November 27, 2012 at 7:43 PM

Bill O'Brien was named Big Ten Coach of the Year, and Deion Barnes took home the conference's Freshman of the Year honors on Tuesday night.

Both the coaches and the media voted for O'Brien as the conference's top coach this season and he beat out Ohio State's Urban Meyer for the award. In his first season, O'Brien coached Penn State to an 8-4 record and led the team through a turbulent summer.

Meanwhile, Barnes won the Thompson-Randle El Award, which is handed out to the Big Ten's top freshman. He's the first Penn State player to win the honor since running back Curtis Enis did so in 1995.

The defensive end was a force off the edge and led the Lions with six sacks. He made a total of 26 tackles, 10 of which went for a loss, and also forced three fumbles on a defense that was fourth in the Big Ten by allowing 19.1 points per game.

Tight end Kyle Carter, who made 36 grabs for 453 yards and two touchdowns in the 2012 campaign, was also nominated for the Freshman of the Year honors.

Ohio State's Braxton Miller and John Simon also won conference awards Tuesday. Miller, the Buckeyes' star quarterback, was named offensive player of the year. While Simon, a defensive end was tabbed as the conference's top defensive player.