Big East football awards: Rutgers dominates postseason honors

Khaseem Greene of Rutgers was named the 2012 Big East Conference Defensive Player of the Year on Thursday, the second consecutive year Greene has won the award. He shared the award last season. Scarlet Knights' first-year head coach Kyle Flood shared Coach of the Year honors with Charlie Strong of Louisville.

Four other Scarlet Knights were also named to the first team. They are: Offensive lineman Antwan Lowery, defensive lineman Scott Vallone, cornerback Logan Ryan and safety Duron Harmon.

From Syracuse, wide receiver Alec Lemon, offensive tackle Justin Pugh and safety Shamarko Thomas were named to the first team.

Greene, who last year became the first Rutgers player to be chosen as Big East Defensive Player of the Year, became the first Big East player since Virginia Tech’s Corey Moore in 1998 and 1999 to repeat as the league’s top defensive player. Greene led the Big East in tackles for the second straight year, finishing with 125 stops in 12 games. He was fourth in the league in sacks (5.5), eighth in tackles for loss (10.5) and had six forced fumbles, which ranks second nationally. He is the key man on a Scarlet Knight unit that ranks fourth nationally in scoring defense (14.3 ppg).