Texas players were honored at the Erwin Center on Friday night when UT held its annual football banquet.
The final award given on the night, and perhaps the most prestigious, was the Team Captains Award, which is voted on by the players and given to four seniors. In the Texas locker room, there is a pole on which that names of the captains for each football team are inscribed. The official captains for the 2007 team are Dallas Griffin, Tony Hills, Derek Lokey, and Frank Okam.
The players also voted on the Team MVP Award, which was given to Colt McCoy and Jamaal Charles, but longest applause and the loudest cheers were for Dallas Griffin.
Griffin spoke at the podium for the seniors, as one senior does each year. He had to wait a while for the applause to end before he could speak, though, as the entire crowd gave the senior center a standing ovation. On Tuesday in New York City, Griffin was honored the Draddy Trophy, the “Heisman Trophy of Academics”, as Texas head coach Mack Brown put it.
All in all, 30 different awards were given out to the players. At multitude of tables on the Erwin Center floor were players, coaches, families, sponsors, university staff, donors, the Longhorn Band, spirit groups, media and a wide variety of other people associated with University of Texas football.
There were also a number of high school recruits there, including kicker Justin Tucker, linebacker Emmanuel Acho and a host of other 2008 Texas commits.. Along with the many UT pledges, Denver Mullen High School OT Bryce Givens was at the banquet on his official visit.
Texas finished the regular season 9-3 and will take on Arizona State in the Holiday Bowl on December 27th.
2007 Awards
Lan Hewlett Academic Award
Dallas Griffin
Outstanding Offensive Linemen
Dallas Griffin
Tony Hills
Coca-Cola Community Service Award
Derek Lokey
Outstanding Defensive Linemen
Derek Lokey
Frank Okam
Most Consistent Defensive Player
Derek Lokey
Dr. Nasser Al-Rashid Strength & Conditioning Awards
Derek Lokey
Frank Okam
Billy Pittman
Outstanding Tight End
Jermichael Finley
Joseph W. Moore Award for Tenacity
Roy Miller
Adam Ulatoski
Longhorn Club Sportsmanship Award
Quan Cosby
Most Consistent Offensive Players
Quan Cosby
Chris Hall
Frank Medina Rehabilitation Award sponsored by Pacificare
Cedric Dockery
Eddie Jones
Aaron Lewis
Rod Muckelroy
Brian Orakpo
Jordan Shipley
Limas Sweed
Luke Tiemann
Adam Ulatoski
Outstanding Wide Receivers
Nate Jones
Limas Sweed
Outstanding Quarterback
Colt McCoy
Outstanding Offensive Newcomers
John Chiles
Michael Huey
Blaine Irby
Vondrell McGee
Outstanding Defensive Newcomers
Sam Acho
Sergio Kindle
Rod Muckelroy
Lowe’s Most Improved Defensive Players
Deon Beasley
Jared Norton
Ryan Palmer
Outstanding Defensive Ends
Lamarr Houston
Aaron Lewis
Brian Orakpo
Outstanding Linebackers
Rashad Bobino
Scott Derry
Robert Killebrew
Outstanding Defensive Backs
Brandon Foster
Marcus Griffin
Erick Jackson
Drew Kelson
Lowe’s Most Improved Offensive Players
Jordan Shipley
Charlie Tanner
Clyde Littlefield Outstanding Offensive Back
Jamaal Charles
Roy Williams Joe Jamail Leadership Award
Drew Kelson
Valor Awards
Billy Pittman
Will Harvey
Thomas Marshall
Chris Ogbonnaya
Ishie Oduegwu
Greg Smith
Luke Tiemann
American Airlines D.X. Bible Most Team Spirited
Tony Hills
Frank Denius Most Valuable Special Teams Player
Ryan Bailey
Quan Cosby
D. Harold Byrd Leadership Award
Dallas Griffin
Tony Hills
Derek Lokey
Mike Campbell Most Valuable Defensive Player
Brandon Foster
Marcus Griffin
Darrell K. Royal Most Valuable Offensive Player
Jamaal Charles
George “Hook” McCullough MVP
Jamaal Charles
Colt McCoy
Team Captains Award
Dallas Griffin
Tony Hills
Derek Lokey
Frank Okam