Football Garners Four BIG EAST Individual Awards

Nov. 30, 2000

MIAMI EARNS FOUR BIG EAST FOOTBALL AWARDS
– Moss becomes first player to win Offensive and Special Teams Player of the Year –
– Bryant and Suggs also earn offensive honors –

Fresh off its first outright BIG EAST Championship since 1994, Miami has earned accolades in four of five conference individual awards, the league announced. Seniors Butch Davis was named BIG EAST Coach of the Year. It is the second time in league history (1991) the Hurricanes have captured four individual awards. Pittsburgh’s Antonio Bryant and Lee Suggs of Virginia Tech also shared offensive honors, while West Virginia’s Grant Wiley was named BIG EAST Rookie of the Year.

The All-BIG EAST First and Second Teams were also announced. All selections are made by the league’s head coaches, who are not permitted to vote for their own players.

Moss becomes the first player in BIG EAST history to win Offensive and Special Teams Player of the Year. The senior wideout was second in the BIG EAST and is fourth nationally in punt returns with an 18.2-yard average. He set conference season (655) and career (1,196) records for total punt return yards. He had four punt returns for touchdowns this year, tying a NCAA and BIG EAST record. Moss is second in the league in all-purpose yards (145.8 ypg) and third in receiving (68.0).

Bryant leads the nation in receiving with a 130.2-yard average, which is also a BIG EAST record. The sophomore also set a league mark with 1,302 receiving yards for the season. He pulled in 68 receptions and 11 touchdowns, with the scoring catch total the second-best in league history. Bryant is one of three finalists for the Biletnikoff Award, given annually to the nation’s top receiver. He is the second Panther (Billy West, 1994) to garner BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year.

Suggs is the second straight Virginia Tech player to earn offensive accolades and third in BIG EAST history. The sophomore running back led the BIG EAST with 1,207 rushing yards. He scored 27 touchdowns on the ground and 28 overall, both BIG EAST and Virginia Tech season records. He topped the conference record for rushing scores by eight. Suggs was 18th nationally in rushing (109.7) and placed fifth in the league in all-purpose yardage (119.5). He had six 100-yard rushing games this year.

Morgan established a BIG EAST career record for tackles, finishing with 532 (309 solo) during his four-year stint with the Hurricanes. The senior linebacker led the conference with 138 stops this year, including 92 solo. He made 12.5 tackles per game and has been among the national leaders all season. Morgan also had 15 tackles for loss and five sacks. A two-time All-BIG EAST First Team honoree, he is the first UM player to record 100 tackles or more in four different seasons.

Wiley established himself as one of the hardest hitters on the WVU defense in his first season. The freshman linebacker was fourth on the team with 90 tackles, recording 8.2 per game. He was ninth among BIG EAST linebackers and was one of 12 league players to record 90 or more stops. He also put his name in the NCAA record book, becoming the ninth linebacker in history to return two interceptions for touchdowns in a season. The scores tied a BIG EAST record for all players held by four others.

Davis guided Miami to its fifth BIG EAST title and a No. 2 national ranking with a 10-1 record. The Hurricanes finished 7-0 in conference play, the second time since round-robin play began in 1993 they have gone unbeaten. UM leads the BIG EAST in 10 different statistical categories. The ‘Canes are also among the national leaders, ranking second in scoring (42.6) and interceptions (23) and sixth in scoring defense (15.5). It is the first BIG EAST Coach of the Year award for Davis.

The All-BIG EAST selections included just one player (Moss) who repeated on the first team from last season. Eight players moved up from second team to first team, with four repeat honorees on the second team. Four players were unanimous picks on the first team – Suggs, Morgan and defensive linemen Damione Lewis (Miami) and Dwight Freeney (Syracuse). The Hurricanes had 15 players on the first and second teams, tying (Virginia Tech, 1999) for the most selections in league history. The BIG EAST became the fourth Division I conference (Big West ’98, WAC ’96, Big Ten ’90) to have three players earn Offensive Player of the Year in the same season.

2000 BIG EAST FOOTBALL AWARDS

BIG EAST OFFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
ANTONIO BRYANT, PITTSBURGH, Sophomore, WR, 6-2, 180, Miami, Fla./Miami Northwestern
SANTANA MOSS, MIAMI, Senior, WR, 5-10, 180, Miami, Fla./Carol City
LEE SUGGS, VIRGINIA TECH, Sophomore, RB, 6-0, 201, Roanoke, Va./William Fleming

BIG EAST DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
**DAN MORGAN, MIAMI, Senior, LB, 6-3, 245, Coral Springs, Fla./Taravella

BIG EAST SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE YEAR
**SANTANA MOSS, MIAMI, Senior, PR, 5-10, 180, Miami, Fla./Carol City

BIG EAST ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
GRANT WILEY, WEST VIRGINIA, Freshman, LB, 6-1, 230, Trappe, Pa./Perkiomen Valley

