Dec. 6, 2006
The University of Louisville, fresh off winning the 2006 BIG EAST football championship, led all schools with seven players earning First Team All-BIG EAST honors as the league announced its postseason award winners and all-conference teams on Wednesday morning. Senior defensive tackle Amobi Okoye was one of only two unanimous First Team selections, while five more Cardinals earned Second Team All-BIG EAST honors.
Joining Okoye as a First Team All-BIG EAST honoree from the Cardinal defense was senior cornerback William Gay, while the Cardinal offense had five First Team selections including senior tackle Renardo Foster, senior senior guard Kurt Quarterman, junior wide receiver Harry Douglas, junior kicker Art Carmody and sophomore tackle George Bussey.
The Cards' five Second Team selections included junior quarterback Brian Brohm, sophomore wide receiver Mario Urrutia and sophomore center Eric Wood on offense, and senior safety Brandon Sharp and junior linebacker Malik Jackson on defense.
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West Virginia sophomore quarterback Patrick White was named BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year, Pittsburgh senior linebacker H.B. Blades received conference Defensive Player of the Year honors and Rutgers' head coach Greg Schiano was tabbed BIG EAST Coach of the Year. In addition, a pair of USF players were also among the major award winners. Senior Ean Randolph garnered Special Teams Player of the Year accolades, while freshman quarterback Matt Grothe was named Rookie of the Year.
West Virginia senior safety Eric Wicks joined Okoye as the only unanimous All-BIG EAST First Team selections. All selections were made by the league's head coaches, who were not permitted to vote for their own players.
The All-BIG EAST First Team selections included five repeat choices from the 2005 All-BIG EAST First Team: kicker Art Carmody of Louisville, linebacker H.B. Blades and cornerback Darrelle Revis of Pittsburgh, tight end Clark Harris of Rutgers and center Dan Mozes of West Virginia. Blades, Mozes and Harris are first team performers for the third consecutive season, bringing the number of three-time first team selections in league history to 12.
With the 2006 BIG EAST title, the No. 5 ranked Cards earned the league's automatic BCS bowl bid and will meet ACC champion and No. 15 ranked Wake Forest in the FedEx Orange Bowl on Jan. 2 at 8 p.m. ET at Dolphin Stadium in Miami, Fla.
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.
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
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.
