Saturday’s Notre Dame Football Awards Show gave us plenty to discuss, but the headline was probably Brian Kelly naming Michael Floyd and Harrison Smith the captains of the 2011 Fighting Irish.
For Smith, that means his application for a fifth year has been accepted. For Floyd, it’s a permanent accolade after being named game captain more times than any other teammate last season. It’s an amazing leap for Harrison, who had been dogged by fans and coaches for his inconsistent play and arrested development thanks to continual position switches and misuse in Jon Tenuta’s 4-3 scheme.
If you’ve got a spare 100 minutes, head over to UND.com to watch the entire awards show, which included a tuxedo with a gold tie on Kelly and even fancy clip packages befitting of a red carpet extravaganza.
Here’s a quick breakdown of the awards given:
Offensive Scout Team Player of the Week: Cameron Roberson
Defensive Scout Team Player of the Week: Kendall Moore
Offensive Newcomer of the Year: Tyler Eifert
Defensive Newcomer of the Year: Prince Shembo
Special Teams Player of the Year: Bennett Jackson
Nick Pietrosante Award (Most Inspirational): Robert Hughes
Moose Krause Award (Lineman of the Year): Ian Williams
Guardian of the Year (Offensive Lineman of the Year): Zack Martin
Rockne Student Athlete Award: David Ruffer
Next Man In Award: Tommy Rees
Most Valuable Player: Michael Floyd
If you’re looking for a reason why the coaching staff isn’t too worried about losing Robert Hughes and Armando Allen, it could be Roberson, who has gotten nothing but positive reviews from the coaching staff. He’s a much more powerful back that Cierre Wood, and it’s likely he’ll immediately push for playing time, fighting Jonas Gray for the No. 2 spot.
The fact that Kendall Moore made such a nice splash on the practice field has to have people excited about adding another impact player in the middle of the defense. Last year, the Irish were in a very tough spot when Carlo Calabrese went down with an injury and by the end of the year, Manti Te’o was the one player on defense that was absolutely irreplaceable. Adding a guy like Moore to the middle will add some much needed depth behind Te’o and whoever wins the other inside position.
Eifert, Shembo, and Jackson are no-brainer choices. Eifert’s ascension to the starting job and his incredibly bright future are amazing when many of us wrote him off after a major back injury. Shembo’s 4.5 sacks were great production from the edge, especially considering coaches admitted he only knew a fraction of what was needed to play outside linebacker in the 3-4 system. Edge players like Ishaq Williams and Shembo should help ratchet up the pass rush opportunities next season. Jackson’s play on special teams was incredible. His first three plays on the football field ended with Jackson making tackles and he added explosive speed to the return game as well.
Hughes winning the Pietrosante Award is a fitting finish to a wonderful career for the senior. During Hughes’ freshman season, his 24-year-old brother Earl was murdered on Chicago’s West Side. While he certainly had a seesaw career, he ended it with a bang, carrying the Irish down the stretch, including the game-winning touchdown against USC and 27 tough carries against Miami in the bowl game. Hughes’ leadership was evident by the respect he earned from his teammates, who applauded loudly when he was given the game ball after the victory against the Trojans.
While Ian Williams being named defensive lineman of the year was expected, the fact that Zack Martin graded out as the most consistent lineman of the year was pretty astounding. Martin sat out last season, and was such an afterthought that his name was misspelled ‘Zach’ up until he was named the starting left tackle during spring ball. While many expected big things out of Trevor Robinson and Chris Stewart, they struggled on the interior of the line while Martin seemed to thrive at both left tackle and at right when Taylor Dever went down.
Having a 3.92 GPA and a perfect regular season kicking field goals should be good enough to win a scholarship, and Kelly confirmed it on Friday before naming Ruffer the student-athlete of the year. It’s amazing how far Ruffer has come this season. After the opening win against Purdue, Ruffer was made available to the press and I spent 10 minutes chatting with him because nobody else was talking with him. It was there I learned that he’d never kicked a field goal as long as the one he made against Purdue in his life because he’d never actually played any football before coming to ND. All that was well before Ruffer’s Lou Groza run, and the best statistical season of any Irish kicker.
Tommy Rees personified the Irish coaching staff’s philosophy of “Next Man In,” and his 4-0 stretch run and solid play against Tulsa made this spring’s quarterback competition interesting. While his raw skills probably rank near the bottom of the QB position, he’s got moxie and guts that defy his tenure at Notre Dame. Whether he has a long career as the Irish starting quarterback or ends up falling behind the other five quarterbacks on the roster, Rees should be remembered for some absolute heroics when the team needed it most.
The night’s final award went to Michael Floyd, who led the team in touchdowns, receptions and yards. While his performance this season left something to be desired by NFL scouts, it was clear that he was the sole engine that drove the Irish offense. Unlike the rest of the award winners, after Floyd won the MVP, both Kelly and his teammates asked for a speech, which Floyd reluctantly gave. It didn’t entail much more than a few nervous chuckles and a half-dozen thank yous, but it was a great moment for a football player that’ll lead the charge into 2011, a year that holds a lot of promise.
