Dec. 7, 2009

DeKALB, Ill. - A pair of juniors picked up top honors at the 2009 Northern Illinois Football banquet Sunday as tailback Chad Spann (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central HS) and defensive lineman Jake Coffman (German Valley, Ill./Forreston HS) were selected the NIU Most Valuable Players on offense and defense, respectively, by vote of the entire team. Spann, who scored 20 touchdowns and rushed for 945 yards on the season, was named the team's overall MVP.

The MVP honors were among several given out Sunday at the team's annual end of the season gathering, held at the Holmes Student Center on the NIU campus.

"We recognize the all-conference players at this event, but I think the most significant are the team awards because those are voted on by our players and that means a lot to be honored by your teammates," said NIU Head Coach Jerry Kill. "I think the team does a great job of choosing these awards."

Spann, a first-team All-MAC selection, also won the offensive back of the year award, while Coffman, who leads Northern Illinois in quarterback sacks (7.5) and tackles for loss (12.5), shared top defensive lineman honors with defensive tackle D.J. Pirkle (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln Way East HS). Coffman also won the Jawan Jackson Award, given annually to the walk-on player who makes the biggest impact. A second-team All-MAC choice, he played both defensive end and noseguard for NIU in 2009.

Offensive guard Jason Onyebuagu (Indianapolis, Ind./Warren Central HS) and Landon Cox (Calumet City, Ill./Thornton Fractional North) were the only other Huskies to earn multiple team awards on Sunday as Onyebuagu was elected NIU's Most Inspirational Player and shared offensive lineman of the year honors with center Eddie Adamski (Kildeer, Ill./Carmel), while Cox was the Receiver of the Year and was presented with the Fran Cahill Award.

Defensive end Sean Progar (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South HS) won Freshman of the Year honors and kicker/punter Mike Salerno (Orland Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg HS) was named Special Teams Player of the Year for the second straight season. Senior defensive end Brandon Bice (McCook, Ill./Lyons Township HS) made it a clean sweep for the Huskie defensive linemen as he was honored as a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy and the National Football Foundation's Scholar-Athlete honors.

Cory Hanson (Minneapolis, Minn./De La Salle HS) and Tracy Wilson (Harvey, Ill./St. Francis DeSales HS) were voted by their teammates as the Huskies' linebacker and defensive back of the year, respectively, while receiver Matt Ng (Carol Stream, Ill./Glenbard North HS) earned offensive work team MVP honors and linebacker Dan Edem (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview HS) won the award as the defensive work team player of the year.

The banquet concluded with remarks from Kill directed to Northern Illinois' 17 seniors, and the team's annual highlight video.

During the banquet, NIU Director of Athletics Jeff Compher took a call from the director of the International Bowl, Don Loding, who invited the Huskie team to play the University of South Florida in the International Bowl in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on January 2, 2010.

For complete information on the bowl invitation, click here or go to www.niuhuskies.com. Tickets for the game, which will be played the Rogers Centre in Toronto, can be ordered on-line through the Northern Illinois athletic website for just $40.

-- NIU --

To get all the latest updates on Huskie sports, read "Huskie Happenings" daily on www.niuhuskies.com.

Northern Illinois University Football

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