Harrison gets first-team recognition

PULLMAN – The Pac-10 never did give its offensive player of the week award to Jerome Harrison this season.

That, even though Harrison was the nation’s leading rusher at 1,900 yards total and at 172.72 yards per game, a full .13 ahead of second-place finisher DeAngelo Williams of Memphis.

Fortunately for the Washington State running back, the conference’s oversight on a week-to-week basis didn’t translate into one of a season-long nature.

League coaches voted Harrison onto the first-team All-Pac-10 lineup, one of two running backs alongside USC’s Reggie Bush, who was also tabbed the conference’s offensive player of the year.

And were it not for some of Bush’s teammates, more Cougars likely would have made the first team.

Instead, wide receiver Jason Hill, center Nick Mihlhauser, tight end Troy Bienemann and defensive end Mkristo Bruce made the second team. All but Bienemann were beaten out by a member of the No. 1 Trojans.

In fact, all 11 USC starters on offense were either first team, second team or honorable mention All-Pac-10.

For the Cougars, wide receiver Michael Bumpus and linebackers Will Derting and Scott Davis were given honorable mention.

Hill passed the 1,000-yard receiving mark for a second consecutive year and, with 13 touchdowns, set a WSU single-season record for receiving scores, also for a second consecutive year. Mihlhauser, the most experienced starter on the WSU offensive line, helped pave the way for Harrison’s big year and was responsible for binding together a unit once thought of as a team weakness. By season’s end, it was one of its greatest strengths.

Bienemann, also a longtime starter in his senior season, finished with 24 catches for 278 yards and three touchdowns, despite seeing his season cut short by a knee injury in the penultimate game. And Bruce, a junior, finished second in the conference and is 11th in the nation with 10 quarterback sacks at his defensive end spot.

Oregon defensive tackle Haloti Ngata and Arizona State middle linebacker Dale Robinson shared conference honors as the top defensive player this season, and guard Jeremy Perry of Oregon State shared the award for the league’s top freshman with Arizona wide receiver Michael Thomas.

In an interesting twist, coach of the year honors were also split between USC’s Pete Carroll and UCLA’s Karl Dorrell. Those two coaches will be on opposite sidelines Saturday as the Trojans play for a national title game and the Bruins for a share of the league championship.