Hurricanes QB Ken Dorsey Named To Davey O'Brien Award Watch List
Aug. 20, 2002
FORT WORTH, Texas – University of Miami senior quarterback Ken Dorsey was included on the 2002 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award watch list, released by the Davey O’Brien Foundation. The Award is given annually to the nation’s top collegiate quarterback.
A senior from Orinda, Calif., Dorsey enters his senior season 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 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 in 2001 (57.9%) when he finished third in the Heisman Trophy balloting and won the Maxwell Award.
In 2001, Dorsey was particularly effective in the clutch and that was no more evident than in his startling success on third-down passing plays. 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 26-1 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. He led the Hurricanes to the 2001 national championship by leading the nation’s most balanced and explosive offense as 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 during the 2001 regular season while playing the entire game just twice.
The winner of the 2002 Davey O’Brien Award will be announced December 12 on the ESPN College Football Awards Show from Orlando, Florida. Three finalists will be selected by the Davey O’Brien Advisory Committee in late November and will appear on the ESPN show. The committee is comprised of nationally prominent sportswriters and commentators and will vote several times throughout the season to narrow the field.
The winner will be honored at the 26th annual O’Brien Awards Dinner in February, 2003, at The Fort Worth Club in Fort Worth, Texas. The O’Brien Award is named in honor of the late Davey O’Brien, a former All-American and Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback for Texas Christian University (TCU) who led the Horned Frogs to the 1938 national championship.