BIG EAST COACH OF THE YEAR
BUTCH DAVIS, MIAMI – 50-20 (.714) – Sixth season

2000 ALL-BIG EAST FIRST TEAM
OFFENSE
Pos.  Player             School         Ht.   Wt.  Cl.  Hometown/High School/Junior CollegeWR    Santana Moss       Miami          5-10  180  Sr.  Miami, Fla./Carol CityWR    Antonio Bryant     Pittsburgh     6-2   185  So.  Miami, Fla./Miami NorthwesternOT    Dave Kadela        Virginia Tech  6-6   287  Sr.  Dublin, Ohio/Coffman/Fork Union MAOG    Joaquin Gonzalez   Miami          6-5   290  Jr.  Miami, Fla./ColumbusC     Jeff McCurley      Pittsburgh     6-5   290  Sr.  Enon Valley, Pa./MohawkOG    Paul Zukauskas     Boston College 6-6   306  Sr.  Weymouth, Mass./Boston College HSOT    Bryant McKinnie    Miami          6-9   330  Jr.  Woodbury, N.J./Woodbury/Lackawanna JCTE    Jeremy Shockey     Miami          6-5   240  So.  Ada, Okla./Ada/NE Oklahoma JCQB    Ken Dorsey         Miami          6-5   195  So.  Orinda, Calif./MiramonteRB    Lee Suggs**        Virginia Tech  6-0   207  So.  Roanoke, Va./William FlemingRB    William Green      Boston College 6-1   215  So.  Atlantic City, N.J./Holy SpiritPK    Mike Sutphin       Boston College 6-2   197  Sr.  Ellicott City, Md./Loyola AcademyKR/PR Santana Moss       Miami          5-10  180  Sr.  Miami, Fla./Carol City

DEFENSE
DL Damione Lewis** Miami 6-3 295 Sr. Sulphur Springs, Texas/Sulphur SpringsDL Dwight Freeney** Syracuse 6-1 245 Jr. Bloomfield, Conn./BloomfieldDL David Pugh Virginia Tech 6-3 271 Jr. Madison Heights, Va./Amherst CountyDL Bryan Knight Pittsburgh 6-2 230 Jr. Buffalo, N.Y./St. Joseph’sLB Dan Morgan** Miami 6-3 245 Sr. Coral Springs, Fla./TaravellaLB Morlon Greenwood Syracuse 6-1 234 Sr. Freeport, N.Y./FreeportLB Clifton Smith Syracuse 6-2 254 So. Freeport, N.Y./FreeportLB Ben Taylor Virginia Tech 6-2 226 Jr. Bellaire, Ohio/BellaireCB Will Allen Syracuse 5-10 190 Sr. Syracuse, N.Y./CorcoranCB Mike Rumph Miami 6-2 200 Jr. Delray Beach, Fla./AtlanticS Edward Reed Miami 6-0 190 Jr. Destrehan, La./DestrehanS Al Blades Miami 6-2 205 Sr. Plantation, Fla./PlantationP Freddie Capshaw Miami 5-11 180 So. Rock Springs, Wyo./Rock Springs

** – unanimous selection

2000 ALL-BIG EAST SECOND TEAM
OFFENSE
Pos. Player School Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown/High School/Junior CollegeWR Reggie Wayne Miami 6-1 195 Sr. Marrero, La./John EhretWR Khori Ivy West Virginia 6-3 195 Sr. Boca Raton, Fla./Boca Raton CommunityOT Matt Lehr Virginia Tech 6-2 285 Sr. Woodbridge, Va./WoodbridgeOG Paul LaQuerre Boston College 6-3 292 Sr. West Barnstable, Mass./West BarnstableC Dan Koppen Boston College 6-3 288 So. Whitehall, Pa./WhitehallOG Rich Mazza Rutgers 6-3 280 Sr. Bethlehem, Pa./Notre DameOT Michael Cook Boston College 6-5 325 Sr. Walpole, Mass./WalpoleTE Browning Wynn Virginia Tech 6-3 230 Jr. Jonesville, Va./LeeTE Robert Ellis Boston College 6-5 253 Sr. Baytown, Texas/Robert E. LeeQB Michael Vick Virginia Tech 6-1 214 So. Newport News, Va./WarwickRB James Jackson Miami 5-11 215 Sr. Belle Glade, Fla./Glades CentralRB Avon Cobourne West Virginia 5-9 195 So. Cherry Hill, N.J./Holy CrossPK Carter Warley Virginia Tech 5-11 184 Fr. Richmond, Va./Fork UnionKR/PR Andr? Davis Virginia Tech 6-1 199 Jr. Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna

DEFENSE
DL Duke Pettijohn Syracuse 6-2 251 Sr. Mattapan, Mass./West RoxburyDL Russell Newman Temple 6-2 253 Jr. Philadelphia, Pa./NortheastDL Chad Beasley Virginia Tech 6-5 277 Jr. Gate City, Va./Gate CityDL Eric Downing Syracuse 6-4 306 Sr. Paterson, N.J./Coffeyville CCDL Rickie Simpkins Syracuse 6-3 302 Sr. Middle Village, N.Y./Christ the KingLB Gerald Hayes Pittsburgh 6-3 235 So. Paterson, N.J./Passaic County TechLB LeVar Talley Temple 5-11 223 Sr. Philadelphia, Pa./Bishop McDevittLB Wesley Robertson Rutgers 6-2 225 Sr. Camden, N.J./Woodrow WilsonCB Leonard Myers Miami 6-0 200 Sr. Ft. Lauderdale, Fla./DillardCB Ronyell Whitaker Virginia Tech 5-9 193 So. Norfolk, Va./Lake TaylorS Ramon Walker Pittsburgh 6-0 195 So. Akron, Ohio/John R. BuchtelS Cory Bird Virginia Tech 5-10 219 Sr. Mays Landing, N.J./OakcrestP Mark Fazzolari West Virginia 6-0 190 So. Washington, Pa./Chartiers Houston

Ties in the voting created additional positions for Offensive Player of the Year, linebacker (first team), defensive line (second team) and tight end (second team).