Boston College Athletics
Toal, Kiwanuka Earn Top Big East Honors
December 01, 2004 | Football
Dec. 1, 2004
Boston College freshman linebacker Brian Toal was named Big East Rookie of the Year by a vote of the league's coaches, while teammate Mathias Kiwanuka earned Defensive Player of the Year honors, the league announced on Wednesday.
Toal is a 6-2 freshman who made a huge impact for the Eagles, starting the final seven games of the season and finishing second on the team in tackles with 70. Toal is only the second defensive player since 1994 to be named Big East Rookie of the Year.
Kiwanuka spearheaded the BC defense by leading the Big East with 10 sacks and 19.5 tackles for loss. He is the first Eagle player to earn Defensive PLayer of the Year accolades. His tackles for loss added up to 92 yards in lost yardage. Kiwanuka, a unanimous selection for the All-Big East first team, helped the Eagles rank 15th nationally this week in scoring defense, yielding only 16.3 points per game.
Kiwanuka was the only Boston College player selected by the Big East coaches for first-team honors on offense or defense. Wide receiver Grant Adams, center Patrick Ross, offensive tackle Jeremy Trueblood, tight end David Kashetta and kick and punt returner Will Blackmon received second-team honors on offense. Defensive tackle Tim Bulman, linebacker Ray Henderson, cornerback Blackmon and safety T.J. Stancil received second-team honors on defense.
