Dec. 11, 2010
IOWA CITY, Iowa – – Seniors Ricky Stanzi and Karl Klug have been named co-winners of the 2010 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 in a fourth place tie in the Big Ten standings. The Hawkeyes will be playing Missouri in the Insight Bowl at Phoenix, AZ, on Dec. 28th. Iowa is bowl eligible for the 10th straight year and finished in the league’s top division for the ninth time in the last 10 years.
Klug is a 6-4, 270-pound defensive tackle from Caledonia, MN. He was named to second all-Big Ten teams as named by the coaches and the media. He started every game this season and has a streak of 25 straight starts. He was on the preseason Watch List for the Outland Trophy and was a pre-season all-American by College Football Insiders.
Klug has 135 career tackles and 29 tackles for loss (-117 yards). He forced four fumbles during his Hawkeye career.
Stanzi, a 6-4, 230-pound quarterback from Mentor, OH, earned his second straight Roy J. Carver MVP Award. He shared it with linebacker Pat Angerer last year. He was one of five finalists for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, which goes annually to the nation’s top collegiate senior quarterback. He was also a semifinalist for the Maxwell and Davey O’Brien Awards.
Stanzi finished the regular season by completing 210 of 324 passes for 2,804 yards and 25 touchdowns. He ranks high on virtually every Iowa passing chart. He has led Iowa to a 25-9 record in three years as a starter.
Both players shared in numerous other awards given out at the banquet.
Both were named co-winners of the Hayden Fry “Extra Heartbeat” Award. They shared the award with senior defensive end Adrian Clayborn. Clayborn, a first-team all-American by the American Football Coaches Association and the Walter Camp Foundation, was first team all-Big Ten by both the coaches and the media. Clayborn has started 29 straight games and 36 during his career. 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 who gives that little bit extra at all times.
Klug was also given the “Iron Hawk Award”. It is presented to a Hawkeye who has given his all every play, for the entire season, and has represented his team and school in an exemplary fashion.
Four players share the “Next Man In Award”. On offense, senior offensive lineman Josh Koeppel is the recipient. Defensively, the award went to true freshman linebacker James Morris. The special teams’ award was shared by true freshman kicker Mike Meyer and senior linebacker Ross Petersen. All of the winners replaced a starter, who left the lineup with an injury, and continued to deliver excellent performances.
Three student-athletes share 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. This year’s winners are seniors Jeff Tarpinian (accounting, GPA), Julian Vandervelde (religious studies and English, GPA) and Josh Koeppel (Sociology).
The 2009 “Coaches Appreciation” awards went to five Hawkeyes. Offensively, the award went to sophomore offensive lineman James Ferentz and senior tight end Allen Reisner. Defensively, the honor went to a pair of seniors, linebacker Jeff Tarpinian and tackle Christian Ballard. Senior Paki O’Meara won the special teams’ portion of the award.
Senior snapper Andrew Schulze was named winner of the “Reggie Roby Special Teams Specialist of the Year”. Senior punter Ryan Donahue was named winner of the overall “Reggie Roby Special Teams Player of the Year” award. Donahue was a finalist for the Ray Guy Punter 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. It’s the second straight year that both players have taken this honor.
The “Hawkeye Hustle” awards went to five players. On offense the winner is sophomore offensive lineman Riley Reiff. Three juniors, defensive tackle Mike Daniels and defensive backs Shaun Prater and Tyler Sash were honored on defense. The special team winner is, again, Shaun Prater.
“Team Leader” Awards were given offensively to sophomore lineman Casey McMillan and senior receiver Nick Kuchel. Defensive winners are linemen junior Joe Forgy and freshman Casey Kreiter. Both Kuchel and Forgy won the same award a year ago. Special Teams Leader Awards went to senior wide receiver Joe Audlehelm and freshman linebacker Matthew Meyers.
Stanzi and fullback Brett Morse (offense), along with Klug, Clayborn and defensive back Brett Greenwood (defense), were named permanent captains for the 2010 season. All five are seniors.
The “Win During The Week Award” went to seniors Brett Morse and Julian Vandervelde on offense. The defensive award went to Greenwood for the second straight year.
The “Player Appreciation Award” went to a noted Hawkeye couple from Cedar Rapids, Dr. Brent and Ellen Feller. The Fellers have given extremely generous amounts to the Iowa football program. They support the entire Iowa Athletic program in many ways.
The Bump Elliott Appreciation Award goes to Hawkeye game communications director Ron Stange. Ron has directed headset and telephone communications between the pressbox and sideline for the past 30 years. He travels with the Hawkeyes and does work from both the Kinnick and visiting pressboxes.