The Denver Broncos top draft pick Von Miller is among the nominees for Pepsi's 2011 NFL Rookie Of The Year.
Fans can vote for one of five players on www.nfl.com/rookies through 9 p.m. Eastern Time today, to determine the 2011 Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year.
The winner will be presented the 2011 Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year award in Indianapolis, the site of Super Bowl XLVI, at "NFL Honors", a two-hour primetime awards special to air nationally on Feb. 4, 9-11 p.m. ET on NBC.
Selected 2nd overall by Denver last April, Miller, a 6-3, 237 lb. Linebacker out of Texas A&M had a season that filled the expectations of his draft status. Von started all 15 games he was in, with 64 Total Tackles. Miller led the team in Tackles For a Loss (19), Sacks (11.5) and Quarterback Hits (24). He tied Rulon Jones for the most Sacks by a Rookie in Broncos history. In Week 7 at Miami, he recorded his fifth consecutive game with a Sack, marking the longest such streak by a Denver Rookie since LB Mike Croel had a Sack in six straight games during the 1991 season. Von was named Rookie of the Month in November.
2011 Season Highlights:
- At Green Bay (Week 4): Recorded the ninth multi-sack game by a rookie in Broncos history with two takedowns, the first since DE Tim Crowder had two in 2007... Had two tackle for losses and three QB hits.
- Against the N.Y. Jets (Week 11): Led the Broncos with a career-high 10 Tackles (9 solo), including 1.5 Sacks and three Tackles For a Loss, in addition to four Quarterback Hits, one Forced Fumble and one Pass Defensed (preventing a possible Touchdown reception) in Denver’s 17-13 win over the Jets.
- Became just the 2nd player this season (LB Michael Boley, NYG) to record 10+ tackles, a Sack, a Forced Fumble and a Pass Defensed in a single game.
- In San Diego (Week 12), Von matched his career high with 10 Tackles, including one Sack and two Tackles For a Loss, in addition to a Pass Defensed.
- In the Wildcard game vs. Pittsburgh, Von had a Sack on a first down during Pittsburgh’s final Offensive drive in the 4th quarter which helped keep the Steelers from scoring and send the game into Overtime. He added 3 Tackles and two Tackles For Loss, as well as a Quarterback Hit.
The five finalists were selected for their outstanding performances throughout the 2011 NFL season. Each week, five nominees were chosen for the Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week and NFL fans voted for the winner on NFL.com. Those results were used to help determine the finalists.
Go Broncos!