American Athletic Conference releases postseason awards

The AAC released their postseason awards on Wednesday, and the recipients of the players and coach of the year weren’t a surprise.

2017 AAC Football Awards

Coach of the Year: Scott Frost, UCF

Offensive Player of the Year: McKenzie Milton, QB, UCF

Defensive Player of the Year: Ed Oliver, DT, Houston

Special Teams Player of the Year: Tony Pollard, WR, Memphis

Rookie of the Year: TJ Carter, CB, Memphis

Milton and Frost ran away with their awards. Frost led the Knights to an 11-0 record in just his second season as head coach. Milton has vastly improved, and is well-deserving of his award. The sophomore quarterback completed 69.1% of his passes for 30 touchdowns and just six interceptions. He also rushed for 429 yards and six more scores.

Oliver might be the most impressive name on this list. After dealing with extra attention paid to him this year, the star defensive tackle finished third on his team in tackles.......as a defensive tackle. Let that sink in. Oliver added 14.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks which led the Cougars in both categories.

How Tony Pollard wasn’t a unanimous selection is beyond me, because he’s the best kick returner in college football. Still, his award is well earned. His 751 yards and four touchdowns lead the nation.

TJ Carter was forced into a starting role after injuries ravaged through the Tigers defense, and he responded well. Carter finished fifth on the team in tackles and was tied for the team lead with three interceptions.

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As for All-Conference Selections, UCF led the way with 16, followed by USF with 10, and Memphis with nine. Below is a list of the AAC teams with their total selections followed by a breakdown for each team (1st team, 2nd team, and Honorable Mention).

Cincinnati (4)

1st Team: 1

2nd Team: 2

Honorable Mention: 1

ECU (3)

1T: 0

2T: 1

HM: 2

Houston (5)

1T: 2

2T: 1

HM: 2

Memphis (9)

1T: 6

2T: 3

HM: 0

Navy (3)

1T: 0

2T: 1

HM: 2

SMU (5)

1T: 3

2T: 0

HM: 2

Temple (5)

1T: 1

2T: 3

HM: 1

Tulane (4)

1T: 1

2T: 2

HM: 1

Tulsa (7)

1T: 1

2T: 4

HM: 2

UConn (1)

1T: 0

2T: 0

HM: 1

UCF (16)

1T: 9

2T: 7

HM: 0

USF (10)

1T: 4

2T: 5

HM: 1

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Do you agree with the AAC selections? Let us know what you think in the comments section.