BALTIMORE - (Business Wire) The annual competition to select the top senior college quarterback in the nation has been narrowed from an original field of 22 to five finalists for the 2009 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. Named after the man many call the greatest quarterback ever to play football, the prestigious Golden Arm Award is presented annually to the nation’s top senior college quarterback by the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Educational Foundation, Inc. and Transamerica, a leading provider of innovative business and personal financial services (www.transamerica.com).
The remaining candidates for the 2009 Golden Arm Award are –
- Dan LeFevour (Central Michigan), the only player in NCAA history with 11,000 career passing yards and 2,500 career rushing yards.
- Thaddeus Lewis (Duke), who entered this season ranked fourth all-time at Duke in passing yards (6,735), pass completions (603), passing touchdowns (47), and total offense (6,609).
- Colt McCoy (Texas), who had completed 231 of 317 passes (72.9%) for 2,447 yards and a passer rating of 149.7 before last weekend’s win over Baylor.
- Zac Robinson (Oklahoma State), the NCAA’s fifth-ranked active career passer coming into this season, has passed for 1,922 yards and 15 TDs in 2009 for a QB rating of 142.55.
- Tim Tebow (Florida), who currently has a 154.0 QB rating, with 1,730 yards and 12 touchdowns.
The 2009 winner will be presented with the Golden Arm Award on Friday, December 11 at the Tremont Grand Meeting & Banquet Facility in Downtown Baltimore.
Past winners of the Golden Arm Award include: Matt Ryan (Boston College); Brady Quinn (Notre Dame, 2006); Matt Leinart (USC, 2005), Eli Manning (Ole Miss, 2003); Carson Palmer (USC, 2002); and Peyton Manning (Tennessee, 1997).
Proceeds from the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Awards help to support the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Educational Foundation. The Foundation provides financial assistance to underprivileged and deserving young scholar-athletes throughout Maryland and Kentucky.
Sponsors of the Golden Arm Award include Baltimore’s Tremonts, Black & Decker, Century Engineering, Comcast Cable, Dunbar Armored, First Mariner Bank, MedStar Union Memorial Sports Medicine, MyAdBox, R2i.ntegrated, Southwest Airlines, Sports Legends Museum, and Weiss PR Associates, Inc.
For more information, visit www.goldenarmfoundation.com.
Weiss PR Associates, Inc.
Ray Weiss, 443-451-7144
rweiss@weissprassociates.com
