SEC Announces Individual Player of the Year Honors with Alabama Dominating Awards

Written by Ryan Wright

Twitter: @HogManInLA

Just about the only thing that has gone wrong for Alabama this year is a five turnover game against Ole Miss that cost the Crimson Tide an undefeated season (43-37). In the wake of going 12-1 with a SEC Championship and a No. 2 seed in the second annual College Football Playoffs, Alabama racked up more honors and recognition on Wednesday dominating the SEC individual awards with Derrick Henry and Reggie Ragland earning offensive and defensive player of the year honors respectively.

Alabama even had a hand in the top lineman of the year award with the conference splitting the honors between center Ryan Kelly and Arkansas guard Sebastian Tretola. The last time the Jacobs Blocking Trophy was split between two players, Arkansas center Jonathan Lugis and Alabama lineman Andre Smith shared top billing in 2007. Lugis won the Remington Award for best center in the nation that year and the following year Smith won the Outland Trophy as the best interior lineman in the nation.

Henry and Ragland become the first players from the same SEC school to win top honors on offense and defense in the same season. Henry rushed for a SEC-record 1,986 yards with 23 touchdowns earning a trip to New York as a finalist for the Heisman Trophy Award. Ragland led the Tide with 90 tackles while coming up with 6.5 tackles for a loss, 2.5 sacks five pass breakups, four quarterback hurries, and two forced fumbles. Alabama finished the 2015 season with the No. 2 ranked total defense in the nation.

Kirk picked up three second-team All-SEC honors on Tuesday at wide receiver, return specialist, and all-purpose. The Aggie’s playmaker produced 1,659 yards setting a school freshman record for yards in a season. Kirk was fourth in the SEC in receiving yards with 925 off 70 receptions and six touchdowns scored. Kirk also had 348 kick return yards but made a bigger impact returning two punts back for touchdowns covering a total of 341 yards off 14 attempts.

McElwain made an immediate impact in the win-loss column for the Florida Gators going from a 7-5, 4-4, 2014 season under Will Muschamp to a 10-3, 7-1, season in 2015. McElwain is getting a lot of credit for the work Muschamp did years before winning with the defense. Few remember the Gators lost two games in 2014 by three points (LSU and South Carolina) and one game by five points (Florida State) narrowly missing out on a 10-3 regular season.

Although the SEC does not hand out an honor for top tight end in the conference, Arkansas tight end Hunter Henry was awarded first-team honors on Tuesday and won the John Mackey Award on Wednesday given to the nation’s top tight end.

Offensive Player of the Year

RB Derrick Henry – Alabama

Defensive Player of the Year

LB Reggie Ragland – Alabama

(Co) Offensive Lineman of the Year – Jacobs Blocking Trophy

OG Sebastian Tretola – Arkansas

OC Ryan Kelly – Alabama

Special Teams Player of the Year

DB Evan Berry – Tennessee

Scholar-Athlete of the Year

OC Ryan Kelly – Alabama

SEC Coach of the Year

Jim McElwain – Florida

Photo credit: thebiglead.com; No. 19 Reggie Ragland.