BYU's Higgins an award finalist

BYU assistant coach Patrick Higgins has been named a finalist for the FootballScoop Wide Receivers Coach of the Year award.

Here’s more info from BYU’s athletics communications staff:

Higgins has served as an assistant coach on Bronco Mendenhall’s staff the past four seasons while helping the Cougars achieve a 38-12 record, two outright Mountain West Conference titles and four consecutive bowl invitations. A native of Pendleton, New York, Higgins has 19 years of coaching experience overall. As a player at William Penn University, he was a four-year starter and two-time Academic All-American.

The other finalists include Andy Hill of Missouri, Bobby Kennedy of Texas and Lincoln Riley and Dennis Simmons of Texas Tech. Simmons is a former BYU linebacker who finished his playing career on BYU’s 14-1 Cotton Bowl team in 1996. He served as a graduate assistant coach at BYU in 1997.

Voting for the award will be conducted through Dec. 5. The winner will be announced on Dec. 7. To read about the finalists, and to vote, please visit www.footballscoop.com. A panel of former coaches and players will evaluate the finalists and votes received before selecting the winners.

Starting this year, Muscle Milk and FootballScoop.com have partnered to create new coaching awards for 14 different position coaches in College Football. Finalists have been chosen for the 14 awards from the following areas: Offensive Coordinator, Defensive Coordinator, Special Teams Coordinator, Strength & Conditioning Coach, Quarterbacks Coach, Running Backs Coach, Wide Receivers Coach, Offensive Line Coach, Defensive Line Coach, Linebackers Coach, Secondary Coach, Division 1-AA Coordinator, Division 2 Coordinator and Division 3 Coordinator of the Year.