I had to go back and refresh my memory if it was Brown who dominated the line in the Gopher's beating #1 Iowa way, way back in 1960. Listened to it as a kid and was one happy boy. Well, it was Brown, and I came across this quote by Murray Warmath.
“None of our opponents has been able to block Brownie,” Warmuth told reporters afterward. “Northwestern used a 300-pound center in an effort to try to stop him. Iowa double-teamed him in the second half. But he seems to handle three men as well as one man.”
Followed Canadian football back then because we could get the Winnipeg broadcasts. (Loved Bud the coach way before he came to the Vikings) Brown played for the BC Lions as a defensive lineman and was a star before he got hurt and had his career cut short.
So, ya, guessing the no defensive honors in college was mostly on not wanting to name a player on both offense and defense.