RICHMOND, Va. – Old Dominion University quarterback was named one of three finalists for the Bill Dudley Award given to the top Division I Player in the state of Virginia, the Richmond Times-Dispatch announced on Monday.
Heinicke, the winner of last year’s Dudley Award, is a finalist along with Virginia Tech quarterback Logan Thomas, and James Madison linebacker Stephon Robertson. Robertson was a finalist for the award last year, which Heinicke won unanimously.
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. 4 at 7:30 p.m. The banquet will be held at the Hilton Richmond Hotel & Spa/Short Pump.
Heinicke ranks among the top-six in the FBS in passing yards, touchdown passes and passing yards per game. His 533 passing yards in ODU’s first-ever FBS win at Idaho is the fourth highest in a game this season by an FBS quarterback.
For the year, Heinicke was 340-of-486 for 4,022 yards and 33 touchdowns. He also rushed 93 times for 348 yards and five touchdowns.
Heinicke passed for 300 or more yards nine times this season and has done so 21 times in his career. He tossed a season-high six TD’s in the win over Rhode Island, just one off his career-best of seven last year against Campbell.
For his career, the junior captain has completed 949-of-1,372 passes for 11,483 yards and 102 touchdowns, and has run for 20 scores. He became the first quarterback among the 10 Division I schools in Virginia to pass for 10,000 career yards.
Heinicke became just the 18th quarterback in Division I to throw for 10,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards. He was one of four quarterbacks to accomplish the feat this season, joining DeNarius McGhee (Montana State), Tajh Boyd (Clemson) and Kolton Browning (Louisiana Monroe). Of the four quarterbacks, Heinicke was the only junior among the group.
A native of Atlanta, Ga., Heinicke was previously named the TD Club of Richmond Offensive Back of the Year while kicker Jarod Brown was named the club’s Specialist of the Year. Heinicke and Brown will receive their awards at the banquet on Wednesday.