Wisconsin Badgers football coach Paul Chryst has been named the Big Ten’s Hayes-Schembechler Coach of the Year. The award is named for legendary Big Ten coaches Woody Hayes of Ohio State and Bo Schembechler of Michigan and is an award voted on by Chryst’s fellow conference coaches. Penn State’s James Franklin earned the Dave McClain Coach of the Year, as chosen by a select media panel.
Chryst led the Badgers to a 10-2 record overall and 7-2 mark in conference play as UW won the Big Ten West Division to earn a Big Ten Championship Game berth. Chryst becomes the first Wisconsin mentor to earn Hayes-Schembechler Coach of the Year honors and is the first UW coach to win at least 10 games in his first two seasons.
Franklin led the Nittany Lions to a 10-2 overall record, including an 8-1 mark in Big Ten play. Penn State earned its first trip to the Big Ten Championship game after winning a share of the East Division title and defeating co-divisional champion Ohio State in the regular season.
The 2016 All-Big Ten teams for defense and special teams as well as eight postseason individual awards were unveiled today. Students from Michigan, Minnesota and Ohio State claimed individual trophies, including the Wolverines’ Jabrill Peppers earning Nagurski-Woodson Defensive Player of the Year honors, Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year plaudits and Rodgers-Dwight Return Specialist of the Year recognition.
Peppers became the fourth Wolverine to claim Defensive Player of the Year honors and the first since Larry Foote in 2006. He ranks third in the Big Ten with 16.0 tackles for loss in all games.
The Buckeyes’ Tyquan Lewis secured Ohio State’s third straight Smith-Brown Defensive Lineman of the Year nod after former standout Joey Bosa won the award in both 2014 and 2015. Peppers was also named the Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year, becoming the second conference player claim both Defensive Player and Linebacker of the Year honors, joining Wisconsin’s Chris Borland in 2013. Michigan’s Jourdan Lewis earned Tatum-Woodson Defensive Back of the Year honors, becoming the first Wolverine to claim the award since its inception in 2011.
The Big Ten also recognized 14 Sportsmanship Award honorees. The students chosen are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. These students must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting.
