Thaddeus Lewis

QB – Duke Senior

The Davey O’Brien award has named Duke QB Thaddeus Lewis this week’s quarterback of the week. Lewis led the Blue devils to a first win over North Carolina State in 12 games. The senior QB finished the game with huge numbers, going 40 of 50 passes for 459 yards and 5 touchdowns. Lewis was also key in converting 13 of 18 third downs in the victory. Other quarterbacks receiving votes this week included: Sam Bradford – Oklahoma (JR), Case Keenum – Houston (RS-JR), Dan LeFevour – Central Michigan (SR), Colt McCoy – Texas (SR), Christian Ponder – Florida State (RS-JR), Todd Reesing – Kansas (SR), Steven Sheffield – Texas Tech (JR), Riley Skinner – Wake Forest (RS-SR) and Tim Tebow – Florida (SR). The O’Brien honors the nation’s best college quarterback of the year. Each week a subset of The O’Brien Selection Keep Reading…

Darius Nall

DE – Central Florida Redshirt Sophomore

From the Football Writers Association of America DALLAS (FWAA) – Central Florida’s Darius Nall is the weekly nominee for the 2009 FedEx Orange Bowl-FWAA Courage Award, to be announced at the end of the season. Nall, a sophomore defensive end from Douglasville, Ga., has overcome cancer that required three surgeries, the last to remove a baseball-sized tumor from his chest. Nall was honored as one of Conference USA’s best freshmen in 2007, but was diagnosed during the summer of 2008 with cancer. He underwent surgery on July 9, 2008, to remove the mass. The procedure was followed by radiation therapy. Nall was declared a cancer survivor last November. He returned to football last spring. “I don’t take anything for granted anymore,” he told Florida Today. “Not even life in general. As for football, this is what I do best. I’m Keep Reading…

The final scores are in the books and Draft Breakdown is here to update you on how some of the top rookies in the 2009 draft performed in week 4 of the NFL season. Matthew Stafford – QB – Lions Stafford seems to get better each week. This week, he was able to play well against an aggressive Bears defense. Stafford finished the game going 24 of 36 for 296 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception. The QB suffered a knee injury towards the end of the game and is questionable for week 5. Johnny Knox – WR – Bears Once again, Knox is showing his talent. While he didn’t have a huge day as a wide receiver, he did return a kickoff 102 for a touchdown. Apparently, Devin Hester isn’t the only solid return man in Chicago. Alex Mack – C – Browns Even in the loss, the Browns Keep Reading…

Per Jason LaCanfora of NFL Network, former Texas Tech WR Michael Crabtree has finally signed a contract with the San Fransisco 49ers. The contract is reportedly a 6 year deal in which the last year can be voided if Crabtree meets certain requirements in his play. The terms of the contract have yet to be revealed, but with San Fransisco winning without Crabtree, odds are the total guaranteed money is the same as was originally offered. To read the entire report from Jason LaCanfora, Click here. UPDATE: Terms appear to be 6 years $32 million with $17 million guaranteed.

Rolando McClain

ILB – Alabama Junior

Rolando McClain has received the FWAA/Bronko Nagurski Defensive Player of the week award. McClain came up huge for the Crimson Tide against Kentucky, racking up 12 tackles, 1 interception, 1 forced fumble, and 1 pass deflection that led to an interception. McClain’s three forced turnovers (1 FF, 1 INT, 1 deflection leading to INT) each led to touchdowns, resulting in 21 of Alabama’s 38 total points. The Bronko Nagurski Trophy will be presented to the best defensive player in college football on Dec. 7. Last season, Texas DE Brian Orakpo was the recipient of the end of season award.