The football team held its annual team banquet Dec. 3 and several awards were handed out.
Senior quarterback Troy Smith was selected by his teammates as the Buckeyes’ 2006 Most Valuable Player.
Smith guided this year’s squad to an outright Big Ten title, a 12-0 regular season record and a berth in the 2006 BCS National Championship Game on Jan. 8 in Glendale, Ariz.
The 6-1 signal caller from Cleveland Glenville completed 67 percent of his passes and threw for 2,507 yards and a school record 30 touchdowns. He also ran for 233 yards and a score in improving his record as a starter to 25-2.
Senior defensive back Antonio Smith was selected by his teammates as the winner of the Bo Rein Award as the team’s most inspirational player. Smith, a former walk-on, was converted to scholarship in the spring and wound up winning first-team All-Big Ten honors this season.
Meanwhile, Stan White Jr. received the John W. Galbreath Award for excellence in academics. White, the Buckeyes’ starting fullback, won first-team Academic All-America honors this past year.
Defensive tackle Quinn Pitcock was named winner of the Bill Willis Award as the Buckeyes’ outstanding defensive player. Pitcock, a senior from Piqua, Ohio, led the team with eight sacks.
David Patterson, Pitcock’s running mate at defensive tackle, was named winner of the Jim Marshall Warrior Award.
Ted Ginn Jr. was selected as the winner of the Archie Griffin Award as the outstanding offensive player on the team. Ginn led the team in receptions and set the Big Ten record for career punt return touchdowns.
Outstanding first-year awards went to freshman tailback Chris Wells on offense and cornerback Donald Washington on defense. Wells finished his rookie year with 567 yards and seven touchdowns on 102 carries, an average of 5.7 yards per carry. Washington started at corner when the Buckeyes were in a nickel package and had 34 tackles.
Other awards:
Rex Kern Offensive Back Award – Antonio Pittman
Randy Gradishar Linebacker Award – James Laurinaitis
Ike Kelley Special Teams Award – Drew Norman
Arnie Chonko Defensive Back Award – Brandon Mitchell
Jack Stephenson Defensive Lineman Award – Jay Richardson
Paul Warfield Outstanding Receiver Award – Anthony Gonzalez
Jim Parker Offensive Lineman Award – Doug Datish and T. J. Downing
SAE Homecoming Award – Malcolm Jenkins
Agonis Club Award – Antonio Smith
Big Ten, National Honors
Following the end of the regular season, the various All-Big Ten and All-American honors were announced.
Smith was chosen as the Big Ten offensive player of the year by both the media and the coaches. He was a first-team All-Big Ten pick by both panels as well. Other OSU players who received first-team All-Big Ten honors by both panels included Datish, Downing, Laurinaitis, Pitcock and Jenkins.
Wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez was a first-team pick by the coaches, while Ginn was a first-team pick by the media.
Smith was also tabbed as the Chicago Tribune Silver Football award winner as the Big Ten MVP.
In terms of national awards, Smith won the Heisman Trophy, the Walter Camp Award, The Sporting News national player of the year and the Davey O’Brien Award (top quarterback). Laurinaitis also claimed the Bronko Nagurski Award as the nation’s top defensive player.
Here is a look at how OSU players fared on the various All-American lists (all have one team selected except Associated Press):
Associated Press – First-team, Smith, Pitcock, Laurinaitis; second-team, Ginn and Downing.
Football Writers Association of America – Smith, Laurinaitis.
American Football Coaches Association – Smith, Pitcock.
The Sporting News – Smith, Laurinaitis, Pitcock.
ESPN.com – Smith, Laurinaitis, Pitcock.
Walter Camp – Smith Laurinaitis, Pitcock.
