Updated at 8:55 p.m.
The brightest of a bevy of breakout offensive stars and the heart and soul of the defense took home individual conference awards Monday night when the Big Ten announced its end of season honors.
Senior linebacker Mike Mauti, whose season was cut short by one game because of a left knee injury, was announced as the winner of the Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year. And Allen Robinson, the 1,000-yard receiver who set the school record for receptions in a season, went on to win the Richter-Howard Wide Receiver of the Year despite catching only three passes last year.
They were two of Penn State’s best players in an 8-4 season. Perhaps equally, if not more valuable, to the success of the team, however, was the quarterback, the fifth-year senior whose transformation under first-year coach Bill O’Brien has been well-documented. He set the school record for career touchdown passes (46) and set single-season records for yardage (3,266), completions (270) and attempts (446). His 24 touchdowns tied Daryll Clark’s single-season mark, and he completed 60.5 percent of his passes.
Yet Matt McGloin, despite being the only Big Ten quarterback to throw for more than 3,000 yards and who led the conference in touchdown passes, was not a first-team all-conference selection.
Or a second-teamer, for that matter.
Those honors were split between Ohio State’s Braxton Miller and Nebraska’s Taylor Martinez, who both turned in strong seasons. Martinez led his team to a 10-2 record and spot in the Big Ten title game Saturday against Wisconsin. He threw for just less than 2,500 yards and rushed for 833 more, finishing with 29 total touchdowns. Miller led Ohio State to a 12-0 season, threw for more than 2,000 yards, rushed for more than 1,200 more and finished with 28 touchdowns.
Penn State ended up with six players honored as a first-team selection. McGloin’s go-to target, Robinson, was an unanimous first-team selection, as was defensive tackle Jordan Hill and Mauti, the senior linebacker.
‘It’s been a pretty rough journey,’ Robinson said on the Big Ten Network. ‘I wouldn’t say too rough, just a lot of long days in the spring and summer. It’s been a fun journey, actually.’
Offensive linemen Matt Stankiewitch and John Urschel were named to the coaches’ first-team, while tight end Kyle Carter was named to the media’s first team. Gerald Hodges was a second-team choice at linebacker.
