NFL Draft Blitz

Offensive Player of the Year
1. Reggie Bush, Junior, RB, USC
After the last few weeks of the season, it’s clearly hard to argue that anybody but Bush is deserving of this honor. He is the most electrifying player in the country with unbelievable speed, elusiveness, and all-around big play ability. He averages an incredible 8.87 yards per carry with 15 rushing touchdowns and leads the nation in all-purpose yards at 217.58 yards per game (10.08 yards per touch). Although it was a toss-up between he and Young for most of the season, Bush took the lead with his mind-blowing 513 total yards against Fresno State (294 rushing) and his 260 yards rushing (most of which came in the first half) against UCLA.

2. Vince Young, Junior, QB, Texas
Young not only did it with his legs (850 yards, 9 touchdowns), but he surprised everyone by leading the nation in passing efficiency.

3. Matt Leinart, Senior, QB, USC
Another fantastic season for the 2004 Heisman Trophy winner, Leinart threw for 3450 yards and 27 touchdowns with just seven picks. He also ran for another six scores.

4. DeAngelo Williams, Senior, RB, Memphis
5. Brady Quinn, Junior, QB, Notre Dame
6. Michael Robinson, Senior, QB, Penn State
7. Jerome Harrison, Senior, RB, Washington State
8. Drew Olson, Senior, QB, UCLA
9. Garrett Wolfe, Junior, RB, Northern Illinois
10. Brian Calhoun, Junior, RB, Wisconsin

Defensive Player of the Year
1. Elvis Dumervil, Senior, DE, Louisville
Sure, Dumervil played in the lackluster Big East and did not receive the preseason hype of guys like A.J. Hawk, but the senior end from Louisville had a superb season, leading the country with 20 sacks. He started off the season with an incredible nine sacks in two games, six against Kentucky and three against Oregon State. Aside from the outstanding sack total, Dumervil finished first nationally in forced fumbles with 10.

2. A.J. Hawk, Senior, Senior, OLB, Ohio State
The preseason pick for defensive player of the year by many, Hawk lived up to the hype in his senior season with 109 tackles (14 for loss) and 7.5 sacks.

3. Paul Posluszny, Junior, OLB, Ohio State
Arguably the heart and soul of the outstanding Penn State defense, Posluszny became a national star in 2005, especially after his performance in the October 8 victory over Ohio State. He recorded 111 tackles (14 for loss) with three sacks.

4. DeMeco Ryans, Senior, OLB, Alabama
5. D’Qwell Jackson, Senior, MLB, Maryland
6. Tamba Hali, Senior, DE, Penn State
7. Michael Huff, Senior, S, Texas
8. Brodrick Bunkley, Senior, DT, Florida State
9. Mario Williams, Junior, DE, NC State
10. Mathias Kiwanuka, Senior, DE, Boston College

Freshman of the Year
1. Sidney Rice, WR, South Carolina
After redshirting in 2004, Rice became the spark in Steve Spurrier’s offense for the Gamecocks as a redshirt freshman. Rice did not play in the season opener against Central Florida, but in the ten games that followed he caught 58 passes for 952 yards and 12 touchdowns, with an average of 16.41 yards per reception. Rice has a great combination of size and speed and should become an even bigger playmaker in Spurrier’s pass happy offense next season.

2. Tyrell Sutton, RB, Northwestern
Originally thought to be a reserve heading into the season, the true freshman Sutton rushed for over 100 yards in each of the first five games of the year, twice surpassing 200 yards. He finished the season ranking sixth nationally with over 126 yards per game and 16 touchdowns.

3. Steve Slaton, RB, West Virginia
Consider this a toss-up between Slaton and fellow Mountaineer, QB Pat White. Slaton only had eight carries in the first three games of the year but emerged as a major playmaker with 924 yards rushing and 14 touchdowns.

4. Pat White, QB, West Virginia
5. James Hardy, WR, Indiana
6. Darren McFadden, RB, Arkansas
7. Davone Bass, WR, Hawaii
8. Earl Bennett, WR, Vanderbilt
9. Kenny Phillips, S, Miami (FL)
10. Deon Butler, WR, Penn State

Coach of the Year
1. Joe Paterno, Penn State
Where are all the JoePa haters now? After a horrid start to the decade with under .500 records in four of five season, Paterno has his Nittany Lions back in the Top 5 and they will be making their first appearance in the BCS with an Orange Bowl bid against Bobby Bowden and Florida State. Penn State finished the season 10-1 and was literally one second away from perfection, after Michigan won on the final play of the game after officials put two seconds back on the clock a few plays earlier. The most important things JoePa did this season? First, he brought in a star-studded recruiting class and gave some speedy freshmen a chance to play early and often. Second, he gave more power to his assistants, most notably offensive coordinator Galen Hall.

2. Tommy Tuberville, Auburn
A year after getting shutout of the BCS national title game despite going 13-0, and losing star tailbacks Carnell Williams and Ronnie Brown and quarterback Jason Campbell, Tuberville and the Tigers overcame an early loss to Georgia Tech to finish 9-2 and ranked seventh in the AP Poll.

3. Charlie Weiss, Notre Dame
After another disappointing season in South Bend, the Irish brought in former New England Patriots offensive coordinator Charlie Weiss to rebuild the program. Well, he seemingly rebuilt the program in just one year, as the Irish finished 9-2 and ranked sixth in the AP Poll. Notre Dame was also seconds away from knocking off top ranked USC in October. Weiss also turned junior quarterback Brady Quinn into one of the nation’s premiere players.

4. Mack Brown, Texas
5. Rich Rodriguez, West Virginia
6. George O’Leary, Central Florida
7. Mike Shula, Alabama
8. Pete Carroll, USC
9. Greg Schiano, Rutgers
10. Mark Richt, Georgia

Most Overrated Player: Marcus Vick, Junior, QB, Virginia Tech
Sure, Vick posted great numbers for a large portion of the season, but Miami and Florida State proved that if you put pressure on him, he will make mistakes. Marcus is clearly a good player, but unlike ESPN seems to think at times, he is not actually a god and is not at the same level as his brother as of yet (who I also consider to be a bit overrated, but that’s a different story).

Most Underrated Player: Garrett Mills, Senior, TE, Tulsa
There is one name noticeably absent from the list of Mackey Award (best tight end) finalists: Mills. He clearly does not play against the same amount of talent as finalists Anthony Fasano, Marcedes Lewis, and Vernon Davis, but Mills deserves some respect for breaking the record for receiving yards by a tight end in a season. Despite playing tight end, Mills finished caught 83 passes for 1183 yards and nine touchdowns, ranking 12th nationally in receiving yards per game.

My Post-Regular Season Top 15
1. USC
2. Texas
3. Penn State
4. Ohio State
5. Auburn
6. Georgia
7. Notre Dame
8. Oregon
9. LSU
10. Miami
11. Alabama
12. Virginia Tech
13. West Virginia
14. Florida
15. Louisville