BYU junior linebacker Kyle Van Noy was honored as the College Football Performance Awards (CFPA) National Linebacker of the Week on Monday.
Van Noy enters week four tied for fourth nationally in sacks, with 4.5. He also is tied for sixth nationally in tackles for loss with 7.5 on the season so far. Van Noy has been seen making plays all over the field, seemingly materializing to make a defensive play for the Cougars. He has 15 tackles on the year, along with three pass breakups and two forced fumbles.
Van Noy is one of the leaders of a defense that is ranked ninth nationally in total yards allowed per game, allowing just 241 yards per game. They have also kept every opponent under 300 total yards of offense, a nine-game streak dating back to last season.
“Our defense is gritty,” Van Noy said. “We make plays and try to win. That’s all we care about. We try to get the offense in the best position possible to win.”
Even though the Cougars lost their rivalry game to the University of Utah 24-21 on Saturday, they still managed to hold the Utes to 49 rushing yards and 25 percent on third down conversions.
Van Noy was recognized throughout the offseason with various award watchlists after his 2011 season, in which he was the only Division-I player to record a statistic in every defensive category. He is on both the Lombardi Award watchlist, awarded to the best linebacker or lineman and the Bronco Nagurski Award watchlist, given to the overall best defensive player in college football.
The CFPA winners are selected based on criteria that examines how individual players increase the overall effectiveness of their teams.
