Schiano Tabbed BIG EAST Coach of the Year
Dec 06 | Football
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano was named the BIG EAST Football Coach of the Year while a record 14 Scarlet Knights captured first or second team All-BIG EAST honors, the league announced on Wednesday. Schiano was named the conference's coach of the year after guiding the Scarlet Knights to a 10-2 record, including a 5-2 mark which tied for second in the league standings.
"I consider it a great honor to be recognized by my peers as the BIG EAST Coach of the Year," said Schiano.
Rutgers posted a 10-win season for the second time in school history while the five league wins are a new school record. The Scarlet Knights will face Kansas State in the Texas Bowl in Houston, Tex., on Dec. 28.
The Scarlet Knights had five players garner first-team all-conference honors, the most in any season for Rutgers. In addition, nine players captured second-team all-league accolades as the 14 Scarlet Knights selected on the conference's first and second teams were the most of any school.
The first-team all-conference selections were sophomore running back Ray Rice (New Rochelle, N.Y.), junior offensive tackle Jeremy Zuttah (Edison, N.J.), senior tight end Clark Harris (Manahawkin, N.J.), junior defensive tackle Eric Foster (Homestead, Fla.) and senior punter Joe Radigan (Hoboken, N.J.). Foster, Rice, Radigan and Zuttah earned first-team honors for the first time while Harris collected first-team honors for the third time.
Harris is the first Scarlet Knight in school history to be named a three-time BIG EAST first-team all-conference honoree.
The second-team all-conference honorees were senior fullback Brian Leonard (Gouverneur, N.Y.), senior guard Cameron Stephenson (Inglewood, Calif.), junior offensive tackle Pedro Sosa (Union City, N.J.), junior kicker Jeremy Ito (Loma Linda, Calif.) senior defensive tackle Ramel Meekins (Westwood, N.J.), sophomore defensive end Jamaal Westerman (Brampton, Ontario), senior linebacker Devraun Thompson (Piscataway, N.J.), junior strong safety Ron Girault (Spring Valley, N.Y.) and sophomore free safety Courtney Greene (New Rochelle, N.Y.)
Leonard captured all-conference honors for the third time in his career while the other eight second-team selections were first-time picks.
BIG EAST OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Patrick White, West Virginia, QB, Sophomore, 6-2, 190, Daphne, Ala./Daphne
BIG EAST DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
H.B. Blades, Pittsburgh, LB, Senior, 6-0, 240, Plantation, Fla./Plantation
BIG EAST SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Ean Randolph, USF, Return Specialist, Freshman, 5-9, 175, Plant City, Fla./Durant
BIG EAST ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Matt Grothe, USF, QB, Freshman, 6-0, 200, Lakeland, Fla./Lake Gibson
BIG EAST COACH OF THE YEAR
Greg Schiano, Rutgers, 6th Season, 29-41 (.414)
2006 Record: 10-2 overall, 5-2 BIG EAST
Alma Mater: Bucknell University (1988); Hometown: Wyckoff, N.J.
2006 ALL-BIG EAST FIRST TEAM
OFFENSE
| Pos. | Player | School | Cl. | Ht. | Wt. | Hometown/High School/Junior College |
| WR | Harry Douglas | Louisville | Jr. | 5-11 | 170 | Jonesboro, Ga./Jones |
| WR | Derek Kinder | Pittsburgh | Jr. | 6-1 | 205 | Albion, N.Y./Albion |
| OT | George Bussey | Louisville | So. | 6-4 | 298 | Louisville, Ky./Western |
| OT | Renardo Foster | Louisville | Sr. | 6-7 | 325 | Ripley, Tenn./Ripley |
| OT | Jeremy Zuttah | Rutgers | Jr. | 6-4 | 290 | Edison, N.J./J.P. Stevens |
| OG | Kurt Quarterman | Louisville | Sr. | 6-5 | 328 | Albany, Ga./Westover |
| OG | Jeremy Sheffey | West Virginia | Sr. | 6-3 | 290 | Catlettsburg, Ky./Boyd County |
| C | Dan Mozes | West Virginia | Sr. | 6-4 | 290 | Washington, Pa./Washington |
| TE | Clark Harris | Rutgers | Sr. | 6-6 | 260 | Manahawkin, N.J./Southern Regional |
| QB | Patrick White | West Virginia | So. | 6-2 | 190 | Daphne, Ala./Daphne |
| RB | Ray Rice | Rutgers | So. | 5-9 | 195 | New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle |
| RB | Steve Slaton | West Virginia | So. | 5-10 | 190 | Levittown, Pa./Conwell-Egan |
