Smith named Big Ten Defensive POY

Will Smith was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year today, and several other Buckeyes received first and second-team honors.

The Big Ten announced their players of the year today as voted on by both the coaches and media, and Ohio State defensive end Will Smith was voted Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year by both.

Smith, who had 10.5 sacks on the year and 20.5 tackles for loss, is the first Buckeye to be named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year since Mike Vrabel in 1996. Smith was also named the Defensive Lineman of the Year by the coaches.

Smith, senior DT Tim Anderson, sophomore LB A.J. Hawk, senior OL Alex Stepanovich, senior S Will Allen, and senior punter B.J. Sander each won first team honors from the coaches. Smith, Hawk, and Stepanovich were given first team honors from the media along with senior TE Ben Hartsock and junior CB Chris Gamble.

2003 All-Big Ten Team
(As voted on by coaches)
(Players in ALL CAPS have 2004 eligibility)

POSITION	FIRST TEAM	SECOND TEAM
QB	John Navarre, Michigan	Jeff Smoker, Michigan State
RB	Chris Perry , Michigan	Fred Russell, Iowa
RB	MARION BARBER III, Minnesota	Jason Wright, Northwestern
WR	BRAYLON EDWARDS, Michigan	JASON AVANT, Michigan
WR	Lee Evans , Wisconsin	John Standeford, Purdue
C	GREG ESLINGER, Minnesota	Nick Hardwick, Purdue
G	DAVID BAAS, Michigan	Joe Tate, Michigan State
G	Alex Stepanovich, Ohio State	Joe Quinn, Minnesota
T	Robert Gallery , Iowa *	Steve Stewart, Michigan State
T	Tony Pape , Michigan	Shane Olivea, Ohio State
TE	Ben Utecht , Minnesota	Ben Hartsock, Ohio State
K	Nate Kaeding , Iowa	MIKE NUGENT, Ohio State
DL	MATT ROTH, Iowa	Howard Hodges, Iowa (tie)
DL	Tim Anderson, Ohio State	Larry Stevens, Michigan
DL	Will Smith, Ohio State	CLIFFORD DUKES , Michigan State (tie)
DL	Shaun Phillips, Purdue	Craig Terrill, Purdue
DL		ANTTAJ HAWTHORNE , Wisconsin
LB	A.J. HAWK, Ohio State	CHAD GREENWAY, Iowa
LB	Niko Koutouvides, Purdue	ABDUL HODGE, Iowa
LB	Alex Lewis , Wisconsin	PIERRE WOODS, Michigan
DB	Bob Sanders, Iowa *	MARKUS CURRY, Michigan
DB	Will Allen , Ohio State	Jeremy LeSueur, Michigan (tie)
DB	Stuart Schweigert, Purdue	ERNEST SHAZOR, Michigan
DB	JIM LEONHARD, Wisconsin	CHRIS GAMBLE, Ohio State
DB		Yaacov Yisrael, Penn State (tie)
P	B.J. Sander, Ohio State	BRANDON FIELDS, Michigan State

*Denotes unanimous First Team selection

HONORABLE MENTION: ILLINOIS: MATT SINCLAIR, STEVE WEATHERFORD; IOWA: Jared Clauss, Grant Steen; MICHIGAN: Carl Diggs, Adam Finley, Dave Pearson, LAWRENCE REID; MICHIGAN STATE: Paul Harker, JASON HARMON, Greg Taplin; MINNESOTA: Asad Abdul-Khaliq, RHYS LLOYD, RIAN MELANDER, LAURENCE MARONEY, MARK SETTERSTROM, Eli Ward; NORTHWESTERN: LOREN HOWARD, ZACH STRIEF; OHIO STATE: Adrien Clarke, DUSTIN FOX, Michael Jenkins, Craig Krenzel, Darrion Scott; PENN STATE: Gino Capone, Rich Gardner, ALAN ZEMAITIS; PURDUE: Gilbert Gardner, Landon Johnson, KYLE ORTON, MIKE OTTO, ANTWAUN ROGERS, Brent Slaton, TAYLOR STUBBLEFIELD; WISCONSIN: DAN BUENNING, DONOVAN RAIOLA, DWAYNE SMITH.

