ST. LOUIS - QB Matt Brown of Illinois State has been named the Missouri Valley Football Conference Freshman of the year, and LB Antoine Wilkinson of Missouri State is the league's Newcomer of the Year.  The duo heads a list of 22 student-athletes named to the 2009 Missouri Valley Football Conference All-Newcomer Team.  League coaches, sports information directors and a media panel selected the team.  The top 11 vote-getters on offense and defense were named to the team.

Brown, who became the team's starter after an injury to Drew Kiel in the season opener, set ISU freshman records for completions (226), attempts (352) and yards (2,369) while leading the league in passing yards per game.  He finished third in pass efficiency in the MVFC, as he completed 64.2 percent of his passes while throwing just six picks.  He earned second-team all-league, behind senior Pat Grace of UNI.

 Wilkinson was the lone newcomer to earn first-team all-MVFC honors this year.  The starting linebacker led the Bears with 113 total tackles, including 42 solo stops and five TFL.  He also recorded a team-high eight pass break-ups, forced two fumbles and recovered one.  He's the first Missouri State player to record 100+ tackles since 2004, while ranking No. 2 in the conference and 18th nationally with 10.27 tackles per game.