Sports betting online saw Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh become the first player ever to be named AP Player of the Year in college football.
Suh had an unbelievable game in the Big 12 title game against Texas that put him on the radar and he was even a sportsbetting online factor in the Heisman race. Sports betting could see Suh as the first player picked in next year’s NFL Draft.
Sports betting online had already seen Suh win four other awards. He won the Nagurski and Bednarik in addition to the Lombardi and Outland trophies. He was fourth in the Heisman race although a sportsbetting case could easily be made he should have won that award as well. Winning the AP Player of the Year award though is huge since he is the first defensive player to ever win it. “Just being recognized as player of the year is a huge accomplishment,” Suh said. Suh got 26 votes while Stanford’s Toby Gerhart finished second with 20 votes. Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram was tied for third with Colt McCoy. The AP voting is really how the Heisman voting should have gone in sports betting online but the Heisman is more of a publicity vote than anything else.
The AP Player of the Year award has only been given out since 1998 but until now the sports betting online winners were either quarterbacks or running backs. “It’s a great choice,” Nebraska coach Bo Pelini said. “I give (the voters) a lot of credit. I’m not taking anything away from Ingram or McCoy or any of the other guys. I just think at his position, you would be hard-pressed to say there’s a better player than Suh. He’s had a tremendous year.”
It is not unheard of for the award to go to a player that didn’t win the Heisman but it is unusual in sports betting online. Four other times in sports betting the Heisman winner did not win the AP Player of the Year award. The last time it happened was in 2003 when Heisman Winner Carson Palmer lost out to Iowa quarterback Brad Banks.
Suh is going to be a sports betting online force in Nebraska’s bowl game against Arizona and he is going to be a star in the NFL. Suh had 12 sacks as a defensive lineman this sports betting season. “I think I had a good year,” he said. “I definitely got better in a couple of areas. I won’t say I’m satisfied by any means, because we still have a big game left to play against Arizona in the Holiday Bowl.”