Up for two honors: Patrick Peterson, LSU’s outstanding junior defensive back, is up for two honors tonight at The Home Depot College Football Awards. Peterson is a finalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award, which goes to the top defensive player, and the Jim Thorpe Award, which is presented to the best defensive back. Mark Schlabach, a college football writer for ESPN, predicts Peterson will win the Thorpe Award. “Peterson came into the 2010 season with a reputation as the sport’s best cover cornerback, and his play solidified it,” Schlabach says. The college football awards will air live at 6 p.m. on ESPN.
Young guns: Three LSU defensive players have been named to the SEC All-Freshmen team. Barkevious Mingo and Sam Montgomery, a pair of defensive linemen and Tyrann Mathieu, a defensive back, were put on the team by SEC coaches. Marcus Lattimore, a running back from South Carolina, was named SEC Freshman of the Year.
Staying in the Midwest: Nebraska’s athletic director is denying a report that coach Bo Pelini is a candidate for Miami’s coaching job. Athletic director Tom Osborne told the Lincoln Journal Star that he has not given Pelini permission to speak to Miami about the job, and Pelini says he didn’t seek permission to interview for another job. Pelini, a former defensive coordinator at LSU, wouldn’t otherwise comment publicly on the report. Pelini’s Cornhuskers are 10-3 heading into the Holiday Bowl game against Washington. Miami fired Randy Shannon last month after a 7-5 season. The Miami Herald, citing a University of Miami source it did not identify, reported today that school officials planned to talk to the third-year Nebraska coach.
