BP Awards: The Spielman (Best Linebacker)

[LordJeffBuck]

Well, this is the one that Buckeye fans have waited for. First, the Lombardi, and now the Spielman, for Ohio State's own A.J. Hawk. Congratulations, A.J., for winning the inaugural Spielman Trophy for the nation's best linebacker! (And it was nearly unanimous).

The full results are set forth below, with the number of first place votes in parentheses:

A.J. Hawk (Ohio State) - 346 (57)
Paul Posluszny (Penn State) - 245
DeMeco Ryans (Alabama) - 186 (1)
Bobby Carpenter (Ohio State) - 108
Chad Greenway (Iowa) - 95
D'Qwell Jackson (Maryland) - 48
Aaron Harris (Texas) - 39
A.J. Nicholson (Florida State) - 19
Abdul Hodge (Iowa) - 15
Ernie Sims (Florida State) - 11
Tim McGarigle (Northwestern) - 11
Spencer Havner (UCLA) - 10
Pat Willis (Ole Miss) - 9
Kai Parham (Virginia) - 6
Ahmad Brooks (Virginia) - 5
Cole Snyder (Idaho) - 4
Anthony Trucks (Oregon) - 3
Anthony Schlegel (Ohio State) - 2
Earl Everett (Florida) - 2
Jimmy Cottrell (New Mexico State) - 2
Mitch King (Iowa) - 1

Note: Six points were awarded for each first place vote, 5 points for each second, etc.

[BuckeyeNation27]

who let the bama fan vote?

[MililaniBuckeye]

I wonder who the brain-dead moron is that voted for Ryans...or better put, who voted for anyone other than Hawk?

[Thump]

Originally Posted by MililaniBuckeye

I wonder who the brain-dead moron is that voted for Ryans...or better put, who voted for anyone other than Hawk?

I had Ryans 2nd and Posluzny 3rd.

Donny must have voted.

[OilerBuck]

Originally Posted by MililaniBuckeye

I wonder who the brain-dead moron is that voted for Ryans...or better put, who voted for anyone other than Hawk?

Whoever it was, had Hawk in 3rd. 58 x 6 = 348

[Buckeyeskickbuttocks]

Twernt me:

The Spielman Trophy - for best linebacker
1. AJ <ST1lace <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Hawk</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Ohio</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">State</st1:PlaceType>
2. <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Paul</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Posluszny</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Penn</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">State</st1:PlaceType></ST1<O</O
3. DeMeco Ryans <st1:State w:st="on">Alabama</ST1lace</st1:State><O</O
4. Aaron Harris TExas<O</O
5. <ST1<st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Bobby</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Carpenter</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Ohio</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">State</st1:PlaceType></ST1<O</O
6. <st1:country-region w:st="on">Chad</st1:country-region> Greenway <st1:State w:st="on">Iowa</ST1</st1:State><O</O

[texasfight06]

I voted:
1. Aaron Harris--Texas
2. Rashad Bobino--Texas
3. Robert Killebrew--Texas
4. Drew Kelson--Texas
5. Eric Foreman--Texas
6. Eric Hall--Texas

I guess that's what you get for letting us Texas homers vote.

Actually I voted with the consensus as Hawk #1. Congrats AJ, enjoyed getting to watch you live up to the hype this year.

[OilerBuck]

Many times, if it is close between a Buckeye and non-Buckeye, I will vote against the Ohio State player because I realize that I can not escape the bias that comes naturally with watching a team more than others. if anything, I tend do judge Buckeyes more harshly.

In this case, however, it was game-set-match before it started. If you show me a guy that thinks there is a better linebacker than A.J., I'll show you a guy who hasn't watched enough college football over the past three years.

[buckeyeboy]

I think this is more accurate with respect to the accolades that Carpenter deserves to get. He receives very little credit from the national media when it comes to All-American, All-Big Ten, etc.

[LordJeffBuck]

Here are the stats for each of the top six:

Hawk: 60 solo; 49 assist; 13 TFL; 7.5 sacks; 1 Int; 3 PBU; 2 FF; 1 FR; also scored a TD on a blocked punt

Posluszny: 60 solo; 51 assist; 11 TFL; 3 sacks; 0 Int; 2 PBU; 0 FF; 0 FR

Ryans: 38 solo; 31 assist; 10 TFL; 3.5 sacks; 1 Int; 2 PBU; 1 FF; 2 FR

Carpenter: 33 solo; 16 assist; 10.5 TFL; 8 sacks; 0 Int; 2 PBU; 0 FF; 0 FR

Greenway: 70 solo; 42 assist; 8 TFL; 2 sacks; 1 Int; 5 PBU; 0 FF; 0 FR

Jackson: 56 solo; 81 assist; 6.5 TFL; 4 sacks; 2 Int; 1 PBU; 0 FF; 0 FR

TFL = tackle for loss
PBU = pass broken up
FF = forced fumble
FR = fumble recovered

Hawk was the best player on the nation's number 4 total defense, number 7 scoring defense, and number 1 rushing defense; he made more big plays than any of the others, and he made big plays in big games. And, he's also a flashy player (in a good way - he's not a show boat), which never hurts.

IMHO, Pos, Ryans, Greenway, and Jackson were each legit #2 selections; Carp deserved votes, but he was a hybrid LB/DE, so he didn't have the stats that the other guys were able to accumulate.

[NJ-Buckeye]

Jimmy Cottrell: 90 solo; 89 assist; 8 TFL; 3 sacks; 1 Int; 4 PBU

[HineyBuck]

In the future, will we call this the Spielman/Hawk Award?

[Bucky Katt]

Originally Posted by HineyBuck

In the future, will we call this the Spielman/Hawk Award?

We probably should have just called it that this year.

[LordJeffBuck]

Originally Posted by NJ-Buckeye

Jimmy Cottrell: 90 solo; 89 assist; 8 TFL; 3 sacks; 1 Int; 4 PBU

For an 0-12 New Mexico State team. Good player, but....

[OilerBuck]

Originally Posted by LordJeffBuck

For an 0-12 New Mexico State team. Good player, but....

I agree 100%. I have trouble voting for a small-school player based on stats. When you look at the other guys that Hawk, Posluszny, Ryans, etc. played against and with...it's amazing that they were able to be such dominant singular forces, spearheading the most feared defenses in the country against upper D1 level talent.

It's just hard to measure when they don't play against the same quality...you expect bigger stats.