Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Under the Dome tional Player of the Year by winning the Maxwell Award and Walter Camp Award, in addition to the Chuck Bednarik Award as the nation���s top defender. ��� Senior Tyler Eifert became the first Notre Dame player to claim the John Mackey Award, presented to the nation���s top tight end, since its creation in 2000. ��� Brian Kelly became the first coach in the award���s 19-year history to be twice named ESPN/The Home Depot Coach of the Year. Kelly also was the recipient in 2009 when he led the Cincinnati Bearcats to a 12���0 regular season prior to accepting the Notre Dame job. ��� Former Notre Dame head coach Ara Parseghian (1964-74), who directed the Fighting Irish to consensus national titles in 1966 and 1973, was presented the 11th annual Contributions to College Football Award by the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA). Parseghian has been personally involved in the fight against Niemann-Pick Type C, a genetic, pediatric, neurodegenerative disorder. Three of his grandchildren ��� Michael, Marcia and Christa Parseghian ��� were diagnosed with NP-C in 1994 and all three died of the disease by 2005. Earlier in the week, on Dec. 3, Te���o became the first Notre Dame player to receive the Butkus Award, given to the country���s top linebacker, which has been presented annually since 1985. Later that same day, he received the Bronko Nagurski Award, another first for an Irish player since its creation in 1993. The Nagurski also is presented to the nation���s top defensive player. The third honor that was won for the first time by a Notre Dame player was the Lott IMPACT Trophy, with the acronym meaning Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity among defensive players. Meanwhile, on the same day his prize pupil Te���o was in Charlotte for the Bednarik Award (Dec. 3), third-year Fighting Irish defensive coordinator Bob Diaco was in Little Rock, Ark., and named the winner of the Frank Broyles Award, distinguishing himself as the nation���s top assistant coach in 2012. The Broyles Award has been presented since 1996, with Diaco the first Notre Dame representative to receive it. Notre Dame led the nation this year in scoring defense with an average of 10.33 points allowed per game. Diaco reportedly interviewed for the vacated head coaching position at Boston College before the Eagles hired former Temple head coach Steve Addazio, an offensive line assistant coach at Notre Dame from 19992001. Decoration Time Prior to this season, the most individual trophies accumulated in one season were three by the 1977 national champs. That year, defensive end Ross Browner won the Maxwell Award and Rotary Lombardi Award, while tight end Ken MacAfee was the recipient of the