The annual competition to select the top college quarterback in the nation has been narrowed from an original field of 30 to five finalists for the 2013 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award.
Named after the man many refer to as the greatest quarterback ever to play the game of football, the prestigious Golden Arm Award is presented annually by the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Educational Foundation, Inc. and Transamerica.
The five finalists for 2013 Golden Arm Award are:
- Tajh Boyd (Clemson) – Coming off a 55-31 win against Georgia Tech, Boyd has completed 212 of 318 passes for 2,960 yards (66.7% completion rate) and 32 touchdowns this season.
- Derek Carr (Fresno State) – With two games remaining this season, Carr has thrown for 3,421 yards and 34 TDs, completing 69.5% of his passes for the 9-0 Bulldogs.
- Jordan Lynch (Northern Illinois) – Lynch has led the Huskies to a 10-0 record this season, completing 65.5% of his passes while throwing for 35 TDs and 2,216 yards.
- AJ McCarron (Alabama) – After a 20-7 win over Mississippi State last week, McCarron has completed 177 of 261 passes for 2,228 yards (67.8%) and 21 TDs this season.
- Aaron Murray (Georgia) – While the Bulldogs are only 6-4 this season, Murray has thrown for 2,892 yards and 29 TDs, completing 207 of 324 pass attempts (63.9%).
Candidates for the Golden Arm Award – which has been presented at the end of each college football season since 1987 – must be college seniors or fourth-year juniors on schedule to graduate with their class. In addition to the accomplishments on the field, candidates are judged on their character, citizenship, scholastic achievement, and leadership qualities.
The 2013 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award will be presented at a ceremony on Friday, December 13 (Note New Date), in Baltimore, MD. For the 2013 Golden Arm Award ceremony, The Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Educational Foundation, Inc. and Transamerica will be returning to The Embassy Suites Baltimore Inner Harbor & Grand Historic Venue (formerly The Tremont Grand), where the ceremony was held from 2006 until 2010.
NFL Hall of Famer, former Baltimore Colt, and the great Johnny Unitas’ favorite target – Raymond Berry – will deliver the keynote remarks at this year’s Golden Arm Award ceremony.
Past Golden Arm Award winners include: Peyton Manning (Tennessee, 1997); Carson Palmer (USC, 2002); Eli Manning (Ole Miss, 2003); Matt Ryan (Boston College, 2007); Colt McCoy (Texas, 2009); and Andrew Luck (Stanford, 2011).
Proceeds from the Golden Arm Award 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.
The namesake of the Golden Arm Award has a storied history. Johnny Unitas was an 18-year veteran of the NFL, who played his collegiate career at the University of Louisville before joining the Baltimore Colts in 1958. His career passing figures include 2,830 pass completions for 40,239 yards, 290 touchdowns and throwing a touchdown pass in 47 consecutive games.
Unitas was inducted into Pro Football’s Hall of Fame in 1979. The Hall of Fame, in commemorations of the NFL’s 25th, 50th, and 75th anniversaries selected Unitas as the top quarterback of all-time. In turn-of-the-century listings, he was named to Sports Illustrated’s list of top 10 athletes, Time Magazine’s list of 10 most influential athletes, and ESPN’s series on the 50 greatest athletes of the century
In addition to Transamerica, sponsors of the Golden Arm Award include: Andretti Sports Marketing, Athlon Sports, The Babe Ruth and Sports Legends Museum, Baltimore Sun Media Group, Bloomberg Television, Century Engineering, Coach for America, Comcast, Dunbar Armored and Dunbar Digital Armor, The Embassy Suites Baltimore Inner Harbor & Grand Historic Venue, GEICO, Haddock Investments, HMS Insurance Associates, Inc., Metropolis Funding, Panini, TRAY Inc., The Scott Garceau Show, MedStar Union Memorial Sports Medicine, VAE Visual Aid Electronics Corp, VPC Inc., Weiss PR, Woodberry Kitchen, Wilson Sporting Goods, and ZBest Executive & Global Transportation Services.
To learn more about the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, visit:
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