Senior wide receiver Justin Watson's stellar campaign, in which he broke several school records, was not enough to bring home a second consecutive Ivy Player of the Year honor.
Credit: Zach SheldonUnfortunately for Penn football, an impressive winning streak to end the season could not translate past the gridiron and to the Mercury Ballroom of the New York Hilton Midtown.
While Red and Blue standouts Justin Watson and Nick Miller were finalists for the Offensive Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year awards respectively, neither Penn star took home the hardware. Instead, the offensive award went to senior Princeton quarterback Chad Kanoff, while Yale’s senior linebacker Matthew Oplinger won Defensive Player of the Year.
While both winners were deserving of the honors, so, too, were the Quakers’ candidates. Senior wide receiver Watson’s accomplishments have been listed again and again, and rightfully so. This past season alone, he set the Penn single-season record for receiving touchdowns with 14 while garnering an incredible 1083 receiving yards. Junior linebacker Miller had an equally impressive season, recording 104 tackles and four fumble recoveries to lead the conference. Additionally, Miller’s 6.6 solo tackles per game placed him fifth in the entire FCS.
Although this past weekend’s event served as Watson’s last opportunity to win the award, Miller will have another shot to win next year. A first-place finish in the Ivy League standings would certainly go along way in that regard.
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