AUburn Players Honored At Football Awards Banquet - AuburnTigers.com

AUburn Players Honored At Football Awards Banquet MVP Awards and Team Captains named

Dec. 13, 2009

Auburn, Ala. - Auburn football held its inaugural Football Awards Banquet at the Auburn University Hotel & Dixon Conference Center Saturday, with most valuable player awards and team captain awards being presented as voted on by the team's coaches and players.

Senior running back Ben Tate was named Auburn's Most Valuable Player and Offensive MVP. A Doak Walk Award semifinalist, Tate was named second-team All-SEC after rushing for 1,254 yards and eight touchdowns through 12 games. His 1,254 rushing yards are eighth on Auburn's single-season list, while his 104.5 yards per game ranks fourth in the SEC. The Salisbury, Md., native is fifth all-time at Auburn with 3,213 yards rushing.

Defensively, senior defensive end Antonio Coleman and junior linebacker Craig Stevens were named Defensive Co-MVPs. A two-time First-Team All-Southeastern Conference selection, Coleman leads the conference with 15.5 tackles for loss and 9.0 quarterback sacks while recording 45 tackles and one interception. The Mobile native is third in career sacks at Auburn with 23.5.

Stevens has career highs in 2009 in tackles (89) and tackles for loss (7.0) and is second on the team in both categories. The Tallahassee, Fla., native's 7.4 tackles per game is 11th in the Southeastern Conference. He has three double-digit tackle efforts this season while starting every game.

Wes Byrum was named the special team's most valuable player as the Lou Groza Award semifinalist has connected on 14-of-15 attempts this season, including 9-of-10 from beyond 30 yards. The junior from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., is seventh in the SEC in scoring averaging 7.2 points per game.

Coleman along with senior quarterback Chris Todd were named team captains for the 2009 squad.

A native of Elizabethtown, Ky., Todd set an Auburn single-season record with 21 touchdown passes in 2009, while throwing for 2,377 yards, good for fifth all-time at Auburn.

Auburn began bowl practice on Saturday and will practice eight times in Auburn before breaking for the holidays on Dec. 22. The Tigers will report to Tampa on Dec. 26 and begin bowl preparations on Dec. 27.