Some Husker Awards

The All-Big 12 team was announced on Monday.  Here's how the Huskers fared:

2009 Defensive Player of the Year

DL - Ndamukong Suh

2009 All-Big 12 First Team

DL - Ndamukong Suh (unanimous)

DL - Jared Crick

DB - Prince Amukamara

DB - Larry Asante

2009 All-Big 12 Second Team

RB - Roy Helu, Jr.

PK - Alex Henery

LB - Phillip Dillard

Honorable Mentions:

Defensive Newcomer: Dejon Gomes

DB - Dejon Gomes

DB - Eric Hagg

P - Alex Henery

OL - Jacob Hickman

TE - Mike McNeill

DB - Matt O'Hanlon

WR - Niles Paul

DL - Barry Turner

Analysis:  

Snubs:

*Pierre Allen: Plenty of people talk about Nebraska's front four.  The 4th front four member didn't even get an honorable mention

*Alex Henery:  Maybe I'm biased.  But this Cornhusker could be the best kicker to come out of Nebraska (yes, even better than Josh and Kris).  He constantly puts punts inside the 20 and is (well, was) pretty automatic from inside 50 yards.  He deserved 1st team PK and 2nd team P.

*Matt O'Hanlon: Deserved a 2nd team pick for sure.  O'Hanlon was key in producing turnovers (including 3 in a huge game vs. OU) and had a huge TD last week vs. the Buffs.

*O-Lineman: Outside of Jacob Hickman, no other Husker O-lineman even got an honorable mention.  I understand they didn't deserved any 1st or 2nd pick, but not even a mention either?

*Rex Burkhead: This may be a stretch because of his extended absence due to injury, but I would push for Burkhead to have received an honorable mention as well.

Disappointments

*Niles Paul: At the beginning of the year, Paul was Nebraska's lone wide receiving threat.  He hasn't really asserted himself.  There have been flashes of great things (4th quarter vs. Missouri, Colorado punt return), but there have been low points (ISU).  Maybe the inconsistent quarterback threat has contributed to his lower than expected numbers.

*Linebackers: Nebraska has produced some amazing linebackers (Alberts, Polk, Ruuds) over the years, but they were basically unmentioned this year (outside of Dillard).  Again, these guys are young, but the focus of Nebraska's D is the front four and the DBs, not the LBs.

*O-Line: The running game was shaking in the middle part of the season.  This probably has to do with the lack of depth and injuries.  However, the O-Line was underachieving, and too many times have I seen QB hurries and TFL.

Future

The thing that sticks out the most is the amount of young players.  Of the 1st team members, half of them will be back next year (2/4) and two-thirds of the 2nd team (2/3).  Also, of the honorable mention, over half are non-Seniors (5/8).  This makes the future look bright for the already achieving Huskers.