Miami Leads BIG EAST Football Awards
Dec. 6, 2001
Providence, R.I. – Fresh off an undefeated regular season, a No. 1national ranking and a second straight BIG EAST Championship, Miami hasearned honors in four of five conference individual awards, the leagueannounced. UM’s Ken Dorsey and Boston College’s William Green have beennamed Offensive Players of the Year. Hurricane Edward Reed and DwightFreeney of Syracuse share Defensive Player of the Year accolades. Miami’sPhillip Buchanon was chosen as Special Teams Player of the Year, whilerookie head coach Larry Coker was named BIG EAST Coach of the Year.Virginia Tech’s Kevin Jones was named BIG EAST Rookie of the Year. It isthe third time in league history (2000, 1991) the Hurricanes have capturedfour individual awards.
The All-BIG EAST First and Second Teams were also announced. Allselections are made by the league’s head coaches, who are not permitted tovote for their own players.
Dorsey is the second Hurricane quarterback (Gino Torretta, 1991-92) toearn Offensive Player of the Year honors. The junior led the BIG EAST inpassing (241.1 ypg), total offense (241.4) and pass efficiency (146.1rating). He guided the Hurricane offense to 43.2 points per game, anaverage that ranks third nationally. Dorsey is 25-1 in two years as theUM starter.
Green led the nation in rushing for most of the season and currently rankssecond with 155.9 yards per contest. The junior running back rushed forat least 100 yards in all but one game, recording five of the top sevensingle-game performances in the league this year. He also led the BIGEAST with 181.9 all-purpose yards, while averaging 10.2 points.
Reed is the sixth Miami defender in 11 years of BIG EAST play to winDefensive Player of the Year honors. He led the nation with nineinterceptions, including two returned for scores. The senior safety alsoestablished BIG EAST and UM records for career interceptions with 21. Hewas the leader of a defense that ranked first nationally in passefficiency defense (75.6 rating) and interceptions (27) and second inpassing yards allowed (138.18 per game).
Freeney established an NCAA and BIG EAST record with 17.5 sacks thisseason. The senior defensive end led the nation in the category and alsotopped the conference with a league-record eight forced fumbles. He wasfirst in tackles for loss (25.5) and tied for the BIG EAST lead with threefumble recoveries. The 11 fumbles forced and recovered was also an NCAAseason mark. Freeney becomes the sixth player in league history to benamed unanimous All-BIG EAST First Team two years in a row.
Buchanon was first in the BIG EAST and seventh nationally in punt returnyards with a 14.97 average. The junior return specialist had 31 returnsfor 464 yards, including two touchdowns. He is one of only three playersnationally (Roman Hollowell, Colorado, Keenan Howry, Oregon) to returnmore than one punt for a score. Buchanon was also named All-BIG EASTFirst Team at cornerback.
Jones ranked fifth in the BIG EAST in rushing with 957 yards (87.0 ypg)and five touchdowns. The total was a league record for a true freshman,as he posted 150 yards or more in each of his last three games. Jonesrecorded 1,004 all-purpose yards, helping Virginia Tech average 194.7rushing yards despite losing 2000 BIG EAST Offensive Player of the YearLee Suggs in the first game of the season.
Coker guided Miami to its sixth BIG EAST title and the nation’s No. 1national ranking with an 11-0 record. It was the first undefeated regularseason for the Hurricanes since 1992. UM also finished 7-0 in conferenceplay, the third time since round-robin play began in 1993 it has goneunbeaten. The ‘Canes lead the nation in five different statisticalcategories and are in the top six in eight categories.
The All-BIG EAST selections boast 12 players who repeated on the firstteam from last season. Three players moved up from second team to firstteam, with three repeat honorees on the second team. Nine players wereunanimous picks on the first team led by Dorsey, Green, Freeney and Reed.Boston College quarterback Brian St. Pierre was also the first player inBIG EAST history to earn unanimous second team accolades. Miami had 14players on the first team and four on the second team. The 18 playersoverall and 14 first-team choices are both BIG EAST records.
BIG EAST OFFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
*WILLIAM GREEN, BOSTON COLLEGE, RB, Junior, 6-1, 215, Atlantic City, N.J./Holy Spirit
*KEN DORSEY, MIAMI, QB, Junior, 6-5, 200, Orinda, Calif./Miramonte
BIG EAST DEFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
*EDWARD REED, MIAMI, SS, Senior, 6-0, 198, St. Rose, La./Destrehan
*DWIGHT FREENEY, SYRACUSE, DE, Senior, 6-2, 250, Bloomfield, Conn./Bloomfield
BIG EAST SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE YEAR
*PHILLIP BUCHANON, MIAMI, PR/KR, Junior, 5-11, 182, Fort Myers, Fla./Lehigh
BIG EAST ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
* KEVIN JONES, VIRGINIA TECH, RB, Freshman, 6-0, 205, Chester, Pa./Cardinal O’Hara
BIG EAST COACH OF THE YEAR
*LARRY COKER, MIAMI, 11-0 (1.000) –
First Season Alma Mater: Northeastern Oklahoma State (1970), Hometown: Okemah,Okla.
