NEW YORK - Heisman Trophy winner and Flint native Mark Ingram finished tied for third in voting for The Associated Press College Football Player of the Year. The Alabama running back received six votes.

Nebraska's Ndamukong Suh won the award. He is the first defensive player to be voted The AP's Player of the Year.

Suh finished the season with one of the great performances of the year, getting 4½ sacks as the Cornhuskers nearly upset No. 2 Texas in the Big 12 title game.

He received 26 of a possible 59 votes from AP college football poll voters to edge Stanford running back Toby Gerhart, who received 20 votes.

Texas quarterback Colt McCoy tied Ingram for third, while Florida's Tim Tebow received one vote.

Since the AP started handing out a player of the year award in 1998, all the winners have been quarterbacks or running backs.