Dec. 3, 2012
RICHMOND, Va. - Old Dominion University sophomore quarterback Taylor Heinicke was named a finalist for the Dudley Award, given to the top Division I player in the State of Virginia, the TD Club of Richmond announced on Monday.
Virginia linebacker Steve Greer and James Madison linebacker Stephon Robertson are the other two finalists for the award. The award, named for Bill Dudley, star player at the University of Virginia and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, goes to the top player in Division I football -- Football Bowl Subdivision and Football Championship Subdivision -- in the state.
The winner will be announced at the banquet organized by the Touchdown Club of Richmond and presented by the Richmond Times-Dispatch, on Wednesday, Dec. 5 at 7:30 p.m.
Heinicke leads the FCS in passing yards, passing yards per game, total offense, points responsible for and touchdown passes and also has 422 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns.
A native of Atlanta, Ga., Heinicke has completed 367-of-535 passes for 4,655 yards. He is just 209 yards away from breaking Steve McNair's single-season FCS record for passing yards. McNair threw for 4,863 yards for Alcorn State in 1994. Heinicke is also second behind McNair for total offensive yards in a season with 5,077. McNair had 5,799 yards of total offense in that 1994 season.
Heinicke has thrown for 300 yards or more eight times and three or more TD passes eight times this season, including at least four touchdown passes in the last three games.
Last week, Heinicke was named one of three finalists invited to Philadelphia for the Walter Payton Award given to the top player in the FCS. He was named the CAA Offensive Player of the Year and All-CAA First-Team quarterback.
In the Monarchs' 63-35 second round playoff victory over Coastal Carolina, Heinicke threw for 497 yards and tied an FCS playoff single-game record with six TD passes. He broke the FCS playoff record with 542 yards of total offense.
Old Dominion hosts Georgia Southern on Saturday, Dec. 8 at noon. The game will be televised on ESPN.