MARSHALL, Minn. - The Southwest Minnesota State University football program announced its 2009 team awards on Saturday, Dec. 5, at its annual team banquet.

The members of the SMSU team selected the seven individual awards with senior wide receiver Blake Wilson (Frankfort, S.D.) earning the top award as the program's most valuable player.

Senior defensive end Aaron Diggs (Arlington Heights, Ill.) was named as the team's defensive player of the year, junior quarterback Ryan Ratekin (Chico, Calif.) was named the team's offensive player of the year, while junior Yousif Youboty (Klein, Texas) was named the squad's special teams player of the year.

Three Mustangs were recognized for their roles with the SMSU scout teams.  The offensive scout player of the year award went to senior quarterback Tyler Mickelson (Rio, Wis.), with redshirt freshman defensive lineman Ben Pedersen (Eleva, Wis.) earning defensive scout player of the year and first-year freshman running back Ismail Karon (Minneapolis, Minn.) earning scout special teams player of the year.

Wilson, a 5-foot-10, 182-pound senior from Frankfort, S.D., was named second team All-NSIC in 2009 at both wide receiver and return specialist and was also a second team Daktronics All-Region honoree.  A 2009 team captain, Wilson led SMSU with 62 receptions for 842 yards and 13 touchdowns.  Wilson's 62 receptions is the second highest by a Mustang wide receiver in a single-season since 1993.  He finished his career fifth in school history in touchdown receptions (23), eighth in touchdown scored (24) and 10th in receiving yards (1,896).  In 10 NSIC games, he ranked third in the conference in receiving yards per game (81.9), third in receptions per game (6.0) and fourth in scoring (7.8).  As a punt returner, Wilson ranked third in the NSIC in return average (10.9) and finished the season overall returning 17 punts for a 10.1 average, including one touchdown return for a school record 80 yards in a victory over Minnesota, Crookston. 

Ratekin, a 6-foot-3, 204-pound junior from Chico, Calif., started all 11 games this season completing 225 of 352 passes for 2,963 yards and 33 touchdowns.  The 33 touchdown passes ranks as the third highest in one season in school history while the passing yards rank seventh highest in a single-season school history.  In 10 conference games, Ratekin led the NSIC?in touchdown passes (29), finished second in passing average (265.3) and third in total offense (257.7).  He is the second Mustang in history to earn NSIC Offensive Newcomer of the Year accolades.

Diggs, a 6-foot-2, 228-pound senior from Arlington Heights, Ill., led SMSU with four quarterback sacks and ranked third on the team in tackles with 69, including six for loss.  Diggs had four games where he recorded at least seven tackles.

Youboty, a 6-foot-3, 215-pound junior from Klein, Texas, led SMSU in special teams tackles with 15 and finished the season with two blocked punts.  He was named NSIC Special Teams Player of the Week on Nov. 9.

Southwest Minnesota State University, located in Marshall, Minn., is a member of NCAA?Division II?and competes in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.  SMSU finished with a 5-6 overall record, including 4-6 and a ninth place finish in the 14-team conference.