PROVIDENCE, R.I. – West Virginia quarterback Patrick White, who led the Mountaineers to a share of the BIG EAST Conference championship and a berth in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, has been chosen as BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season by the league’s eight head coaches.

USF defensive end George Selvie, the national leader in tackles for loss, was named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year, while Cincinnati punter Kevin Huber was tabbed as BIG EAST Special Teams Player of the Year. Pittsburgh running back LeSean McCoy was a unanimous choice as BIG EAST Rookie of the Year, and Cincinnati head coach Brian Kelly was named BIG EAST Coach of the Year.

White is the fourth player in BIG EAST history to be named offensive player of the year in back-to-back seasons and the first since Ken Dorsey of Miami won in 2001 and 2002.

White is the engineer of a Mountaineer offense that has averaged 38.9 points and 450.5 yards per game. He finished the regular season ranked third in the BIG EAST in both rushing and pass efficiency rating, running for 1,185 yards and 14 touchdowns while completing 134 of 197 passes for 1,548 yards and 12 TDs. White has rushed for 3,356 career yards through his junior year, shattering the BIG EAST record for a quarterback.

Selvie becomes the first USF player and the first sophomore to be named defensive player of the year. He finished the regular season with a BIG EAST-record 32 tackles for loss, well ahead of the previous mark of 26 (Bryan Knight, Pittsburgh, 2000), and had 14.5 sacks to rank second nationally. Selvie also had a BIG EAST-best three forced fumbles to lead a USF defense that led the nation with 40 takeaways.

Huber is the first Cincinnati player to be named special teams player of the year and just the fourth punter to win the award. He finished the regular season as the national leader in punting average (46.9 yards). Huber saw 17 of his 53 punts downed inside the opponent’s 20-yard line and he had four kicks downed inside the 1-yard line.

McCoy was the choice as the league’s rookie of the year, becoming the first Pittsburgh player since Larry Fitzgerald in 2002 to earn that honor. McCoy finished the season as the conference’s second-leading rusher, averaging 110.7 yards per game. He ran for 1,328 yards and 14 touchdowns on 276 carries, finishing as the top freshman runner in the nation.

Kelly becomes the first Cincinnati coach to be chosen BIG EAST Coach of the Year after he led the Bearcats to their fourth nine-win season in their 120-year history. Cincinnati finished the regular season ranked No. 20 in the Associated Press poll and defeated three nationally ranked teams on its way to a 9-3 record and an appearance in the PapaJohns.com Bowl.

The BIG EAST also has recognized the members of its All-BIG EAST First and Second Teams. The first team includes seven unanimous selections in White, Selvie, Pittsburgh linebacker Scott McKillop, Cincinnati cornerback Mike Mickens and safety Haruki Nakamura, Rutgers running back Ray Rice and Louisville tight end Gary Barnidge.

White and Rice are two of the five repeat selections to the first team on offense. They join Louisville wide receiver Harry Douglas and Rutgers offensive tackle Jeremy Zuttah, who were first-team selections in 2006, and Louisville kicker Art Carmody, who makes his third straight appearance on the first team.

The first team defense also features four back-to-back selections, including three defensive linemen. Cincinnati’s Terrill Byrd, West Virginia’s Keilen Dykes, and Eric Foster of Rutgers were all first-team picks on the line last year. They join West Virginia safety Eric Wicks as consecutive first-team selections.

ALL-BIG EAST CONFERENCE SECOND TEAM

OFFENSE

WR       Marcus Barnett             Cincinnati             Fr.     6-1    165   Upper Marlboro, Md./Frederick Douglass

WR       Kenny Britt                  Rutgers              So.     6-4    205   Bayonne, N.J./Bayonne

WR       Mike Williams                Syracuse             So.     6-2    204   Buffalo, N.Y./Riverside

WR       Darius Reynaud            West Virginia        Sr.    5-10   200   Luling, La./Hahnville

OT        George Bussey             Louisville              Jr.     6-4    298   Louisville, Ky./Western

OT        Pedro Sosa                  Rutgers               Sr.     6-5    290   Union City, N.J./Union Hill

OG        Trevor Canfield             Cincinnati             Jr.     6-5    320   Cincinnati, Ohio/Western Hills

OG        Ryan Schmidt               USF                    Jr.     6-4    305   Boca Raton, Fla./Boca Raton/Kansas State

C          Mike Dent                   West Virginia        Jr.     6-4    285   Jeannette, Pa./Jeannette

QB        Brian Brohm                 Louisville              Sr.     6-4    228   Louisville, Ky./Trinity

RB         Andre Dixon                Connecticut        So.     6-1    195   New Brunswick, N.J./New Brunswick

RB         Steve Slaton                West Virginia        Jr.    5-10   190   Levittown, Pa./Conwell-Egan

K          Pat McAfee                 West Virginia        Jr.     6-1    220   Plum, Pa./Plum

KR/PR    Tyvon Branch              Connecticut         Sr.     6-0    199   Cicero, N.Y./Cicero-North Syracuse

DEFENSE

DL         Anthony Hoke             Cincinnati             Sr.     6-1    230   Warren, Ohio/Harding

DL         Joe Clermond               Pittsburgh           Sr.     6-3    250   Tampa, Fla./Chamberlain

DL         Arthur Jones                Syracuse             So.     6-4    289   Endicott, N.Y./Union-Endicott

DL         Johnny Dingle              West Virginia        Sr.     6-3    270   Miami, Fla./Booker T. Washington

LB         Lamar Myles                 Louisville              Jr.     6-0    220   Winter Haven, Fla./Lake Region

LB         Tyrone McKenzie          USF                    Jr.     6-2    230   Riverview, Fla./Riverview/Iowa State

LB         Marc Magro                  West Virginia        Sr.     6-3    240   Morgantown, W.Va./Morgantown

CB         DeAngelo Smith           Cincinnati             Jr.     6-0    185   Columbus, Ohio/Independence

CB         Trae Williams                USF                    Sr.    5-10   185   Plant City, Fla./Durant

S          Courtney Greene          Rutgers               Jr.     6-2    210   New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle

S          Joe Fields                    Syracuse             Sr.     6-1    210   Houston, Texas/Washington

P          Rob Long                    Syracuse             Fr.     6-4    175   Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West

Note: The All-BIG EAST Second Team includes four wide receivers due to a tie in the voting