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Chris Perry, Michigan
OFFENSIVE LINEMAN OF THE YEAR: Robert Gallery , Iowa
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Will Smith, Ohio State
DEFENSIVE LINEMAN OF THE YEAR: Will Smith, Ohio State
CO-FRESHMEN OF THE YEAR: STEVE BREASTON, Michigan ; LAURENCE MARONEY, Minnesota

2003 All-Big Ten Team
(as voted by media)
(Players in ALL CAPS have 2004 eligibility)

POSITION	FIRST TEAM	SECOND TEAM
QB	John Navarre, Michigan	Jeff Smoker, Michigan State
RB	Chris Perry, Michigan *	Fred Russell, Iowa
RB	MARION BARBER III, Minnesota	Jason Wright, Northwestern
WR	BRAYLON EDWARDS, Michigan	John Standeford, Purdue
WR	Lee Evans , Wisconsin	TAYLOR STUBBLEFIELD, Purdue
C	GREG ESLINGER, Minnesota	Dave Pearson, Michigan
G	DAVID BAAS, Michigan	Joe Quinn, Minnesota
G	Alex Stepanovich, Ohio State	DAN BUENNING, Wisconsin
T	Robert Gallery , Iowa	RIAN MELANDER, Minnesota
T	Tony Pape , Michigan	Shane Olivea, Ohio State
TE	Ben Hartsock, Ohio State	Ben Utecht, Minnesota
K	Nate Kaeding , Iowa	MIKE NUGENT, Ohio State
DL	MATT ROTH, Iowa	Howard Hodges, Iowa
DL	Will Smith, Ohio State	Grant Bowman, Michigan
DL	Shaun Phillips, Purdue*	Greg Taplin, Michigan State
DL	ANTTAJ HAWTHORNE , Wisconsin	Tim Anderson, Ohio State
LB	ABDUL HODGE, Iowa	CHAD GREENWAY, Iowa
LB	A.J. HAWK, Ohio State	Gilbert Gardner, Purdue
LB	Niko Koutouvides, Purdue	Alex Lewis, Wisconsin
DB	Bob Sanders, Iowa	Jeremy LeSueur, Michigan
DB	CHRIS GAMBLE, Ohio State	Will Allen , Ohio State
DB	Stuart Schweigert, Purdue	DUSTIN FOX, Ohio State
DB	JIM LEONHARD, Wisconsin	ALAN ZEMAITIS, Penn State
P	BRANDON FIELDS, Michigan State	B.J. Sander, Ohio State

*Denotes unanimous First Team selection

HONORABLE MENTION: ILLINOIS: Sean Bubin, MATT SINCLAIR, Derrick Strong, STEVE WEATHERFORD; INDIANA: JODIE CLEMONS, Joe Gonzalez, HERANA-DAZE JONES; MICHIGAN: JASON AVANT, MARKUS CURRY, Carl Diggs, Norman Heuer, LAWRENCE REID, ERNEST SHAZOR, Larry Stevens, PIERRE WOODS; MICHIGAN STATE: CLIFFORD DUKES, Paul Harker, JASON HARMON, Mike Labinjo, DAVE RAYNER, Steve Stewart, Joe Tate; MINNESOTA: Asad Abdul-Khaliq, JARED ELLERSON, Justin Isom, LAURENCE MARONEY, DARRELL REID, MARK SETTERSTROM, Eli Ward; NORTHWESTERN: LOREN HOWARD, TIM McGARIGLE, ZACH STRIEF; OHIO STATE: Adrien Clarke, Michael Jenkins, NATE SALLEY, Darrion Scott; PENN STATE: Gino Capone, Rich Gardner, Yaacov Yisrael; PURDUE: Nick Hardwick, Landon Johnson, KYLE ORTON, MIKE OTTO, ANTWAUN ROGERS, Brent Slaton, Craig Terrill; WISCONSIN: Jeff Mack, DONOVAN RAIOLA.

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Chris Perry, Michigan
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Will Smith, Ohio State
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: LAURENCE MARONEY, Minnesota
DAVE McCLAIN COACH OF THE YEAR: John L. Smith, Michigan State