|
|
|
BYU's Beck on Ballot for O'Brien, Unitas Awards
Senior quarterback poised to pass Jim McMahon for career passing yardage.
Nov. 8, 2006 PROVO, Utah (Nov. 7, 2006) - BYU quarterback John Beck continues to garner national recognition, finding himself listed among the candidates for two of the nation's most pretigious collegiate football awards. The senior, already one of five finalists for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, was also recently named as one of 18 semifinalists for the 2006 Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award. The list of finalists for the Davey O'Brien award, which is presented annually to the nation's best college quarterback, will be announced Tuesday, Nov. 21, with the winner scheduled to be announced on ESPN's Home Depot College Football Awards Show set for December 7 at 7 p.m. EST. The show will air live from the Atlantic Dance Hall on The Boardwalk at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. The winner will then be honored on February 19, 2007, at the 30th annual Davey O'Brien Awards Dinner at The Fort Worth Club in downtown Fort Worth, Texas, along with Paul Hornung, recipient of the 2006 Davey O'Brien Legends Award, and the O'Brien High School Scholarship Award winner. The 2006 recipient of the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award will be announced December 1, 2006, with the award presentation to be made December 8, 2006 at the Tremont Grand Meeting & Banquet Facility in downtown Baltimore, Maryland. Beck is expected to pass Jim McMahon this week (vs. Wyoming) for second place on BYU's career passing list. The Mesa, Ariz., native needs just 51 yards to pass McMahon. With three games remaining in the regular season, Beck and the Cougars could clinch at least a share of the Mountain West title with a win over Wyoming on Thursday. He currently leads the Mountain West Conference and ranks fourth nationally, averaging 294.75 yards passing per game. Beck has a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 20:4 and a league-best efficiency rating of 169.9, which is also the second highest efficiency rating by a senior quarterback this season. Beck is also the nation's most accurate senior quarterback -- second overall -- connecting on 185-of-260 attempts (.711). Celebrating 30 years, the O'Brien Award is the oldest and most prestigious award in the country for college quarterbacks. The Davey O'Brien Foundation was established in 1977 to present the O'Brien Memorial Trophy, recognizing an outstanding college football player in the five southwestern states of Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma and New Mexico. In 1981, the award was redirected to be national in scope but limited to quarterback, the favorite position of the award's namesake, Davey O'Brien. The award carries with it a $10,000 grant to the scholarship program of the university in which the winner is enrolled. A high school scholarship program began in 1986, awarding a $20,000 college scholarship to an outstanding senior student-athlete in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex each year. Since 1977, the Davey O'Brien Foundation has awarded more than $250,000 to the various O'Brien winners' universities and more than $400,000 to deserving high school students. The Johnny Unitas award was established in 1987, and has previously honored 19 outstanding young men. In addition to honoring the top senior quarterback in the country, the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Educational Foundation, Inc., has awarded more than $500,000 in scholarships to deserving scholar athletes from high schools in both Kentucky and Maryland. An 18-year veteran of the NFL, Unitas played his collegiate career at the University of Louisville (1951-1954), passing for 3,007 yards and 27 touchdowns. Unitas, who wore #19 as a professional, had his #16 collegiate uniform retired at Louisville, the lone number retired by the Cardinals. Unitas began his professional career with the Baltimore Colts in 1958 and played there until joining the San Diego Chargers for his final season. He completed a mind-boggling 2,830 of 5,186 passes for 40,239 yards and 290 touchdowns over his 18 years at the professional level and holds a number of NFL records, including throwing a touchdown pass in 47 consecutive games. Unitas was recently selected as the top quarterback of all-time by the Pro Football Hall of Fame 36 member selection committee. In commemorating the NFL's 25th, 50th and 75th anniversaries, he was also honored as the "Greatest Quarterback of All Time." A Pro Bowl participant 10 times and a three time Most Valuable Player honoree, Unitas was inducted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame in 1979. In turn of the century listings, Johnny was featured among Sports Illustrated's top-ten athletes, Time Magazine's ten most influential athletes and in ESPN's series on the 50 Greatest Athletes of the Century. Beck is the third quarterback from BYU to be named a finalist for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. Ty Detmer and Steve Sarkisian were also honored by the foundation as one of the nation's top-five senior quarterbacks. JOHNNY UNITAS GOLDEN ARM AWARD FINALISTS DAVEY O'BRIEN AWARD SEMIFINALISTS
|
|
