Rundown of Notre Dame’s Awards Show

Published: 12^th Dec 11 12:20 am

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Jonas Gray was one of the winners. (Mitch Stringer, US Presswire)

One of the big changes that Brian Kelly made when he took over the head coaching duties of the football program in South Bend was replacing the annual football banquet with an end of the season awards show. Some were upset at the time, but it has since grown on a lot of Irish fans.

Kelly’s second year of the football team’s awards show was held over the weekend. For the second consecutive season, the Irish head coach was looking sharp wearing his gold tie.

Here is a rundown of all the awards that were given out.

Offensive scout team player of the year: Everett Golson
Defensive scout team player of the year: Brandon Newman
Offensive newcomer of the year: Jonas Gray
Defensive newcomer of the year: Dan Fox
Special teams player of the year: Austin Collinsworth
Next-Man-In award: Robby Toma
Lineman of the year: Darius Fleming
Back of the year: Robert Blanton
Rockne Student-Athlete award: Manti Te’o
Nick Pietrosante award: Harrison Smith
Team MVP: Michael Floyd

The first name on the list is the one that has Irish fans most excited. In recent days, we have learned how well Golson has played on the scout team all season long. It was a struggle at the beginning when he was learning the playbook, but he came on at the end of the year and has played really well in practices leading up to the bowl game against Florida State, according to Kelly

Even though he has zero game experience, look for Golson to be in the mix to be a starter under center in 2012. Many Irish fans, myself included, believe that the freshman is the future of this offense and a perfect fit for Kelly’s offense because of his mobility in and out of the pocket and his arm strength.

It is great to see Gray’s, Collinsworth’s and Toma’s name on this list.

Even though he wasn’t a newcomer, no one could have expected the season that Gray put together in 2011. It really is a shame that his career in a Notre Dame uniform had to come to an end on Senior Day. The senior running back could have really helped the Irish in the Stanford game and they certainly could have used him in the upcoming matchup against the Seminoles.

Collinsworth didn’t get to see a lot of playing time on defense, but he was a monster on special teams. It seemed like he was always involved in a tackle on both kickoffs and punt returns. Toma was extremely valuable in the slot receiver’s role when Theo Riddick got hurt and eventually moved back to running back.

The other names on this list weren’t shocking, but seeing Fox’s name was in my view. I thought Aaron Lynch would have been a lock to win Defensive Newcomer of the Year because of important he was to the defensive line all season long, but Fox winning the honor just goes to show you how high the coaching staff is on him.

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