DeMeco Ryan as a player from his college days to playing professional playing career has received a lot of awards for being an exception.
From 2002 to 2005, Ryans was an outside linebacker for the Alabama Crimson Tide football team under coach Mike Shula. When Ryans made his debut, he was a member of the team’s special teams and the team’s backup linebackers.
As his undergraduate career progressed, he made significant strides forward.
In his debut season, Ryans was able to secure a spot on the special teams and as a backup linebacker. Ryans was named the SEC’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2005 after a stellar college career in which he made significant strides each year.
Later, Ryans credited his defensive coordinator at Alabama, Joe Kines, for a large part of his success in college. When they beat Texas Tech by a score of 13–10, he was voted the Cotton Bowl Classic’s defensive MVP for 2006.
A unanimous first-team All-American, he was awarded the Lott Trophy for his combination of athletic prowess and off-the-field accomplishments in 2005.
Here are DeMeco Ryans College Awards and Honors
2006 NCAA Top Eight Award (Class of 2006)
2006 Cotton Bowl Classic – Defensive MVP
2005 Consensus first-team All-American
2005 SEC – Defensive Player of the Year
2005 First-team All-SEC
2005 Lott Trophy
2005 Bednarik Trophy Semifinalist
2005 Butkus Award Finalist
2005 Draddy Award Finalist
2005 Nagurski Award Finalist
2005 Lombardi Award Semifinalist
2004 Second-team All-SEC
