Dec. 22, 2011
NORFOLK, Va. -- Old Dominion quarterback Taylor Heinicke (Atlanta, Ga.) was named the 2011 National Freshman Performer of the Year by the College Football Performance Awards, it was announced Thursday.
"Taylor Heinicke's 2011 performance is truly remarkable," said Brad Smith, CFPA Executive Director. "His on-field contributions as a passer, rusher, and punter are given added significance based upon the strength of opposition and defy ordinary conceptions of 'freshman' achievement."
Heinicke, who took over quarterback duties for the Monarchs in the second half of ODU's October 1st contest with #20 UMass, finished out the 2011 campaign completing 211 of his 307 passes with just one interception, a hail mary pass at the end of ODU's contest with Towson, and 25 touchdowns.
In playoff action, the true freshman signal caller set school records with five touchdown passes in games against both Norfolk State and #3/2 Georgia Southern and averaged 307.5 yards passing in the post-season.
Heinicke's name does not appear in the conference or national stats having not played in the minimum 75% of games played to qualify. However, if his name did appear, his 265 passing yards per game would have ranked 18th nationally, his 160.2 pass efficiency rating would place him sixth nationally, and his 305.3 yards of total offense per contest would put his name 10th nationally.
The Third Team All-CAA honoree and two-time National Freshman of the Week by the Sports Network also averaged 40.3 yards rushing per game, running the ball into the end zone four times, and averaged 42.5 yards in his four punts.
A three-time CAA Rookie of the Week selection, Heinicke was among the 11 Monarchs to earn All-CAA honors as he helped to guide the team to a 10-3 overall record, a second-place 6-2 mark in the CAA after being picked to finish 10th in the preseason polls, a second round playoff berth, and not only ODU's first appearance in the national polls, but a top-10 ranking.