KU football hands out awards

By Matt Tait     Feb 17, 2011

KU football award recipients

Offensive Player of the Year: Daymond Patterson

Defensive Player of the Year: Jake Laptad

Special Teams Player of the Year: Alonso Rojas

Offensive Line: Brad Thorson

Offensive Backfield: James Sims

Wide Receiver: Daymond Patterson

Tight End: Tim Biere

Defensive Line: Jake Laptad

Linebacker: Justin Springer

Defensive Back: Chris Harris

Specialist: Alonso Rojas

Compete Team Offensive Player of the Year: Jimmay Mundine

Compete Team Defensive Player of the Year: Darius Willis

Compete Special Teams Player of the Year: Ray Mitchell

Though there will be no banquet to commemorate the 2010 season, the Kansas University football program and head coach Turner Gill on Wednesday announced the recipients of the team’s top honors from Gill’s first year in town.

Wide receiver Daymond Patterson was named the team’s offensive player of the year. Patterson, a junior from Mesquite, Texas, led the team with 60 receptions and 487 yards. He added two touchdowns and also was named KU’s top receiver.

Defensive player of the year honors went to defensive end Jake Laptad, who finished with 38 tackles and 4.5 sacks. Laptad’s sack total moved him into second place all-time, with 21. Laptad, an honorable mention All-Big 12 pick, also was tapped the defensive line player of the year.

Special teams player of the year honors went to senior punter Alonso Rojas, who ranked seventh in the Big 12 and 40th in the country with a 42.41 average.

Senior Brad Thorson was named the top offensive lineman, freshman James Sims (742 yards, nine TDs) was the top backfield player (quarterbacks and running backs), and junior Tim Biere, who led the team with four touchdown receptions, was the top tight end.

Defensively, senior Justin Springer (85 tackles, one sack) was named the top linebacker, and senior Chris Harris (82 tackles, two sacks) was honored as the top defensive back.

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.