Disruptive defensive end Corey Wotton was awarded Monday night for his breakout season.

The junior from Rutherford, N.J. totaled nine sacks, 15 tackles for loss, one blocked kick and a forced fumble on the season to earn first-team All-Big Ten honors, as chosen by the conference’s coaches.

While Wotton is the only Northwestern player to garner first- or second-team accolades, eight other Wildcats were named honorable mention selection.

The honorable mention honorees include: defensive tackle John Gill (two-time selection), left guard Keegan Kennedy (1st), cornerback Sherrick McManis(1st), wide receiver Eric Peterman (1st), safeties Brad Phillips (1st) and Brendan Smith (2nd), kicker Amado Villarreal (1st) and running back Tyrell Sutton(4th).

Regardless of the numbers, coach Pat Fitzgerald thinks the whole team deserves to be awarded for ending the season 9-3 (5-3 Big Ten).

“I’m not sure how many guys will be named to the first-team all-Big Ten team tonight, but I think we’ve got a first-team all-Big Ten football team,” Fitzgerald said Monday. “That’s a testament to those seniors and the leadership that they’ve provided to us. And they’ve all got different roles, from A to Z, from Arrington to Yarborough.”

Of the eight honorable mention award winners, five are seniors.

Fitzgerald praised the 23 fourth- and fifth-year seniors.

“For a group of men at their age, I don’t know if there’s anyone who has been through as much as they’ve been through,” he said. “It’s prepared them for life.”

Wotton is the first Cat to earn a first-team All-Big Ten selection since quarterback Brett Basanez in 2005.

INJURY UPDATE
Fitzgerald also updated the status of Sutton and redshirt freshman defensive end Vince Browne.

Sutton was scheduled to see a wrist specialist sometime today and have his “nasty cast” removed. The specialist hoped to take X-Rays to evaluate how his wrist is healing from an injury sustained one month ago at Indiana. After judging the progress, the specialist was supposed to put a new cast on Sutton’s wrist for two to three weeks.

“I think it’s a little early to tell. I think the new cast is on until the second week in December, as the time table,” Fitzgerald said. “And then hopefully we’ll have some direction from there.”

Browne was seen walking around the football complex Monday without a limp. Browne suffered a knee injury against Minnesota in early November, but Fitzgerald said he did not need surgery and that he should begin running sometime next week when the Cats return to practice.

Despite the numerous season-ending injuries, Fitzgerald is still pleased with the situation heading into the Thanksgiving.

“As we sit here today, there’s a lot to be thankful for. Number one, we’re thankful for the health we’ve had,” he said.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
While there was no official media release, sports information director Mike Wolf announced the team’s players of the week.

Smith earned special teams player of the week for his 51-yard punt return that led to a field goal in the fourth quarter of the 27-10 win over Illinois. Peterman won offensive player of the game for his eight-catch, 111-yard performance. Senior defensive tackle Kevin Mims, who also won Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week, earned NU defensive player of the week for his two and a half sacks. Senior quarterback C.J. Bachér and McManis garnered offensive and defensive big playmaker, respectively.

matthewforman2007@u.northwestern.edu

Tags: Amado Villarreal, Brad Phillips, Brendan Smith, Corey Wootton, Eric Peterman, John Gill, Keegan Kennedy, Sherrick McManis, Tyrell Sutton, Vince Browne