Dayne Wins Walker, Maxwell
Ron Dayne, Wisconsin's record-setting tailback and the Heisman Trophy favorite, won the Maxwell and Doak Walker awards Thursday night.
Dayne, college football's career rushing leader, received the Maxwell Award as the best all-around player and the Doak Walker Award as the outstanding running back during the College Football Awards at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex.
Dayne edged quarterbacks Drew Brees of Purdue and Joe Hamilton of Georgia Tech for the Maxwell Award.
"It's really a great honor, which I'm very grateful to have received," Dayne said. "I don't really know how to react right now. They were great finalists."
He topped Alabama's Shaun Alexander and Virginia's Thomas Jones for the Doak Walker Award.
"I'm honored to win the award with such tremendous competition," Dayne said. "People have seen that I'm a different type of back in the way I run. We never quit and that's what I'm most proud of. None of this has all really sunk in though."
Dayne topped 200 yards in three of the final four games as he led the Badgers (9-2) to the Big Ten Conference title and a second straight Rose Bowl berth. He ran for 214 yards in an easy victory over Michigan State, which entered the game with the nation's top rushing defense, and broke Ricky Williams' NCAA career record with a 216-yard performance in a 41-3 victory over Iowa in the regular-season finale.
His career totals are 1,115 carries for 6,397 yards and 63 touchdowns. For the season, Dayne was the nation's second-leading rusher with 1,834 yards 6.1 yards per carry and 19 TDs.
Hamilton became the first Georgia Tech player ever to claim a national award, taking home the Davey O'Brien Award, which is given to the nation's top quarterback. Hamilton beat out Brees and Marshall's Chad Pennington.
"This has been one of the best weeks of my life," Hamilton said. "It was a great feeling to be grouped with guys like Drew and Pennington. I just tried to be consistent and produce all year. It's paid off and I'm thankful for it."
Penn State linebacker LaVar Arringtoreceived the Chuck Bednarik Trophy as the defensive player of the year, and Alabama offensive tackle Chris Samuels was awarded the Outland Trophy as the outstanding interior lineman.
Stanford's Troy Walters won the Biletnikof Award as the outstanding wide receiver, Minnesota's Tyrone Carter won the Jim Thorpe Award as the top defensive back, and Florida State's Sebastian Janikowski received the Lou Groza Award as the outstanding kicker.
In other awards, Hofstra quarterback Giovanni Carmazzi was honored as the Burger King Scholar Athlete of the Year, and former Nebraska coach Tom Osborne received the Home Depot Coach of the Decade Award.
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