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All-Big East Team released

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater and Rutgers linebacker Khaseem Greene - who led their respective teams to shares of the BIG EAST championship - have been named the conference's Offensive Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, respectively, by the league's eight head coaches.
Temple had two individual award winners as running back Matt Brown was chosen BIG EAST Special Teams Player of the Year and linebacker Tyler Matakevich was named BIG EAST Rookie of the Year.
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Louisville coach Charlie Strong and Rutgers coach Kyle Flood, who both claimed shares of the conference title, were chosen by their counterparts as BIG EAST Coaches of the Year.
Bridgewater becomes the just the second Louisville player to be named BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year and the first quarterback to earn the honor since 2007 when Pat White of West Virginia won. Bridgewater finished the regular season as the BIG EAST leader in pass efficiency (161.6) and was second in passing yards after he threw for 3,452 yards and 25 touchdowns with seven interceptions. He registered six games with at least 300 passing yards, tying for the BIG EAST lead, and showed a propensity for heroics, capped by his two-touchdown effort in the second half against Rutgers, when he played with a broken left wrist, yet led the Cardinals to a come-from-behind win and a share of the BIG EAST title.
Greene, who last year became the first Rutgers player to be chosen as BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year, became the first BIG EAST player since Virginia Tech's Corey Moore in 1998 and 1999 to repeat as the league's top defensive player. Greene led the BIG EAST in tackles for the second straight year, finishing with 125 stops in 12 games. He was fourth in the league in sacks (5.5), eighth in tackles for loss (10.5) and had six forced fumbles, which ranks second nationally. He is the key man on a Scarlet Knight unit that ranks fourth nationally in scoring defense (14.3 ppg).
Brown is the first Temple player to earn BIG EAST Special Teams Player of the Year honors. Despite missing two games due to injury, Brown finished as the BIG EAST leader in all-purpose yards, averaging 143.4 yards per game. He averaged 25.5 yards on kickoff returns and was the only BIG EAST player to return a kickoff for a touchdown this season. He also averaged 14.2 yards on 17 punt returns and rushed for 372 yards and four touchdowns in the regular season.
Matakevich likewise became the first Temple player to be named BIG EAST Rookie of the Year. The true freshman did not make his first start until Temple's fourth game of the season, yet he finished fourth in the BIG EAST in tackles, registering 101 stops. He had at least 10 tackles in six games, including in each of his first five career starts. Matakevich also had two fumble recoveries, three pass breakups and three tackles for loss during the 2012 season.
Strong and Flood shared BIG EAST Coach of the Year honors after each led his team to a share of the conference championship. It is the second such honor for Strong, who also was named in 2010, and the first career honor for Flood, who is in his first year as the Scarlet Knights' head coach.
The conference also announced the 2012 All-BIG EAST Teams, which include three unanimous choices to the first team. Greene joined Syracuse wide receiver Alec Lemon and Connecticut defensive end Trevardo Williams on each coach's ballot. Greene and his brother, Pittsburgh running back Ray Graham, were both repeat selections to the All-BIG EAST First Team, along with Louisville cornerback Adrian Bushell and Rutgers safety Duron Harmon.
2012 BIG EAST CONFERENCE FOOTBALL AWARDS
BIG EAST OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Louisville (So., Miami, Fla.)
BIG EAST DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Khaseem Greene, LB, Rutgers (Sr., Elizabeth, N.J.)
BIG EAST SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Matt Brown, RB, Temple (Sr., Baltimore, Md.)
BIG EAST ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Tyler Matakevich, LB, Temple (Fr., Stratford, Conn.)
BIG EAST COACH OF THE YEAR
Charlie Strong, Louisville
Kyle Flood, Rutgers
ALL-BIG EAST FIRST TEAM
OFFENSE
Pos.
Player
School
Cl.
Ht.
Wt.
Hometown/High School
WR
Alec Lemon *
Syracuse
Sr.
6-2
204
Crofton, Md./Arundel
WR
DeVante Parker
Louisville
So.
6-3
205
Louisville, Ky./Ballard
OT
Eric Lefeld
Cincinnati
So.
6-6
287
Coldwater, Ohio/Coldwater
OT
Justin Pugh
Syracuse
Sr.
6-5
297
Holland, Pa./Council Rock South
OG
Austen Bujnoch
Cincinnati
Jr.
6-5
285
Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder
OG
Antwan Lowery
Rutgers
Jr.
6-4
305
Miami, Fla./Christopher Columbus
C
Mario Benavides
Louisville
Sr.
6-4
280
Los Fresnos, Texas/Los Fresnos
TE
Travis Kelce
Cincinnati
Sr.
6-6
260
Cleveland Heights, Ohio/Cleveland Heights
QB
Teddy Bridgewater
Louisville
So.
6-3
218
Miami, Fla./Northwestern
RB
Ray Graham
Pittsburgh
Sr.
5-9
190
Elizabeth, N.J./Elizabeth
RB
Montel Harris
Temple
Sr.
5-10
207
Jacksonville, Fla./Trinity Christian
K
Maikon Bonani
USF
Sr.