| K | Art Carmody | Louisville | Jr. | 5-9 | 180 | Shreveport, La./Loyola College |
| KR/PR | Ean Randolph | USF | Fr. | 5-9 | 175 | Plant City, Fla./Durant |
DEFENSE
| Pos. | Player | School | Cl. | Ht. | Wt. | Hometown/High School/Junior College |
| DL | Terrill Byrd | Cincinnati | So. | 6-1 | 285 | Cincinnati, Ohio/Colerain |
| DL | **Amobe Okoye | Louisville | Sr. | 6-2 | 305 | Huntsville, Ala./Lee |
| DL | Eric Foster | Rutgers | Jr. | 6-2 | 260 | Homestead, Fla./Homestead |
| DL | Keilein Dykes | West Virginia | Jr. | 6-4 | 290 | Youngstown, Ohio/Chaney |
| LB | Kevin McCullough | Cincinnati | Sr. | 6-2 | 240 | Hudson, Ohio/Hudson/Grand Rapids |
| LB | H.B. Blades | Pittsburgh | Sr. | 6-0 | 240 | Plantation, Fla./Plantation |
| LB | Stephen Nicholas | USF | Sr. | 6-3 | 225 | Jacksonville, Fla./Lee |
| CB | William Gay | Louisville | Sr. | 5-11 | 184 | Tallahassee, Fla./Rickards |
| CB | Darrelle Revis | Pittsburgh | Jr. | 6-0 | 200 | Aliquippa, Pa./Aliquippa |
| CB | Trae Williams | USF | Jr. | 5-10 | 185 | Plant City, Fla./Durant |
| S | Dominic Ross | Cincinnati | Sr. | 6-0 | 200 | Marion, Ohio/Harding |
| S | **Eric Wicks | West Virginia | Sr. | 6-1 | 210 | Pittsburgh, Pa./Perry |
| P | Joe Radigan | Rutgers | Sr. | 6-5 | 220 | Hoboken, N.J./Hoboken |
** - unanimous selection
2006 ALL-BIG EAST SECOND TEAM
OFFENSE
| Pos. | Player | School | Cl. | Ht. | Wt. | Hometown/High School/Junior College |
| WR | Mario Urrutia | Louisville | So. | 6-6 | 228 | Louisville, Ky./Fern Creek |
| WR | Darius Reynaud | West Virginia | Jr. | 5-10 | 200 | Luling, La./Hahnville |
| OT | Pedro Sosa | Rutgers | Jr. | 6-5 | 295 | Union City, N.J./Union Hill |
| OT | Ryan Stanchek | West Virginia | So. | 6-4 | 280 | Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle |
| OG | Trevor Canfield | Cincinnati | So. | 6-5 | 300 | Cincinnati, Ohio/Western Hills |
| OG | Cameron Stephenson | Rutgers | Sr. | 6-5 | 305 | Inglewood, Calif./Hawthorne/LA Harbor |
| C | Eric Wood | Louisville | So. | 6-4 | 297 | Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder |
| TE | Brent Celek | Cincinnati | Sr. | 6-4 | 260 | Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle |
| QB | Brian Brohm | Louisville | Jr. | 6-4 | 226 | Louisville, Ky./Trinity |
| RB | Donald Brown II | Connecticut | Fr. | 5-10 | 207 | Atlantic Highlands, N.J./Red Bank Catholic |
| RB | Brian Leonard | Rutgers | Sr. | 6-2 | 235 | Gouverneur, N.Y./Gouverneur |
| K | Jeremy Ito | Rutgers | Jr. | 5-11 | 185 | Redlands, Calif./Redlands |
| KR/PR | Vaughn Rivers | West Virginia | Jr. | 5-9 | 170 | Pittsburgh, Pa./Perry |
DEFENSE
| Pos. | Player | School | Cl. | Ht. | Wt. | Hometown/High School/Junior College |
| DL | Rhema Fuller | Connecticut | Sr. | 6-2 | 266 | Cocoa, Fla./Cocoa |
| DL | Joe Clermond | Pittsburgh | Jr. | 6-3 | 260 | Tampa, Fla./Chamberlain |
| DL | Ramel Meekins | Rutgers | Sr. | 6-0 | 275 | Westwood, N.J./Westwood |
| DL | Jamaal Westerman | Rutgers | So. | 6-3 | 252 | Brampton, Ontario/Notre Dame |
| DL | Jameel McClain | Syracuse | Jr. | 6-1 | 252 | Philadelphia, Pa./George Washington |
| LB | Malik Jackson | Louisville | Jr. | 6-2 | 231 | Dunwoody, Ga./Dunwoody |
| LB | Devraun Thompson | Rutgers | Sr. | 5-11 | 220 | Piscataway, N.J./Piscataway |
| LB | Kelvin Smith | Syracuse | Sr. | 6-2 | 233 | New Hempstead, N.Y./North Rockland |
| CB | Mike Mickens | Cincinnati | So. | 6-0 | 165 | Huber Heights, Ohio/Wayne |
| CB | Tanard Jackson | Syracuse | Sr. | 6-1 | 193 | Silver Spring, Md./Bullis School |
| S | Brandon Sharp | Louisville | Sr. | 5-11 | 195 | Jacksonville, Fla./Bolles |
| S | Ron Girault | Rutgers | Jr. | 5-11 | 195 | Spring Valley, N.Y./St. Joseph's (Montvale) |
| S | Courtney Greene | Rutgers | So. | 6-1 | 205 | New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle |
| P | Adam Graessle | Pittsburgh | Sr. | 6-4 | 225 | Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman |
Note: Ties in the voting created additional positions for offensive tackle and cornerback on the first team and defensive tackle and safety on the second team.
