ESPN.com - Johnson wins Camp, Maxwell, Walker awards

ESPN.com: College Football

Thursday, December 12, 2002
Updated: December 13, 12:08 PM ET
Johnson wins Camp, Maxwell, Walker awards

By Wayne Drehs
ESPN.com

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- During a year in which figuring out a favorite for the Heisman Trophy has proven as challenging as beating top-ranked and undefeated Miami, Penn State running back Larry Johnson did his best to clear things up Thursday night.


	Larry Johnson needs a third hand to carry home all his hardware from the Home Depot College Football Awards Show.

Johnson, who this year became the ninth player in NCAA history to rush for 2,000 yards, won the Maxwell Award at the 2002 Home Depot College Football Awards.

Like the Heisman, the Maxwell Award is given to the top player in college football. And if history means anything, 10 of the last 17 Maxwell winners have gone on to win the Heisman.

Johnson beat out two of his Heisman counterparts -- Iowa quarterback Brad Banks and Miami quarterback Ken Dorsey -- for the award. He also beat another Heisman finalist, Miami running back Willis McGahee, for the Doak Walker Award, given to the nation's outstanding running back.

And earlier Thursday, Johnson -- who needed the fewest rushing attempts ever to reach 2,000 yards -- was named the Walter Camp Player of the Year.

It was an all-out sweep for the Penn State senior who continues to surprise himself with each and every accolade.

"If you would have told me I was going to rush for 100 yards, I probably wouldn't have believed you," said Johonson, the fourth Nittany Lions player to win the Maxwell. "So 2,000 yards and then these awards? It's truly amazing."

Thursday Night's Winners
Maxwell Award (offensive player)	Larry Johnson	Penn State
Bednarik Trophy (def. player)	E.J. Henderson	Maryland
Walter Camp Player of Year	Larry Johnson	Penn State
Home Depot Coach of Year	Tyrone Willingham	Notre Dame
O'Brien Award (quarterback)	Brad Banks	Iowa
Doak Walker Award (RB)	Larry Johnson	Penn State
Outland Trophy (interior lineman)	Rien Long	Washington State
Biletnikoff Award (receiver)	Charles Rogers	Michigan State
Jim Thorpe Award (DB)	Terrence Newman	Kansas State
Ray Guy Award (punter)	Mark Mariscal	Colorado
Lou Groza Award (kicker)	Nate Kaeding	Iowa
Disney's Wide World of Sports Spirit Award	Dewayne White	Louisville
Contribution to College Football Award	Darrell Royal	Texas

Johnson received 341 first-place votes of the 971 cast for the Maxwell award. Dorsey finished second with 246 votes and Banks was third with 198 votes. The remaining 186 first-place votes were divided among nine others.

As for what it might mean come Saturday night in New York, Johnson wasn't so sure. Last year, Dorsey won the Maxwell and Nebraska quarterback Eric Crouch went on to win the Heisman. And two years ago, Purdue quarterback Drew Brees captured the Maxwell, while Florida State quarterback Chris Weinke won the Heisman.

"Honestly, I really don't know," Johnson said. "Deep down, I kind of thought I deserved the Walker Award. But the Walter Camp and the Maxwell were a total surprise. Who knows with the Heisman?"

Judging by Thursday night, if Johnson is suddenly the Heisman favorite, Iowa quarterback Brad Banks has to be considered a strong runner-up. Banks, the Iowa senior in his first season as a starting quarterback, won the Davey O'Brien Award given to the nation's outstanding QB. And earlier this week, Banks was named The Associated Press Player of the Year.

Last year, Nebraska's Crouch, a similar multiple-threat player with his arms or legs, won the O'Brien en route to college football's most-coveted award.

"You never know," said Banks, The Associated Press player of the year who led the nation in passing efficiency while leading Iowa to an 11-1 record, the most wins in school history. "This year could be different. I was surprised to even have won an award like the O'Brien, considering the other candidates."

Banks teamed with Iowa kicker Nate Kaeding, winner of the Groza Award given to the nation's outstanding kicker, to form the only multiple winners from one school.

Three other Heisman finalists, Dorsey, McGahee and USC quarterback Carson Palmer, were shut out of Thursday's awards. But Dorsey, who is 38-1 as a starter at Miami, McGahee, who rushed for six touchdowns in his team's season-finale against Virginia Tech and Palmer, who has thrown for 23 touchdowns and 2,0006 yards in his last six starts, are said to have legitimate chances to win the Heisman.

Other notable winners Thursday night included Michigan State wide receiver Charles Rogers who, despite the Spartans' disappointing season, won the Biletnikoff Award given to the nation's outstanding wide receiver.

Rogers, who last week declared himself eligible for the 2002 NFL Draft as a junior, caught a school-record 68 passes for 1,351 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2002. Prior to the season, Rogers put a photograph of former Spartan Herb Haygood, who attended the 2001 awards ceremony as an All-American kick returner, in his locker.

"He told me I was going to win the Biletnikoff this year, so I put that in there to remind me," Rogers said. "Every day I looked at that picture."

Michigan State, considered by some a preseason favorite to win the Big Ten, had a tumultuous season, struggling to a 4-8 record. Quarterback Jeff Smoker left the team to enter a rehab center and coach Bobby Williams was fired mid-season.

"This takes the sting away," Rogers said. "Despite everything that happened, at least I've got something to take back to East Lansing."

Former Texas football coach Darell Royal, who led the Longhorns to three national championships, 11 Top-10 finishes and 11 Southwest Conference Championships in his 20 seasons in Austin, won the NCFAA Contribution to College Football Award.

The 2002 Disney Wide World of Sports Spirit Award went to Louisville junior defensive end Dewayne White. White, who holds Louisville's all-time career sacks record with 36.5, was given the award for the courageous manner in which he handled numerous childhood tragedies, including the death of both parents and two devastating fires that twice destroyed his family's home.

Maryland linebacker E.J. Henderson, the Terrapins' leading tackler for a third straight season, won the Chuck Bednarik Trophy as the nation's best defensive player.

"This is really a great honor to beat out some of the great defensive players in the country,'' said Henderson, who helped Maryland to a second straight 10-win season with 163 tackles. "To beat guys like Terrell Suggs and Tommie Harris is really something.''

Washington State defensive tackle Rien Long, who helped the Cougars earn a spot in the Rose Bowl, won the Outland Trophy as the nation's top interior lineman.

Long, a 6-foot-6, 286-pound junior, had 13 sacks this season and won the award over Miami center Brett Romberg and Utah offensive tackle Jordan Gross.

"I'm still waiting for my legs to come back,'' Long said. "I'm kind of blown away. I try not to think about awards, but when you win a lot of games, it's one of the products of winning. You hear a lot about the East Coast-West Coast bias. I guess my production was judged by the unbiased people as being pretty good.''

Kansas State cornerback Terence Newman won the Thorpe Award given to the nation's top defensive back over Ohio State's Mike Doss and Southern California's Troy Polamalu.

"Our team finished really strong, and I did, too,'' Newman said. "You never go into a season expecting to win an award, so to be recognized as the best is really incredible.''

Colorado's Mark Mariscal won the Ray Guy Award as the nation's top punter.

Wayne Drehs is a staff writer for ESPN.com. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.