It’s been a long time coming.
Arizona junior running back Ka’Deem Carey was named 2013 Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year on Monday, leading the Pac-12 all-conference team.
This is the first time in the award’s history that an Arizona player has been selected. All 12 of the conference’s head football coaches put Carey’s name on the first-team ballot. The unanimous vote comes as no surprise, however, considering Carey’s career and season statistics.
Carey leads the Pac-12 in rushing with an average of 156 yards per game. He has scored the second-most touchdowns in the conference with 18 and 108 total points. He holds the school record with 50 touchdowns in his career. The Tucson native ranks fifth in the nation with 1,716 rushing yards. He is the all-time career rushing leader for Arizona with 4,070 yards.
Even in Arizona’s 58-21 loss to ASU on Saturday, he shone, rushing for more than 100 yards for the 15th game in a row. He ran for 157 yards and scored one touchdown.
Arizona head coach Rich Rodriguez said he wished the team had given Carey more holes to run through.
“He runs extremely hard and he gives his best on every play,” Rodriguez said. “What he’s been doing is phenomenal, and he’s having a tremendous year, and he’s only a junior.”
Carey joins ASU senior defensive end Will Sutton and freshman running back/linebacker Myles Jack of UCLA as players of the year. Jack, the Freshman Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year, rushed for 120 yards on six carries against Arizona on Nov. 9. Carey rushed for 157 and the Wildcats lost 31-26.
Sutton is the second player in conference history to earn Defensive Player of the Year twice.
ASU head coach Todd Graham won Pac-12 coach of the year, leading the Sun Devils to a 10-2 record overall to claim the Pac-12 South division title.
Besides being Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year, Carey is also a Heisman Trophy and All-America candidate, as well as a Doak Walker Award finalist. Carey has gracefully carried the Wildcats’ offense despite being the obvious target for every opposing team’s defense.
—Follow Megan Coghlan @MeganCoghlan
