Last week Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema argued that three of his players deserved the three big individual awards in the Big Ten; Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year.
Two out of three isn't bad.
Sophomore running back John Clay accepted the Offensive Player of the Year award and linebacker Chris Borland won Freshman of the Year.
Clay was the league's top runner, with over 120 yards per conference game, and finished with 13 touchdowns. He is the third Wisconsin player to earn the award, the others being Brent Moss, who won in 1993, and Ron Dayne, who took it on the way to winning the Heisman Trophy in 1999.
For Borland, the path to this award was not as easy. Early in the year he made an impact on special teams, blocked one punt and came in on defense as a pass rusher. He stepped in when starting linebacker Mike Taylor went down with a knee injury, and finished with the most tackles on the team in conference play.
Borland had a knack for big plays with three fumble recoveries, five forced fumbles and an interception to go along with his blocked punt.
Bielema's third candidate, senior defensive end O'Brien Schofield, did not win Defensive Player of the Year, but had to settle for being named first team All-Big Ten by both the media and coaches.
In addition to Schofield and Clay, junior offensive lineman John Moffitt was also named to the All-Big Ten first team. Junior tackle Gabe Carimi, senior tight end Garrett Graham and junior strong safety Jay Valai were also given first or second team All-Big Ten honors.
Five other Badgers received honorable mention All-Big Ten honors including junior quarterback Scott Tolzien and senior safety Chris Maragos.