5-10
176
Lake Wales, Fla./Lake Wales
RS
Matt Brown
Temple
Sr.
5-5
165
Baltimore, Md./Peddie School/Milford Academy
DEFENSE
Pos.
Player
School
Cl.
Ht.
Wt.
Hometown/High School
DL
Dan Giordano
Cincinnati
Sr.
6-4
260
Frankford, Ill./Lincoln-Way East
DL
Trevardo Williams *
Connecticut
Sr.
6-2
233
Bridgeport, Conn./Canterbury
DL
Aaron Donald
Pittsburgh
Jr.
6-0
275
Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn Hills
DL
Scott Vallone
Rutgers
Sr.
6-3
275
Central Islip, N.Y./St. Anthony's
LB
Greg Blair
Cincinnati
Sr.
6-2
252
Pittsburgh, Pa./Schenley/Lackawanna CC
LB
Sio Moore
Connecticut
Sr.
6-2
229
Apex, N.C./Apex
LB
Yawin Smallwood
Connecticut
So.
6-3
235
Worcester, Mass./Doherty
LB
Khaseem Greene *
Rutgers
Sr.
6-1
230
Elizabeth, N.J./Avon Old Farms
CB
Adrian Bushell
Louisville
Sr.
5-11
184
DeSoto, Texas/Cedar Valley CC
CB
Logan Ryan
Rutgers
Jr.
6-0
190
Berlin, N.J./Eastern
S
Duron Harmon
Rutgers
Sr.
6-1
200
Magnolia, Del./Caesar Rodney
S
Shamarko Thomas
Syracuse
Sr.
5-10
206
Virginia Beach, Va./Ocean Lakes
P
Brandon McManus
Temple
Sr.
6-3
190
Hatfield, Pa./North Penn
* unanimous selection
ALL-BIG EAST SECOND TEAM
OFFENSE
Pos.
Player
School
Cl.
Ht.
Wt.
Hometown/High School
WR
Mike Shanahan
Pittsburgh
Sr.
6-5
225
North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin
WR
Devin Street
Pittsburgh
Jr.
6-4
190
Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty
WR
Brandon Coleman
Rutgers
So.
6-6
220
Accokeek, Md./Bishop McNamara
OT
Alex Kupper
Louisville
Sr.
6-3
298
Louisville, Ky./Trinity
OT
Kaleb Johnson
Rutgers
So.
6-4
300
Jacksonville, Fla./Edward H. White
OT
Martin Wallace
Temple
Sr.
6-6
300
New York, N.Y./Beacon School
OG
Adam Masters
Connecticut
Sr.
6-4
298
Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman
OG
Mark Popek
USF
Sr.
6-7
299
Plant City, Fla./Plant City
C
Ryan Turnley
Pittsburgh
Sr.
6-6
320
Hopewell, Pa./Hopewell
QB
Ryan Nassib
Syracuse
Gr.
6-3
227
West Chester, Pa./Malvern Prep
TE
Ryan Griffin
Connecticut
Sr.
6-6
247
Londonderry, N.H./Londonderry
RB
George Winn
Cincinnati
Sr.
5-11
210
Southfield, Mich./Detroit Jesuit
RB
Jawan Jamison
Rutgers
So.
5-8
200
Stark, Fla./The Bolles School
K
Brandon McManus
Temple
Sr.
6-3
190
Hatfield, Pa./North Penn
RS
Nick Williams
Connecticut
Sr.
5-10
184
East Windsor, N.J./The Hun School
DEFENSE
Pos.
Player
School
Cl.
Ht.
Wt.
Hometown/High School
DL
Walter Stewart
Cincinnati
Sr.
6-5
249
Ashville, Ohio/Teays Valley
DL
Cory Grissom
USF
Sr.
6-2
316
La Grange, Ga./Troup County
DL
Brandon Sharpe
Syracuse
Sr.
6-1
255
Virginia Beach, Va./Ocean Lakes
DL
John Youboty
Temple
Sr.
6-4
250
Houston, Texas/Klein
LB
Preston Brown
Louisville
Jr.
6-2
255
Cincinnati, Ohio/Northwest
LB
Sam Barrington
USF
Sr.
6-1
230
Jacksonville, Fla./Terry Parker
LB
Tyler Matakevich
Temple
Fr.
6-1
220
Stratford, Conn./St. Joseph's/Milford Academy
CB
Dwayne Gratz
Connecticut
Sr.
6-0
198
Piscataway, N.J./Piscataway
CB
Blidi Wreh-Wilson
Connecticut
Sr.
6-2
190
Edinboro, Pa./General McLaine
S
Calvin Pryor
Louisville
So.
6-2
213
Port St. Joe, Fla./Port St. Joe
S
Hakeem Smith
Louisville
Jr.
6-1
187
Jonesboro, Ga./Riverdale
S
Jason Hendricks
Pittsburgh
Jr.
6-0
180
Brooklyn, N.Y./Hudson Catholic
P
Pat O'Donnell
Cincinnati
Jr.
6-5
222
Lake Worth, Fla./Palm Beach Central
P
Justin Brockhaus-Kann
USF
Sr.
6-2
214
Winter Springs, Fla./Winter Springs
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