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BTN’s Tom Dienhart hands out midseason B1G awards
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Now that Week 7 has come and gone, the college football season has officially entered the second half.
Plenty of midseason awards and All-America teams have been announced, highlighting some of the top players from the first seven weeks of the season. Recently, Tom Dienhart of Big Ten Network handed out some midseason hardware to some of the best players from the first half of the year.
While Dienhart mentioned several award winners, we’ll just take a look at some of the most significant awards he passed out, along with his reasoning behind each selection.
Offensive Player of the Year: Saquon Barkley, Penn State RB
The junior has flashed his versatility this season, impacting not just as a runner but also as a pass-catcher and kickoff return man. Heck, Barkley has even tossed a touchdown pass this season. He is the Heisman front-runner.
Defensive Player of the Year: Devin Bush, Michigan, LB
He sets the pace for one of the Big Ten’s top defenses, ranking fourth in the league in tackles, first in sacks and seventh in TFLs. He’s a sideline-to-sideline terror.
Freshman of the Year: Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin RB
Jonathan Taylor, RB, Wisconsin. Meet the next superstar Badger back. The true freshman has been as good as advertised, as he paces the Big Ten in rushing with 986 yards and has had three 200-yard rushing games. Enjoy him while you can.
Coach of the year: Jeff Brohm, Purdue
The fact he has the 3-3 Boilermakers positioned to make a bowl for the first time since 2012 is a miracle when you consider the disaster he inherited from a previous regime that won nine games in four years. It will be interesting to see what Brohm can do once he flips the roster in a few years.
Those are just a few of the awards Dienhart awarded at the midseason point. To view the rest of his selections, you can visit BTN.com.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB