1999 College Football Awards

Sporting News, The, Dec 13, 1999 by Tom Dienhart, Kyle Veltrop

PLAYER OF THE YEAR RON DAYNE, RB, WISCONSIN

The number loomed as big as the man chasing it: 1,717. That was the number of yards rushing Dayne needed to surpass Ricky Williams as the all-time leading ground gainer in Division I-A. Dayne delivered in smash-mouth style, rumbling for 216 yards in the regular-season finale against Iowa and finishing second in the nation with 1,834 yards. That gave him 6,397 for his career, compared to Williams' 6,279.

Making Dayne's feat more remarkable is that he did it in a team concept. Dayne, who benefited greatly when mobile redshirt freshman Brooks Bollinger became the starting quarterback October 2 in a romp at Ohio State, didn't accumulate piles of yards in lopsided victories. Instead, coach Barry Alvarez routinely took him out of games that had developed into blowouts.

But most impressive, Dayne led his team to a 9-2 record and second consecutive Rose Bowl berth as the marked man of the offense.

"Down in and down out, Dayne is a tough guy to deal with all day long," former Michigan State coach Nick Saban said after watching his top-ranked rush defense get stomped for 214 yards by Dayne in a 40-10 Badgers victory. "He's a tough guy to tackle. Dayne's about as good as anybody I've ever seen. You have to play to stop him all day."

--Tom Dienhart

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR MICHAEL VICK, QB, VIRGINIA TECH

When Vick knelt in his first huddle as Virginia Tech's quarterback, he brought with him more than a robust arm and jitterbug legs. Vick also brought the expectations of Hokies fans.

"(Michael) said he wanted to show people what he could do," offensive coordinator Rickey Bustle says. "I told him, `You won't show what you can do until the season is over. You're getting all this hype and you haven't done diddly-squat.'"

Vick went out and did double diddly-squat squared. To call Vick the Freshman of the Year is to say grass is green or the BCS formula is confusing. In fact, Vick became a Heisman Trophy contender by piling up equally impressive team numbers (10-0 as a starter) and individual stats (averaged 20.4 yards per completion and led the nation in passing efficiency).

By showing such mastery so early, the ceiling just got higher for Vick. That's fine. Expectations are something he can handle.

--Kyle Veltrop

COACH OF THE YEAR JUNE JONES, HAWAII

Beating a I-AA foe usually isn't cause for a I-A school to celebrate. But for Hawaii coming off an 0-12 year and a season-opening 62-7 home loss to USC, a 31-27 win over Eastern Illinois was significant

"We got down 10-0, but we battled back and won the game," said Jones, whose team ended a nation's-worst 19-game losing streak. "Up to then, I hadn't realized the mental and emotional state these players were in. These kids were hugging each other and crying like babies after that win."

That was the impetus the Rainbows needed. Hawaii proceeded to claim a share of the WAC title and gained a bowl bid for the first time since 1992, finishing 8-4, the best mark by a team coming off a winless season.

Jones, a former Rainbows quarterback, turned down the San Diego Chargers coaching job to come to Hawaii for the '99 season. He used a run-and-shoot attack to engineer the improbable season, which will culminate December 25 in the Oahu Bowl against Oregon State. His cause was helped by playing nine home games, but nothing can diminish what he has accomplished.

--T.D.

Fans' College Football Awards

Who did you think deserved college football's major awards? Users of sportingnews.com and yahoo.com got a chance to express their opinions. Their top three, with 74,165 voters responding:

Offensive Player of the Year

1. Ron  Dayne
Wisconsin RB, 28, 624

2. Michael Vick
Virginia Tech QB, 18,301

3. Major Applewhite
Texas QB, 16,441

Defensive Player of the Year

1. Corey Moore
Virginia Tech DE, 10,462

2. Jammar Fletcher
Wisconsin CB, 4,114

3. LaVar Arrington
Penn State LB, 2,580

Coach of the Year

1. Bob Stoops
Oklahoma, 12, 747

2. Frank Beamer
Virginia Tech, 12,346

3. David Cutcliffe
Mississippi, 2,277

Freshman of the Year

1. Michael Vick
Virginia Tech QB, 14,933

2. T.J. Duckett
Michigan State RB, 1,111

3. Cedric Colles
Arkansas R8, 759

The Sporting News All-American Team

FIRST TEAM

OFFENSE

Pos. Player                 Ht./Wt.    Class   School

WR   Peter Warrick          6-0/190    Sr.     Florida State
T    Chris McIntosh         6-7/307    Sr.     Wisconsin
G    Richard Mercier        6-3/290    Sr      Miami (Fla.)
C    Ben Hamilton           6-5/271    Jr.     Minnesota
G    Noel LaMontagne        6-5/302    Sr.     Virginia
T    Chris Samuels          6-6/294    Sr.     Alabama
TE   Bubba Franks           6-6/245    Jr.     Miami (Fla.)
WR   Troy Walters           5-8/170    Sr.     Stanford
QB   Michael Vick           6-1/211    Fr.     Virginia Tech
RB   Ron Dayne              5-10/253   Sr      Wisconsin
RB   Thomas Jones           5-10/205   Sr.     Virginia

DEFENSE

E    Corey Moore            6-0/218    Sr.     Virginia Tech
T    Corey Simon            6-4/275    Sr.     Florida State
T    Rob Renes              6-1/288    Sr.     Michigan
E    Courtney Brown         6-5/265    Sr.     Penn State
LB   Barrin Simpson         5-11/221   Sr.     Mississippi State
LB   Mark Simoneau          6-0/240    Sr.     Kansas State
LB   LaVar Arrington        6-3/233    Jr.     Penn State
CB   Ralph Brown            5-10/180   Sr.     Nebraska
CB   Jamar Fletcher         5-10/167   So.     Wisconsin
SS   Tyrone Carter          5-9/184    Sr.     Minnesota
FS   Deon Grant             6-3/205    Jr.     Tennessee

SPECIALISTS

K    Sebastian Janikowski   6-2/255    Jr.     Florida State
P    Brian Schmitz          6-0/165    Sr.     North Carolina
KR   Deltha O'Neal          5-11/190   Sr.     California

SECOND TEAM

OFFENSE

Pos. Player             Ht./Wt.            School

WR   Trevor Insley      6-1/195    Class   Nevada
T    Jon Carman         6-8/335    Sr.     Georgia Tech
G    Terrence Metcalf   6-3/291    So.     Mississippi
C    Mike Malano        6-2/300    Sr.     San Diego State
G    Jason Whitaker     6-5/300    Sr.     Florida State
T    Chad Clifton       6-6/320    Sr.     Tennessee
TE   Ibn Green          6-2/225    Sr.     Louisville
WR   Dennis Northcutt   5-11/172   Sr.     Arizona
QB   Joe Hamilton       5-10/189   Sr.     Georgia Tech
RB   Shaun Alexander    6-1/205    Sr.     Alabama
RB   Travis Prentice    6-2/228    Sr.     Miami (Ohio)

DEFENSE

E    Robaire Smith      6-5/269    Sr.     Michigan State
T    Casey Hampton      6-1/305    Jr.     Texas
T    Darwin Walker      6-3/290    Sr.     Tennessee
E    Adalius Thomas     6-4/252    Sr.     Southern Miss
LB   Rob Morris         6-2/250    Sr.     BYU
LB   Brandon Short      6-3/246    Sr.     Penn State
LB   Nate Webster       6-0/220    Jr.     Miami. (Fla.)
SS   Brian Urlacher     6-4/235    Sr.     New Mexico
FS   Lamar Chapman      6-0/180    Sr.     Kansas State
CB   Damen Wheeler      5-10/175   Sr.     Colorado
CB   Deltha O'Neal      5-11/190   Sr.     California

SPECIALISTS

K    Jeff Chandler      6-2/208    Jr.     Florida
P    Andrew Bayes       6-3/200    Sr.     East Carolina
KR   David Allen        5-9/185    Jr.     Kansas State