I have three more awards to hand out to Big Ten football players this afternoon. Some day when we have a substantial operating budget I’ll make these trophies and send them to the winners like Bob Diaco would.

Without any further delay, allow me to present...

The Foltz-Sadler Trophy for Big Ten Special Teams Player Of The Year

to

Jordan Stout of the Penn State Nittany Lions!

If you followed Atinat’s Punting Is Winning this year, this one’s tough to argue with.

This voting was surprisingly close, and I say surprisingly because the man with the nation’s highest PISS also worked as the primary placekicker for Penn State. This proved to be a bit more of an adventure, as he went 16/23 on the year. Unfortunately, one of those misses was in a game against Illinois that ended regulation tied, and another miss (and one of his two missed extra points) came in a 3 point loss to Michigan State. Nevertheless, his punting gave Penn State more chances to win games than their offense should have needed this year, and his kicking was adequate, and he did both.

There were 13 voters for this one. Stout finished with 48 points and six first place votes, with 12 of 13 voters ranking him (we ranked 1-5, although some only got to 3)

Also Receiving Votes

2nd: Adam Korsak, P, Rutgers Scarlet Knights | 46 points, 4 first place votes, ranked by 12/13

3rd: Blake Hayes, P, Illinois Fighting Illini | 28 points, 1 first place vote, ranked by 11/13

4th: Jake Moody, K, Michigan Wolverines | 25 points, 2 first place votes, ranked by 8/13

5th: Caleb Shudak, K, Iowa Hawkeyes | 20 points, high rank 2, ranked by 6/13

6th: Bryce Baringer, P, Michigan State Spartans | 10 points, high rank 2, ranked by 4/13

7th: Noah Ruggles, K, Ohio State Buckeyes | 5 points, high rank 3, ranked by 3/13

Naturally, we present special teams first because we go in descending order of importance.

So next up is the defense, where 15 voters have settled on awarding the

George Gordon Meade Trophy for Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year

to none other than

Aidan Hutchinson, DE, Michigan Wolverines

The Heisman runner-up was in a class of his own here, racking up a staggering 70 points and 11 first place votes. He was ranked by all 15 voters, with 3rd being the lowest ranking he received.

The battle was for the podium, really.

Also Receiving Votes:

2nd: Leo Chenal, LB, Wisconsin Badgers | 29 points, 2 first place votes, ranked by 8/15 voters

3rd: George Karlaftis, DE, Purdue Boilermakers | 22 points, high rank of 2, ranked by 7/15 voters

4th: Riley Moss, DB, Iowa Hawkeyes | 21 points, 1 first place vote, ranked by 7/15

5th: Jaquan Brisker, DB, Penn State Nittany Lions | 15 points, high rank 2, ranked by 6/15

6th: Kerby Joseph, DB, Illinois Fighting Illini | 13 points, 1 first place vote, ranked by 5/15

7th: Jack Campbell, LB, Iowa Hawkeyes | 11 points, high rank 2, ranked by 4/15

8th: Jojo Domann, LB, Nebraska Cornhuskers | 9 points, high rank 3, ranked by 4/15

9th: David Ojabo, DE, Michigan Wolverines | 6 points, high rank 2, ranked by 3/15

10th: Jack Sanborn, LB, Wisconsin Badgers | 5 points, high rank 4, ranked by 3/15

11th: Cam Taylor-Britt, DB, Nebraska Cornhuskers | 3 points, high rank 3, ranked by 1/15

So there you have it!

Oh, right, some of you actually watch offense.

Never fear, for a consortium of the same 15 writers have bestowed the blessings of the

Flaming Atlanta Trophy for Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year

upon one

Kenneth Walker III, RB, Michigan State Spartans

The Doak Walker Award-winning back was very much the source of Michigan State’s newfound powers, eclipsing 1700 yards from scrimmage with 19 total touchdowns.

He received 57 points and 6 first place votes and what’s even more impressive, every voter ranked him, including the ones who decided to screw around after I suggested that more writers should vote lest some homer picks for teams they don’t like throw everything out of whack.

Also Receiving Votes

2nd: David Bell, WR, Purdue Boilermakers | 55 points, 6 first place votes, ranked by 14/15 voters

3rd: CJ Stroud, QB, Ohio State Buckeyes | 42 points, 3 first place votes, ranked by 12/15

4th: Hassan Haskins, RB, Michigan Wolverines | 21 points, high rank 3, ranked by 11/15

5th: Jahan Dotson, WR, Penn State Nittany Lions | 20 points, 1 first place vote, ranked by 8/15

6th: Garrett Wilson, WR, Ohio State Buckeyes | 7 points, high rank 2, ranked by 2/15

7th: Braelon Allen, RB, Wisconsin Badgers | 6 points, high rank 3, ranked by 4/15

T-8th: Chris Olave, WR, Ohio State Buckeyes | 4 points, high rank 2, ranked by 1/15

T-8th: Chase Brown, RB, Illinois Fighting Illini | 4 points, high rank 2, ranked by 1/15

And there you have it. There’s two more trophies to hand out today, and then the All-Empire Teams start coming out tomorrow with the most important one first.