LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Deep in the heart of the Disney kingdom, in the land where dreams are spun, Ndamukong Suh realized a football player's dream on Thursday night, making his case as the greatest Blackshirt ever.

Only, that was never his dream.

“I don't think he ever once thought he could be in this position,” his mother, Bernadette Suh, said moments after the Nebraska senior collected two more pieces of impressive hardware at the College Football Awards Show on the Disney Boardwalk.

Suh won Nebraska's nation-leading ninth Outland Trophy, presented to the top lineman nationally, and the Chuck Bednarik Award, which goes to the nation's best defensive player. And the national TV broadcast added to his rapidly expanding celebrity status.

Add those honors to the Lombardi Award and the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, won by Suh earlier this week, and he's enjoyed quite a four-day stretch.

Why not just go ahead and win the Heisman Trophy?

“It feels great,” the star defensive tackle said. “I want to represent all the guys in the trenches, the unsung heroes on the defensive line, offensive line - just represent them in the right way.”

Suh leaves this morning for New York, where he'll engage in Heisman-related activities today and attend the ceremony Saturday night in Times Square as one of five finalists.

The other four were in attendance Thursday in Florida alongside a full roster of college football royalty, but Suh shined as brightly as anyone. It's been that kind of a week for the newly crowned first-team All-American, whose national profile exploded in the wake of his dominant performance six days ago in the Huskers' Big 12 championship-game loss to Texas.

Suh can't go anywhere now without getting recognition. At the Orlando International Airport on Thursday morning, three police officers stopped him to pose for photos near the baggage claim.

The news media can't get enough Suh, either. He was a guest on national radio and TV programs in the hours before the awards show.

ESPN's promotional release gave him top billing Thursday night, along with Colt McCoy, the Texas quarterback whom Suh sacked 4 1/2 times last week. McCoy won won the Davey O'Brien Award and the Maxwell Award

The Big 12 offensive and defensive players of the year shared a car to the awards program. McCoy, by the way, emerged unscathed. But it was Suh who walked down the red carpet first into the Atlantic Dance Hall.

He looked dapper in his pinstriped, dark suit and lavender shirt and was greeted by his sister, Ngum, upon finishing interviews on the red carpet. They sat alongside their mother and NU coach Bo Pelini in the third row. ESPN's Lee Corso interviewed Bernadette Suh after her son won the Bednarik and the Outland in back-to-back presentations halfway through the show.

“It's been an explosion,” she said later. “I'm really proud of him. I've watched sports over the years, and I've seen gentlemen who didn't handle it as well as he has. There's been a lot of changes. Just look at it here, but he's been the same person through it all.”

Pelini was beaming, too.

“He's represented the university real well, and we're real proud of him,” the second-year coach said. “This is obviously a tremendous accomplishment. He brought a lot of publicity to program over the past week, but his whole body of work is great.

“He's a big part of the resurgence of our program. That's one of the reasons he wanted to come back this year. He wanted to make a huge impact on our program, and he did that.”

Suh thanked his teammates.

“They're a huge part of it,” he said.

Still, he's getting most of the credit.

Suh topped Terrence Cody of Alabama and Florida's Brandon Spikes for the Bednarik Award. The Nebraska defender is the first player since Miami's Dan Morgan in 2000 to win the Bednarik and the Nagurski, the two major defensive player-of-the-year awards.

The Outland carries extra significance in Nebraska. Suh will formally receive his trophy Jan. 14 at the Outland banquet in Omaha. He beat finalists Mike Iupati of Idaho and Oklahoma State's Russell Okung to give NU its first trophy since Aaron Taylor won in 1997.

Four Huskers sit among the 12 players in 40 years of Lombardi Award history to win it and the Outland.

As for New York, Suh said he's hopeful but not overly confident about the Heisman ceremony.

“It'd be a miracle,” he said. “It would mean a lot.”

McCoy wins Davey O'Brien award

Texas quarterback Colt McCoy won the Davey O'Brien Award for the nation's best quarterback, presented by the College Football Writers Association of America on Thursday night.

Gerhart wins Doak Walker Award

Stanford running back Toby Gerhart was named the winner of the Doak Walker Award for the outstanding college running back, sponsored by the Southern Methodist Athletic Forum, on Thursday night.

Contact the writer:

402-444-1031, mitch.sherman@owh.com