University of Connecticut Athletics
Dan Orlovsky Named Unitas Award Finalist
10/21/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
STORRS, Conn. (October 21, 2004) – University of Connecticut quarterback Dan Orlovsky (Shelton, Conn.) was named one of nine finalists on Thursday for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. The trophy is annually presented to the nation’s top senior quarterback by the Louisville-based Frank Camp Chapter of the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Educational Foundation.
The other eight finalists are: Jason Campbell (Auburn), Timmy Chang (Hawaii), Charlie Frye (Akron), David Greene (Georgia), Stefan LeFors (Louisville), Kyle Orton (Purdue), Andrew Walter (Arizona State) and Jason White (Oklahoma).
Orlovsky ranks 10th in the nation in passing and 17th in total offense this season, completing 136 of his 219 passes for 1,658 yards with 12 touchdowns and nine interceptions for a 135.56 passing efficiency rating. He leads the BIG EAST Conference in passing yards per game (276.3), passing touchdowns (12) and total offense (272.7). Orlovsky became the first Husky to ever receive a BIG EAST weekly football honor when he was named the league’s Offensive Player of the Week after he threw four touchdowns in UConn 40-3 win over Army on Sept. 25. Orlovsky is UConn’s career leader in touchdown passes and he is within 278 yards of the career passing yardage record and 39 completions of that school benchmark.
The award is named for Johnny Unitas, considered by some to be the greatest quarterback in NFL history. A relatively unknown ninth-round pick out of the University of Louisville, Unitas played in the NFL for 18 seasons, mostly with the Baltimore Colts. His 40,239 career passing yards and 290 career touchdown passes still rank ninth and sixth, respectively, in NFL history while his streak of 47 consecutive games with a touchdown pass is often compared to Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hit streak. He led the Colts to a pair of NFL titles, including a fabled 23-17 overtime win over the New York Giants at Yankee Stadium in the 1958 NFL Championship Game. A three-time league MVP, Unitas was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979.
The Unitas Golden Arm Award was presented last fall to Eli Manning of Ole Miss. Although no Husky has ever won it, the inaugural winner of the award is a familiar face to the team. Don McPherson of Syracuse captured the prize in 1987, playing on a team for which Randy Edsall served as an assistant coach. McPherson was visibly involved with the Huskies during the 2002 and 2003 seasons as he provided color commentary for close to a dozen UConn football games during those years on WFSB TV-3 in Hartford and for the YES Network.
