Trio of Hurricanes Named Semifinalists for Football News Player of the Year Honors
Nov. 9, 2001
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (www.hurricanesports.com) – Miami senior free safety Edward Reed (St. Rose, La.), senior offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie (Woodbury, Pa.) and junior quarterback Ken Dorsey (Orinda, Calif.) were all named as semifinalists for the Football News Offensive or Defensive Player of the Year awards on Thursday. A total of 15 players were selected for each honor. Miami’s three representatives amongst the semifinalists ties the University of Florida for the most of any school.
Reed leads the nation with 7 interceptions and is the unquestioned leader on a Hurricanes defense that leads the nation in pass efficiency defense (82.25 rating), scoring defense (9.29 points per game) and turnover margin (+2.43 per game), in addition to ranking third in the nation in passing yardage defense (143.3 ypg). Reed was a consensus first-team All-America selection in 2000 and he tied the Miami career interceptions record Saturday in UM’s 38-0 win over Temple as he picked off a pass for the 19th time in his UM career. Reed also ranks a close second on the UM career list for interception return yards with 298. Reed, who also has blocked a punt this season, has blocked 5 kicks in his career and his turnovers produced have led to 107 point over the span of his career.
Dorsey, a junior, has helped the top-ranked Hurricanes compile a 17-game winning streak — the longest current run in the country — and is 21-1 as a starter. The latest in a long line of outstanding Miami passers, Dorsey is a traditional pocket passer who follows in the footsteps of Miami greats Bernie Kosar, Jim Kelly, Vinny Testaverde and Gino Torretta. Although he already is prominently mentioned in the Miami record books for career completion percentage (currently 4th at 59.35 %), touchdown passes thrown (1st with 50), and total offense, Dorsey is most proud that he has compiled a remarkable touchdowns-to-interceptions ratio of almost 5:1 (50 TDs, 11 INTs) in his career. Dorsey already owns two of the highest single-season completion percentage totals in UM history, having completed 58.4 percent in 2000 (11th in UM history) and 61.7 percent in 1999 (3rd) and he is on track for another excellent percentage this season (60.4 %). Dorsey has led the Hurricanes to the top of both major national polls while leading one of the nation’s most balanced and explosive offenses. In Miami’s first six games of the season, the Hurricanes have averaged 43.9 points per game (third in NCAA Division I) while throwing for 265.4 yards per contest and rushing for 199.3 yards per game. Miami’s potent attack has devastated opponents on a weekly basis and Dorsey has been at the center of it all. This season, Dorsey has thrown for 1,782 yards and 15 touchdowns in seven games – and he’s done so while playing in the fourth period of just two of those contests.
McKinnie is also a semifinalist for the Lombardi Award and is among the favorites for the Outland Trophy. Widely considered the finest offensive lineman in college football, McKinnie was a first-team All-American by Football News in 2000, in addition to a first-team All-BIG EAST selection last year. Thus far this season, McKinnie has maintained a flawless record of pass protection, not allowing a quarterback sack. He has started each of the 19 games since coming to Miami and hasn’t allowed a sack in that time. McKinnie was named a Mid-Season First-Team All-American in 2001 by ABC Sports, CBS Sportsline and CNNSI.com.
A list of five finalists for each award will be announced on November 20 with the winners being announced on Dec. 12.
FN Defensive Player of the Year Semifinalists FN Offensive Player of the Year SemifinalistsDE Alex Brown, Florida QB David Carr, Fresno StateDT Wendell Bryant, Wisconsin QB Eric Crouch, NebraskaLB Rocky Calmus, Oklahoma QB Ken Dorsey, MiamiCB Keyou Craver, Nebraska WR Lee Evans, WisconsinS Kevin Curtis, Texas Tech RB DeShaun Foster, UCLALB Levar Fisher, North Carolina State WR Jabar Gaffney, FloridaLB Larry Foote, Michigan RB William Green, Boston CollegeDE Dwight Freeney, Syracuse QB Rex Grossman, FloridaLB E.J. Henderson, Maryland QB Joey Harrington, OregonCB Quentin Jammer, Texas RB Leonard Henry, East CarolinaDE Julius Peppers, North Carolina QB Byron Leftwich, MarshallS Edward Reed, Miami WR Nakoa McElrath, Washington StateCB Derek Ross, Ohio State OT Bryant McKinnie, MiamiLB Robert Thomas, UCLA RB Bruce Perry, MarylandS Roy Williams, Oklahoma RB Luke Staley, Brigham Young
-30-
