Defensive Player of The Year
The Defensive Player of the Year award has been given 26 times, with ties in 1991, 2001, 2009, and 2011. Of the 26 winners, 16 have been defensive linemen. Seven linebackers and three safeties have also been honored. Of the recipients, 17 have been seniors, eight juniors, and George Selvie the only sophomore.
The first award in 1991 was a tie between Darrin Smith, a Miami linebacker, and George Rooks, a defensive lineman from Syracuse. Miami then won three consecutive awards between 1992 and 1994. Only two players have won the award twice—Corey Moore in 1998 and 1999, and Khaseem Greene, who shared the award in 2011 and won it outright in 2012.
Like Offensive Player of the Year, Miami has won the most defensive awards as well, with seven. Pittsburgh follows with the second most awards with five, including the 2009 Co-Defensive Players of the Year, which is the only occasion where two teammates have been co-selected in the same season. During Temple's first tenure in Big East football from 1991 to 2004, its only conference award was when Dan Klecko won Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2002. Of the original 1991 members, Pittsburgh took the longest to win the defensive award, first winning with H.B. Blades in 2006. Pittsburgh won again with another linebacker, Scott McKillop, in 2008. The only member that has failed to win this award is Connecticut, which did not join Big East football until 2004.
Read more about this topic: Big East Conference Football Awards
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