A number of Horned Frog football players and coaches were awarded a series of national postseason honors for their performances this season.

Senior linebacker Daryl Washington and senior defensive end Jerry Hughes were named to the ESPN All-American team after anchoring the Horned Frog defense, which was No. 1 in the nation for the second consecutive year in 2009.

Hughes was also added to the Sports Illustrated All-American first team, along with junior center Jake Kirkpatrick.

Junior quarterback Andy Dalton was an honorable mention on the Sports Illustrated team. Hughes’ accolades did not stop there, as he was also named to the CBSSports.com All-American first team.

Washington, Dalton and Hughes were among the nine Frogs named in the Mountain West All-Conference first team.

Washington, Hughes and senior offensive tackle Marshall Newhouse were all on the 2009 Lombardi Award watch list for college lineman of the year and Washington was one of 16 semifinalists for the Butkus Award for the nation’s top linebacker. Hughes was named MWC defensive player of the year, Dalton was named offensive player of the year and junior wide receiver Jeremy Kerley was named special teams player of the year, as he was the Frogs’ top kick returner.

Athletic Director Chris Del Conte said the awards the players garnered this year were because of the football program’s ability to develop its players. Del Conte used Jerry Hughes’ transition from high school running back to college defensive end as an example.

“When you look overall at the individual awards, they speak volumes of the team,” he said. “Our program continues to grow because of how TCU develops its players,” he said.

The man behind the success is head coach Gary Patterson, who received nine coach of the year awards, including the 2009 Associated Press Coach of the Year.

“When you go 12-0 like our football team did this year, it speaks volumes for the program that Gary Patterson has built,” Del Conte said.