I just got back from Rutgers and lunch with a handful of the Scarlet Knights and I’ll have a lot more on Tim Brown – and what he was wearing around his neck. But before then, the Rutgers senior headlines this week’s Big East honorees and he’s also the latest in a line of league players up for the AT&T All-America Player of the Week. He joins nominees Jonathan Dwyer of Georgia Tech, Case Keenum of Houston and Temple’s Bernard Pierce in trying to win fans’ votes; no Big East player has won the whole thing yet this year. To vote, just text message** VOTE to 345345.
Alright, on to the full list of honorees, straight from the league press office…
BIG EAST OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Tim Brown • Sr. • WR • Rutgers • Miami, Fla. Brown had five receptions for 162 yards and two touchdowns — including the game-winning 81-yard TD with 22 seconds left in the fourth quarter — to lift Rutgers to a 28-24 win at Connecticut. Brown averaged 32.4 yards per catch against the Huskies and also scored on a 37-yard reception in the second quarter. Brown’s gamewinner came just 16 seconds after Connecticut had taken its first lead of the game..
BIG EAST DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Kion Wilson • Sr. • LB • USF • Jacksonville, Fla. Wilson, who was nearly held out of Friday’s game against West Virginia due to injury, had a game-high 12 tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss, to go with an interception in the Bulls’ 30-19 win against the Mountaineers. Wilson led a USF defense that held West Virginia to 118 rushing yards and 323 yards of total offense..
BIG EAST SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Devin McCourty • Sr. • CB • Rutgers • Nanuet, N.Y. McCourty returned the opening kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown to help Rutgers to a 28-24 win at Connecticut. It was the Scarlet Knights’ first touchdown on a kickoff return since Willie Foster went 93 yards for a score against Villanova Sept. 10, 2005. McCourty also downed a third-quarter punt on the Connecticut 2-yard line.
WEEKLY HONOR ROLL
Zach Collaros, QB, Cincinnati — Completed 22 of 28 passes for 295 yards and four touchdowns in a 28-7 win at Syracuse.
Robbie Frey, RB, Connecticut — Scored a touchdown on a 100-yard kickoff return and had 163 yards on three kickoff returns in a 28-24 loss to Rutgers.
Brandon Heath, LB, Louisville — Had six tackles, one tackle for loss and a 25-yard interception return for a touchdown in a 21-13 win against Arkansas State.
Damaso Munoz, LB, Rutgers — Had seven tackles, one tackle for loss and an interception in a 28-24 win at Connecticut.
B.J. Daniels, QB, USF — Had 336 yards of total offense and three touchdown passes in a 30-19 win against West Virginia. Had 104 rushing yards and 232 passing yards.
Aditi Kinkhabwala has written a regular column for SI.com and been published in Sports Illustrated.