April 5, 2011 - 2:12pm
Brandon Graham wins share of Chicago Tribune Silver Football Award for Big Ten MVP
BY COURTNEY RATKOWIAK
Senior defensive end Brandon Graham was announced as the co-winner of the Chicago Tribune Silver Football Award for the Big Ten's Most Valuable Player last night on the Big Ten Network. Penn State quarterback Daryll Clark also won a share of the award, marking the first time in its 85-year history it has been awarded to more than one athlete.
With the award, Graham moves into the company of Desmond Howard, Tom Harmon, Jim Harbaugh, Anthony Carter and Rick Leach, among other greats. Braylon Edwards, in 2004, was the last Wolverine to win the Silver Football.
"It is really neat to see a guy who loves football so much, and he gives such great effort," Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez said of Graham after the team's loss to Wisconsin on Nov. 14. "Just his joy for the game and how much passion he has playing -- we're certainly going to miss him."
Graham is just the seventh defensive player in history to win the Silver Football, which is awarded by a coaches' vote. The last defenseman to win the award was former Wolverine and 1997 Heisman Trophy Award winner Charles Woodson.
The senior ended the 2009 season with 64 tackles, 10.5 sacks and a nation-high 26 tackles for loss. After his junior year, he was projected to be a high NFL Draft pick, but decided to forgo the Draft in favor of staying in Ann Arbor for another year.
"I'm just happy just to enjoy being a kid all the way to my senior year," he said after this year's Nov. 14 loss to Wisconsin, when asked about his decision. "That was the biggest thing. I wanted to enjoy these years because I know I'm never gonna get 'em back. So I''m not disappointed with this year."
When asked what he enjoyed most about his senior year at Michigan, in which the team finished a disappointing 5-7 after starting 4-0, Graham just smiled.
"Just being able to come out the tunnel with my team," he said. "And everybody jacked up for the game. And you know, coming out -- just playing football, period. College football. Just playing, the campus life, everything. You know, I just have fun."
