I started my Year End Awards last year.  It is this blog’s attempt to identify some of the top players and coaches in college football.

Offensive Player of the Year
Colt McCoy, Texas
Few people were more important to their offense as McCoy was to Texas’.  McCoy’s ability to use the run made the “zone read” play that much more effective and Colt responded with a huge season both running and passing.  McCoy had a 173.36 QB Rating completing 34 touchdowns against only 8 interceptions and 3,859 yards passing.  McCoy also had 579 yards rushing.

Defensive Player of the Year
Jerry Hughes, TCU
Hughes came out of nowhere replacing former starter Chase Ortiz for the Horned Frogs.  His speed in the pass rush can be attributed to his natural athleticism as he was a running back in high school.  Hughes led the nation in sacks with 15 for a total loss of 113 yards and might have been the most high profile player for TCU’s number one ranked defense in spite of the Frogs having such stand-outs as Jason Phillips and Stephen Hodge.  But sacks weren’t Hughes’ only specialty. Hughes also forced 6 fumbles and recovered 3 fumbles.

Coach of the Year
Turner Gill, Buffalo
The former Nebraska stand-out QB has turned around the Bull program in just a few short years.  His first year at Buffalo, in 2006, Gill’s team was 2-10.  In his second year they were 5-7.  This year, Gill’s third, the Bulls finished the season 8-5 with a MAC Championship thanks to an upset of undefeated Ball State in the MAC Championship Game.

Most Inspirational Player
Myron Rolle, Florida State
Rolle won a Rhodes Scholarship during the 2008 season while helping the Seminoles to a tie of the ACC Atlantic Division Title.  Rolle has became a role-model for student athletes everywhere with his extreme dedication to his education and his team at the same time.  Now, he has followed that up with choosing to study at Oxford per the scholarship rather than play in the NFL.

As 2009 begins, it is that time of year when Collegefootballtopten.com starts to give out its end of the year awards.  In this post, we introduce you to the first annual “Book End” Awards.  Since I have had so many reviews at CFTT this year, I am going to do a segment handing out awards to the top five books that I have read this year.

I looked back on the year and I counted at least nine books that I read and reviewed.  That seems like a lot, but it is not quite one a month.  However, considering all of the writing I am doing and my full time job, I suppose it is not to bad.

In order to evaluate the books and choose the top five books, I have decided to use a four-fold critera for evaluation.

1) Inspirational.  Does the book inspire me to be a better person in some manner or another?

2) Enlightening of the game.  Does the book tell me something about the game, particularly college football?  Any part of the game is needed such as a book that tells me something about recruiting in college football.

3) Historical/Perspective.  Does the book reveal history to me about the game and the context in which the story lived?  Does it give me a larger perspective about football, or football in the context of life in gereral?

4) Writing Style.  How is the writing style?  Is it very descriptive and easy to follow?  Is it humerous?  Is the author creative, and does he/she not use to many clichés?

Top Five Books

5.  Walk-On by Thom Gossom
This is a memoir of Gossom’s experience being an African-American athlete at Auburn University in the early 1970′s.  This book is a 2008 publication.  Read the CFTT Review.

4.  Season of Life by Jeffrey Marx
This book is truly one of the most inspiring books I have read this year.  The book was previously published in 2003.  Read the CFTT Review.

3.  Meat Market by Bruce Feldman
Bruce has left us a treasure here.  Bruce allows us to listen as he sits in on recruiting at Ole Miss in 2006.  This book was originally published in 2007.  Read the CFTT Review.

2.  Rose Bowl Dreams by Adam Jones
Adam does a great job of capturing a fan’s perspective of this madness we call college football.  This book was a 2008 publication.  Read the CFTT Review.

1.  The Galloping Ghost by Gary Andrew Poole
Hands down, this was my favorite book of the year.  It truly gave me insight in to football in the 20′s and 30′s.  One should read this along with Jim Dent’s Twelve Mighty Orphans to understand more about football during that time period.  And then, watch the movie Leatherheads.  This book is a 2008 publication.  Read the CFTT Review.

The real Heisman Trophy will be awarded Saturday night, but Shotgun Spratling from The Blue Workhouse solicited votes from bloggers across the country and yours truly got a vote.   He asked us to list on our site our votes and why, etc.  So here goes.  This is the email I sent him with my top three votes.

1) Tim Tebow, Florida–reason, link:  http://collegefootballtopten.com/2008/12/07/tim-tebow-is-a-great-leader/

2)  Sam Bradford, Oklahoma–I saw him take some shots against TCU and was forced in to bad throws, but he had a great game in spite of it.  He carried the offense until the running game got better.

3)  Zac Robinson, Oklahoma State–He did everything the others did with as good a passer rating  along with the feet.

There you have it.  My votes for the Sports Blog Heisman Trophy Winner.

This is the first annual Collegefootballtopten.com Year End Awards. This year’s awards are based mostly on numbers. There is no attempt to interpret numbers based on any context. However, a number of different categories were considered.

Offensive Player of the Year– Graham Harrell–Texas Tech, QB
I think everyone knows who Harrell is, and I know he plays in a pass happy offense. Here are the numbers. Harrell was number 1 nationally in Passing (passing attempts), Total Passing Yards, Passing Yards per game, and Total Offense. Harrell was number 3 in Points Responsible For and number 5 in Passing Efficiency. Number 5 in Passing Efficiency is not bad when you attempt 644 passes. Graham had 5298 yards passing while completing 72.7 % of his passing. In era in which the QB means so much to the offense, there were few better than Harrell.

Defensive Player of the Year–George Selvie–University of South Florida, DE
When you are looking for an impact player on defense, Selvie fits the bill. Selvie was number 1 nationally in Takles for a Loss, number 2 in Sacks, and number 28 in Forced Fumbles. Selvie was a big reason that USF became a contender in the Big East and nationally rising to number 2 in the polls at one point. Selvie is just a Sophomore, so the Bulls can build on his talent toward a possible birth in a BCS bowl in the next couple of years.

Coach of the Year–Mark Mangino–Head Coach, Kansas
In the previous five years as head coach in Kansas, Mangino’s Jayhawks went to only two bowl games. Mangino’s teams were 4-7 (2004), 7-5 (2005) and 6-6 (2006) before rushing to a 11-1 record and a BCS birth in the Orange Bowl.

Resilient Team of the Year–Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech began the season with a heavy heart following the shootings that shocked their campus in the spring. Several students and staff were killed, and the Hokies were playing for their community and their school. Early in the season they suffered a lopsided loss at LSU. The Hokies rebounded winning the ACC Costal Division. In the ACC Championship game, Virginia Tech avenged their lone conference loss to Boston College by beating the Eagles 30-16 and securing the ACC Championship and a BCS birth in the Orange Bowl.

Happy New Year!
2008