Dec. 20, 2011
Silas Redd & Joe Suhey Bowl Preview Interviews
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; - Penn State All-Big Ten tailback Silas Redd has been named the 2011 Connecticut Player of the Year by the Walter Camp Football Foundation. A sophomore from Norwalk, the honor is presented annually to the top college football player who is a resident of the state of Connecticut. The Connecticut Player of the Year is selected by the all-volunteer membership of the Walter Camp Football Foundation.
Redd and the 2011 Walter Camp All-America team, which includes Nittany Lion senior defensive tackle Devon Still (Wilmington, Del.), will be honored at the organization's awards banquet on Saturday, January 14, 2012 at the Yale University Commons in New Haven.
Redd is the first Nittany Lion to be selected Walter Camp's Connecticut Player of the Year. First presented in 1981, recipients of the honor in the past decade include: Dwight Freeney (Syracuse), Aaron Hernandez (Florida), Dan Orlovsky (UConn) and Kory Sheets (Purdue).
"We are pleased to announce Norwalk native Silas Redd as our Connecticut Player of the Year," Foundation president John Marks said. "Silas has been a consistent offensive threat for the Nittany Lions and we are honored to recognize him for his outstanding season."
A second-team All-Big Ten honoree by the media and coaches, Redd finished the regular season with 1,188 rushing yards, good for No. 12 on Penn State season list. He needs 49 yards in Penn State's TicketCity Bowl clash with No. 19 Houston to move into 10th place. Evan Royster (1,236 in 2008) and Curtis Enis (1,210 in 1996) rank No. 10 and 11.
A U.S. Army All-American for Coach Dan Gouin at King Low Heywood Thomas School in Stamford, Redd is No. 4 in the Big Ten Conference at 99.0 ypg (1,188 yds, 5.2 avg.) with seven rushing touchdowns. He was limited by collarbone/sternum injury final three games of season but is expected to 100 percent for the game with Houston.
Redd led all Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) players with 703 rushing yards in October, including five consecutive 100-yard games. He is the first Nittany Lion with five consecutive 100-yard games since All-American Curtis Enis in 1997. Redd gained career-high 164 yards on just 18 carries (9.1) in Penn State's 34-24 win at Northwestern on Oct. 22. He gained 137 yards on career-high 30 carries and scored the game-winning touchdown vs. Illinois one week later.
Redd has the Nittany Lions' two longest runs of the season, 42 yards, in wins at Northwestern and Ohio State.
In his first year as Penn State's starting tailback, Redd is the 12th different Penn State player to post 1,000 yards rushing in a season (20 times overall). The Nittany Lions have had a 1,000-yard rusher in each of the past seven seasons.
No. 22 Penn State and Wisconsin tied for the Big Ten Leaders Division title with 6-2 records. The Nittany Lions (9-3) will play Houston (12-1) in the TicketCity Bowl in Dallas on Jan. 2 in the first bowl game of 2012. Penn State's 27 bowl wins are No. 3 nationally and 43 bowl visits are good for No. 8 in the nation. The Nittany Lions lead all Big Ten teams in bowl victories and winning percentage (65.1, 27-14-2 record) and are No. 2 in bowl appearances.
Playing in a New Year's bowl game for the sixth time in the last seven years, tickets for Penn State's clash with Houston are on sale at www.GoPSUsports.com or by calling 1-800-NITTANY weekdays from 8 a.m.-6 p.m.
The Nittany Lions will have practice today and Wednesday and then break for Christmas, with the team gathering in Dallas on Monday, Dec. 26 for the contest with the Cougars. Practice will resume on Dec. 27.