CEDAR CITY, Utah, Nov. 22 - For a little icing on the cake of Southern Utah's second straight winning football season, the Thunderbirds swept the four Great West Conference Player of the Year awards in voting among the conference coaches, it was announced today.

Brad Sorensen was named Offensive Player of the Year, Tyler Osborne earned Defensive Player of the Year honors, Austin Minefee was Special Teams Player of the Year and Brady Measom was named Rookie of the Year.

"Considering the top-to-bottom parity of the Great West Conference this year, I'm honored that four of our players would be voted as player of the year," SUU Coach Ed Lamb said. "Brad, Tyler, Austin and Brady consistently delivered solid individual performances throughout the season."

In all, SUU placed nine players on the all-conference first team and five more on the second team.

Sorensen, a junior quarterback from Grand Terrace, Calif., led the conference in total offense, passing yards per game, completion percentage and completions and passing touchdowns. He completed 288-of-425 passes (67.8 percent) for 3,143 yards and 17 touchdowns and finished with 3,094 total yards. Sorensen gives SUU back-to-back offensive player of the year awards, following WR Tysson Poots, who earned the honor last year.

Osborne, a senior defensive end from Ogden, Utah, finished the season second in the conference in sacks, tackles for loss and fumbles forced, was tied for second in fumbles recovered and was 15^th in tackles, which led all defensive linemen. He finished the season with 60 tackles (33 solo), 17 tackles for loss, 13 sacks, five fumbles forced and three fumbles recovered. Osborne is the first Southern Utah player to earn defensive player of the year honors from the GWC.

Minefee, a senior running back from Cedar City, Utah, finished the season ranked seventh in the nation and atop the GWC charts in kickoff return average. He returned 25 kickoffs a total of 731 yards, including two for touchdowns, a 99-yarder and an 82-yard return. He also led the GWC in all-purpose yards with 1,751, as he finished the season with 625 rushing and 395 receiving yards, ranking among the league's top five in both categories. He also finished the season fifth in the GWC in overall scoring and third in touchdowns scored. He was named the GWC special teams player of the week twice and the offensive player of the week twice and also received two national player of the week awards. Minefee is SUU's third special teams player of the year, joining WR/return specialist Nick Miller, who received the award in 2008, and punter Trevor Ward, who was named in 2009.

Measom, a wide receiver from South Jordan, Utah, finished the season ranked seventh in the nation punt return average , at 12.3 yards per return. He also led the Thunderbirds in receptions with 48 for 547 yards. His receptions were second overall in the league while his yards per game (49.7) were sixth and second on the team. Measom is SUU's second rookie of the year; he joins WR Braden Godfrey, who earned the award in 2004.

Sorensen and Minefee were joined on the coaches' first offense by senior tight end Abbel Aiono, who had 28 receptions for 308 yards and three touchdowns, and junior guard Zach Brackus.

Joining Osborne on the first defense were senior linebackers Blake Fenn and Herman Sword, and senior defensive backs Dion Turner and Erron Vonner. Fenn (Roosevelt, Utah) ranked third in the GWC with 86 tackles (45 solo), including 4.5 tackles for loss and a sack, with an interception return for a touchdown and a pass broken up. Sword (Pago Pago, American Samoa) was eighth in the conference with  73 tackles (35 solo), including six TFLs and a sack, and he also forced four fumbles and broke up a pass.

Turner,  a cornerback from Oakland, Calif., was 10^th in the conference with 69 tackles (48 solo), including four TFLS. He also intercepted a pass which her returned for a touchdown and broke up a team-high four passes. Vonner, a strong safety from Toledo, Ohio who prepped in southern California, had two interceptions, both of which he returned for touchdowns, to go along with 58 tackles (39 solo) and a forced fumble.

Earning second-team recognition were Measom, sophomore WR Fatu Moala (Kearns, Utah) and sophomore center Gavin Farr. Junior defensive tackle Cody Larsen (Draper, Utah) and sophomore linebacker Chad Hansen (Murietta, Calif.) earned second-team honors on the defensive side of the ball.

Sorensen, Osborn, Minefee, Turner and Vonner were all repeat first-team honorees from 2010, while Farr, Larsen and Fenn were second-teamers last year.

In the other individual award handed out by the GWC coaches, North Dakota Coach Chris Mussman was honored by his peers as Coach of the Year after guiding UND to a 3-1 conference mark - and a share of the conference title with Cal Poly - and an overall 8-3 record.