guy Award on Thursday night as the nation's top punter.
Plackemeier leads the nation in net punting (41.38) and average yards per punt (47.2).
Among those with 200 career attempts, he is the NCAA's career leading punter, with a career average of 45.26 yards.
The other finalists were Danny Baugher of Arizona and John Torp of Colorado. Baylor's Daniel Sepulveda won the award last season.
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Man this is sad. Since Barry Sanders, these are the winners:
1988-Barry Sanders, Oklahoma State, RB
1989-Andre Ware, Houston, QB
1990-Ty Detmer, Brigham Young, QB
1991-Desmond Howard, Michigan, WR
1992-Gino Torretta, Miami, QB
1993-Charlie Ward, Florida State, QB
1994-Rashaan Salaam, Colorado, RB
1995-Eddie George, Ohio St., TB
1996-Danny Wuerffel, Florida, QB
1997-Charles Woodson, Michigan, CB
1998-Ricky Williams, Texas, RB
1999-Ron Dayne, Wisconsin, RB
2000-Chris Weinke, Florida State, QB
2001-Eric Crouch, Nebraska, QB
2002-Carson Palmer, Southern California, QB
2003-Jason White, Oklahoma, QB
2004-Matt Leinart, Southern California, QB
Looking over how few of these guys made an impact in the NFL I may think if I am Reggie they might as well give it to Vince.
1988-Barry Sanders, Oklahoma State, RB
1989-Andre Ware, Houston, QB
1990-Ty Detmer, Brigham Young, QB
1991-Desmond Howard, Michigan, WR
1992-Gino Torretta, Miami, QB
1993-Charlie Ward, Florida State, QB
1994-Rashaan Salaam, Colorado, RB
1995-Eddie George, Ohio St., TB
1996-Danny Wuerffel, Florida, QB
1997-Charles Woodson, Michigan, CB
1998-Ricky Williams, Texas, RB
1999-Ron Dayne, Wisconsin, RB
2000-Chris Weinke, Florida State, QB
2001-Eric Crouch, Nebraska, QB
2002-Carson Palmer, Southern California, QB
2003-Jason White, Oklahoma, QB
2004-Matt Leinart, Southern California, QB
Looking over how few of these guys made an impact in the NFL I may think if I am Reggie they might as well give it to Vince.
