College Football Performance Awards named BYU linebacker Kyle Van Noy Defensive Performer of the Year and presented him the award at halftime during the BYU men’s basketball victory against Utah State.
Van Noy was also named an All-American along with the rest of BYU’s athletes who received the honor, including teammates Cody Hoffman and Ziggy Ansah. Van Noy helped lead the top-ranked Cougar defense and ended the season tied at No. 2 nationally in sacks and forced fumbles at 13 and six.
Van Noy totaled impressive defensive numbers for the Cougars, according to a news release:
Van Noy led BYU with 13 sacks, 22 tackles for loss, eight quarterback hurries, a school record six forced fumbles and two blocked kicks. He totaled 53 tackles while adding five pass breakups, two interceptions, one fumble recovery and two touchdowns to become the only player in the nation to record a stat in every major defensive category each of the last two seasons.
“It’s a great honor to be recognized with this award,” Van Noy said in the news release. “I’m really looking forward to getting back on the field with my BYU teammates for my senior season.”
Van Noy’s standout performances on the football field have garnered him a large fan base at BYU, and he was welcomed in the Marriott Center with thunderous applause from the thousands in attendance.
“After an extensive review of the existing data, literature, and evidence, it has been determined that Kyle Van Noy was responsible for the most overall defensive success in Division I FBS college football,” Smith said. “As a result, Kyle’s performance satisfies the strict criteria CFPA established for annual recognition.”
As the 2012 season was coming to an end, Van Noy was certainly an NFL draft possibility. Cougar fans waited nervously to hear if he would go to the draft or stay with BYU for his senior year.
Deseret News reported in late December that Kyle Van Noy had made the decision to stay at BYU:
Van Noy, a junior who anchored a team that ranked third in the nation in total defense in 2012, announced Monday that he will come back to the Cougars rather than declare himself eligible for the National Football League draft.
Van Noy said he wanted to stay with his team and finish what he had started at BYU.
