Iowa Football Awards

IOWA CITY, IA - - Seniors Marvin McNutt, Jr., and Broderick Binns have been named co-winners of the 2011 Roy J. Carver Most Valuable Player Award for Iowa's football team. The announcement came today (Saturday) at the team's annual awards banquet in Iowa City.

The Hawkeyes finished their regular season with a 7-5 overall record and a 4-4 mark in the Big Ten. The Hawkeyes will be playing 14th-ranked Oklahoma in the Insight Bowl at Tempe, AZ, on Dec. 30th. Iowa is bowl eligible for the 11th straight year and finished in the league's top division for the 10th time in the last 11 years. It's Iowa's second straight trip to the Insight Bowl. The Hawkeyes defeated 12th-ranked Missouri (27-24) in last year's contest.

McNutt is a 6-4, 215-pound wide receiver from St. Louis, Mo. He was previously named winner of the Big Ten's Richter-Howard Receiver of the Year Award. He was named first-team all-Big Ten by both the coaches and media. McNutt etched his name deeply into the Iowa records book following an outstanding senior campaign. He established a single season record for touchdown receptions (12). He also holds Hawkeye records for receiving yards in a season (1,269), career receiving yards (2,815) and career scoring receptions (28).

McNutt had over 100 receiving yards in eight games this year. His top games this season came against Indiana (six catches for 184 yards) and Purdue (nine catches for 151 yards). He is currently 10th on Iowa's career scoring list with 168 points.

Binns, a 6-2, 261-pound defensive end from St. Paul, Minn., was named to the media's second all-Big Ten team. He was named to the pre-season watch list for the Ted Hendricks Defensive End of the Year Award. He started all 12 games and has 30 career starts to his credit.

Binns had 59 tackles in 2011. He led the team in tackles for loss (12 for -58 yards) and was second in quarterback sacks with five for -36 yards. He currently has 178 career tackles.

Seniors Adam Gettis and Tyler Nielsen were named co-winners of the Hayden Fry "Extra Heartbeat" Award. Gettis was named to the coaches second all-Big Ten team while starting every game at offensive left guard. Nielsen was named honorable mention all-Big Ten at linebacker and is a District Six Academic all-American. He was a candidate for the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Award and a semifinalist for the NFF William V. Campbell Trophy. He started 11 games this year and had 65 tackles. The Hayden Fry Award is given in honor of Iowa's Hall of Fame coach who retired after the 1998 season. The award goes to a player(s) who gives that little bit extra at all times.

The "Iron Hawk Award" was presented to Mike Daniels. The award is presented to the student athlete who has maximized his physical potential on the playing field through his persistent dedication to Strength and Conditioning. Daniels was named to the coaches second all-Big Ten team. He had 62 tackles while starting all 12 games. He was credited with 10 tackles that resulted in 39 yards in losses. He led the team in quarterback sacks with seven for -35 yards.

The Brett Greenwood Award is new and will be given annually to the student-athlete who is/was a walk-on and best exemplifies the core values and behavior of the former Hawkeye defensive back, who was also a walk-on. This year's winner is senior defensive tackle Thomas Nardo of Lancaster, Pa. In addition, the coaching staff will give this honor to a former Hawkeye, who fits the description, one year at a time, for each season Ferentz has coached at Iowa. This year's past recipient will be 1999 offensive lineman Scott Pospisil.

The Player's Choice Award is a combination of what used to be called the Coaches Appreciation, Win During the Week and Hustle Awards. This year's winners are senior wide receiver Joe Audlehelm and linebacker Tyler Nielsen.

Tyler Nielsen and senior punter Eric Guthrie shared the "Forest Evashevski Scholastic Achievement Award". The award goes annually to a player(s) who displays a high degree of proficiency in both the classroom and on the playing field. Both winners are members of the Big Ten all-Academic team. Nielsen has been an academic all-Big Ten selection four years in a row. Guthrie is also Iowa's recipient of the 2011 Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.

Guthrie was also named the "Reggie Roby Special Teams Specialist of the Year". Senior running back and special team regular Jason White was named winner of the overall "Reggie Roby Special Teams Player of the Year Award". The awards are named after the late Iowa punter who was first-team all-American in 1981 and 1982. Roby died in 2005. He punted in the NFL for 16 years.

The "Comeback Player of the Year" award went to sophomore fullback Brad Rogers. He started the last six games of the 2011 season. He was plagued with a heart virus since last December and returned to action after missing the four non-conference games.

A total of nine "Team Leader" Awards were given to eight players. Offensively the awards went to senior wide receiver Joe Audlehelm, running back Damon Bullock and lineman Jordan Walsh. Both Bullock and Walsh are freshmen. Defensively the honors went to three freshmen; linebacker Marcus Collins, lineman Darian Cooper and end Riley McMinn. Special Team winners are Audlehelm and freshmen receiver Jacob Hillyer and defensive lineman Dean Tsopanides. Audlehelm has won the award two straight years.

McNutt and junior quarterback James Vandenberg (offense), Daniels and Nielsen (defense) and Guthrie (special teams) were named permanent captains for the 2011 season. All, except Vandenberg, are seniors.

The "Player Appreciation Award" went to former Hawkeye football and baseball letterman Lon Olejniczak of Cedar Rapids. Lon was a wide receiver while lettering four times. He has been very generous with his time and talents while serving as an executive with Transamerica in Cedar Rapids.

The Bump Elliott Appreciation Award goes to football custodial worker Doug Kray. He has been part of the football family for a number of years.

The Distinguished Service Award goes to Hawkeye radio analyst Ed Podolak. Podolak just finished his 30th year as an analyst for Hawkeye football.