Binns, McNutt Share UI Football MVP Honors

Dec. 17, 2011

CORALVILLE, Iowa — Senior wide receiver Marvin McNutt, Jr., and senior defensive end Broderick Binns are co-recipients of the 2011 Roy J. Carver Most Valuable Player Award for the University of Iowa football team. The announcement came Saturday at the team’s annual awards banquet at the Marriott Coralville Hotel and Conference Center.

McNutt is a 6-foot-4, 215-pound wide receiver from St. Louis, Mo. He previously won the Big Ten’s Richter-Howard Receiver of the Year Award and was named first-team All-Big Ten by both the coaches and media. McNutt etched his name into the Iowa record book following an outstanding senior campaign where he established a single-season record for touchdown receptions (12). He also holds Hawkeye records for receiving yards in a season (1,269), career receiving yards (2,815) and career scoring receptions (28).

McNutt had more than 100 receiving yards in eight games this year. His top performances came against Indiana (six catches for 184 yards) and Purdue (nine catches for 151 yards). He is currently 10th on Iowa’s career scoring list with 168 points.

Binns, a 6-foot-2, 261-pound defensive end from St. Paul, Minn., was named to the media’s second All-Big Ten team. He was nominated to the preseason watch list for the Ted Hendricks Defensive End of the Year Award. He started all 12 games and has 30 career starts.

Binns has 59 tackles in 2011. He led the team in tackles for loss (12 for minus-58 yards) and was second in quarterback sacks with five for minus-36 yards. He has 178 career tackles.

Seniors Adam Gettis and Tyler Nielsen were named co-winners of the Hayden Fry Extra Heartbeat Award. Gettis was named to the coaches’ second All-Big Ten team after starting every game this season at offensive left guard. Nielsen was named honorable mention All-Big Ten at linebacker and is an Academic All-District VI selection. He was a candidate for the National Football Foundation (NFF) National Scholar-Athlete Award and a semifinalist for the NFF William V. Campbell Trophy. Nielsen started 11 games this year and has 65 tackles. The Hayden Fry Award is given in honor of Iowa’s Hall of Fame coach who retired after the 1998 season with a 20-year record of 143-89-6 at Iowa. The award goes to a player(s) who gives `a little extra’ at all times.

The Hawkeyes play No. 19 Oklahoma in the Insight Bowl at Tempe, Ariz., on Dec. 30. Iowa is bowl-eligible for an 11th straight year and finished in the league’s top division for the 10th time in the last 11 seasons. It is Iowa’s second straight trip to the Insight Bowl — the Hawkeyes defeated No. 12 Missouri, 27-24, on Dec. 28, 2010.

The Iron Hawk Award was presented to senior defensive tackle Mike Daniels. The award is given to the student-athlete who has maximized his physical potential on the playing field through dedication to strength and conditioning. Daniels was named to the coaches’ second All-Big Ten team. He has 62 tackles while starting all 12 games. Daniels was credited with 10 tackles that resulted in 39 yards in losses. He led the team in quarterback sacks with seven for minus-35 yards.

The first-ever Brett Greenwood Award will be given annually to a student-athlete who is/was a walk-on and who best exemplifies the values and behavior of the former Hawkeye defensive back, who walked onto the Iowa team in 2006. This year’s winner is senior defensive tackle Thomas Nardo of Lancaster, Pa. The coaching staff will also give this honor to a former Hawkeye — who fits the same criteria — one year at a time, for each season Ferentz has coached at Iowa. This year’s past recipient will be 1999 defensive lineman Scott Pospisil.

The Player’s Choice Award is a combination of the Coaches Appreciation, Win During the Week, and Hustle Awards. This year’s winners are senior wide receiver Joe Audlehelm and Nielsen.

Nielsen and senior punter Eric Guthrie shared the Forest Evashevski Scholastic Achievement Award. The award goes annually to a player(s) who displays a high degree of proficiency in the classroom and on the playing field. Both winners are members of the Big Ten All-Academic team. Nielsen has been an academic All-Big Ten selection four years in a row; Guthrie is also Iowa’s recipient of the 2011 Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.

Guthrie was also named the Reggie Roby Special Teams Specialist of the Year. Senior running back Jason White was named winner of the overall Reggie Roby Special Teams Player of the Year Award. The awards are named after the former Iowa punter, who was first-team All-American in 1981 and 1982. Roby, who punted in the NFL for 16 years, died in 2005.

The Comeback Player of the Year award went to sophomore fullback Brad Rogers. He started the last six games of the 2011 season after being plagued with a heart virus since December, 2010. Rogers returned to action Oct. 8 after missing four nonconference games.

A total of nine Team Leader Awards were given to eight players. Offensively, the awards went to Audlehelm, running back Damon Bullock and lineman Jordan Walsh. Bullock and Walsh are freshmen. Defensively, the honors went to three freshmen: linebacker Marcus Collins, lineman Darian Cooper and end Riley McMinn. Special Teams winners are Audlehelm and freshmen receiver Jacob Hillyer, and defensive lineman Dean Tsopanides. Audlehelm has won the award two straight years.

McNutt and junior quarterback James Vandenberg (offense), Daniels and Nielsen (defense) and Guthrie (special teams) were named permanent captains for the 2011 season. All except Vandenberg are seniors.

The Player Appreciation Award went to former Hawkeye football and baseball letterman Lon Olejniczak of Cedar Rapids. Olejniczak was a wide receiver while lettering four times in football. He has been generous with his time and talents while serving as an executive with Transamerica in Cedar Rapids.

The Bump Elliott Appreciation Award goes to football custodian Doug Kray who has been part of the football family for a number of years.

The Distinguished Service Award goes to Hawkeye radio analyst Ed Podolak. Podolak is in his 30th year as an analyst for Hawkeye football.

Iowa finished the regular season with a 7-5 overall record, 4-4 mark in the Big Ten Conference. The Hawkeyes play No. 19 Oklahoma in the Insight Bowl at Tempe, Ariz., on Dec. 30. Iowa is bowl-eligible for an 11th straight year and finished in the league’s top division for the 10th time in the last 11 seasons. It is Iowa’s second straight trip to the Insight Bowl — the Hawkeyes defeated No. 12 Missouri, 27-24, on Dec. 28, 2010.