Ken Dorsey Officially A Heisman Finalist
Dec. 5, 2001
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (www.hurricanesports.com) – University of Miami junior quarterback Ken Dorsey has been officially invited to attend Saturday night’s Heisman Trophy presentation, to take place at 7 p.m. at the Marriott Marquis in New York City. Dorsey and three other quarterbacks will be at the, and they may be joined by a fifth player.
“To say it’s a thrill to be going to the Heisman Trophy presentation would be an understatement, but it is an incredible honor to be considered a contender for the Heisman Trophy and to be invited to the presentation,” Dorsey said. “I can’t wait to get to New York City to meet the other guys. It’s amazing to be considered for the ultimate individual award in college football, but I owe everything I have accomplished at UM to my coaches and teammates.”
In addition to Dorsey, the Downtown Athletic Club has invited Joey Harrington of Oregon, Rex Grossman of Florida and Eric Crouch of Nebraska to Saturday’s awards show (7 p.m. ET, ESPN). It may add a fifth player later this week. The four finalists were selected based on 20 percent of the 923 ballots that were mailed out (870 to media members, 53 to former Heisman Trophy winners). Ballots will be accepted through Friday.
“Ken’s value to our team is obvious to anyone who watches Miami on a regular basis – we simply wouldn’t be nearly as effective without him at quarterback,” said head coach Larry Coker. “I believe he’s worthy of the Heisman because he’s simply the best in the nation at leading an offense and probably the best quarterback I’ve ever seen at leading a team to victory. He always finds a way to win and he’s done it so many different ways at Miami, both this season and throughout his career. It’s no coincidence that we’re 25-1 with Ken as the starting quarterback.”
A junior from Orinda, Calif., Dorsey also is a finalist for two other prestigious awards for College Football’s Outstanding Player – the Walter Camp Award and the Maxwell Award. 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 59.1 %), touchdown passes thrown (1st with 58), passing yards (2nd with 6,196) and total offense (2nd with 6,156 yards), Dorsey is most proud that he has compiled a remarkable touchdowns-to-interceptions ratio of almost 4:1 (58 TDs/16 INTs) in his career. Dorsey already owns three 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 compiled another excellent percentage this season (57.9 %).
Dorsey was particularly in the clutch and that was no more evident than in his startling success on third-down passing plays this season. On the year, Dorsey completed 64-of-96 (66.7%) of his pass attempts on 3rd down plays for 820 yards and 10 touchdowns. Overall, 50 of 96 (52.0 %) third-down pass attempts resulted in first downs.
A soft-spoken player who has quietly earned his team’s unanimous respect, his astounding 25-1 record as a starting quarterback is testament to his skills. An accurate passer who makes accurate reads, Dorsey is a student of the game who has dedicated himself to both film study and the weight room. Dorsey has led the Hurricanes to the brink of the national championship by leading the nation’s most balanced and explosive offense. This season, the Hurricanes averaged 43.2 points per game while throwing for 250.2 yards per contest and rushing for 204.6 yards per game. Miami’s potent attack devastated opponents on a weekly basis and Dorsey was at the center of it all. Dorsey passed for 2,652 yards and 23 touchdowns this season while playing the entire game just twice.
Dorsey achieved all this while sitting out the equivalent of at least two games as Miami was well ahead in eight of 11 contests this season, precluding any action in the final quarter of play.
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