Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota is 2014 Walter Camp Player of the Year
University of Oregon redshirt junior quarterback Marcus Mariota (Honolulu, HI) has been selected as the 2014 Walter Camp Player of the Year. The 48th recipient of the Walter Camp Player of the Year award, Mariota is the first Oregon player to earn the award. He is also the eighth player from a Pac-12 school to win.
Walter Camp 2014 POY Marcus Mariota
The Walter Camp Player of the Year is voted on by the nation’s 125 Football Bowl Subdivision head coaches and sports information directors. Other finalists for the Walter Camp 2014 Player of the Year award included quarterback Trevone Boykin (TCU), wide receiver Amari Cooper (Alabama), running back Melvin Gordon (Wisconsin), and linebacker Scooby Wright III (Arizona).
The 48th recipient of the Walter Camp Player of the Year award, Mariota is the first Oregon player to earn the award. He is also the eighth player from a Pac-12 school to win.
“Marcus Mariota’s consistency and overall performance for the high-scoring Ducks has been spectacular,” Foundation president James Monico said. “We are pleased to recognize him and join an impressive list of past Player of the Year recipients.”
The 6-foot 4, 219-pound Mariota is a Walter Camp First Team All-America selection after leading the Ducks to the Pac-12 Conference championship (defeated 7th-ranked Arizona, 51-13, on December 5) and a bid to the inaugural four-team College Football Playoff.
Second-ranked Oregon (13-0) will play third-ranked Florida State (13-0) at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA in the CFP semifinal.
The nation’s leader in passing efficiency (185.2), quarterback rating (91.8) and yards per pass attempt (10.0 avg), Mariota has completed 254-of-372 passes for 3,783 yards. He has thrown for 38 touchdowns and just two interceptions for the Ducks, who rank third in the nation in scoring (46.3 points per game). He has thrown for at least three touchdowns in a game seven times, including a season-high five on two occasions.
A dual offensive threat, Mariota also led all Pac-12 quarterbacks in rushing yards (636) and scored 14 rushing touchdowns on the season. He ranks fifth in the nation in total offense, averaging 342.2 yards per game and was selected as the Pac-12 offensive player of the year and recipient of the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award.
One of Mariota’s best games came on September 6 when he passed for 318 yards and three touchdowns as the Ducks defeated then 7th-ranked Michigan State, 46-27. Mariota completed 17-of-28 passes; had scoring tosses of 70, 24 and 37 yards, and added 42 rushing yards and earned Walter Camp National Offensive Player of the Week honors.
A general science major, Mariota is expected to earn his undergraduate degree at the end of the fall term (and in less than four years) with a 3.22 grade point average.
Mariota, along with members of the Walter Camp 2014 All-America team, will be honored at the organization’s national awards banquet on Saturday, January 17, 2015 at the Yale University Commons in New Haven.
The Foundation is offering a “Holiday Ticket Promotion” for the National Awards Dinner, which is presented by First Niagara Bank. Buy two tickets for $450 (you save $150) before December 31. Please call (203) 288-CAMP (288-2267) for more information.
Walter Camp, “The Father of American football,” first selected an All-America team in 1889. Camp – a former Yale University athlete and football coach – is also credited with developing play from scrimmage, set plays, the numerical assessment of goals and tries and the restriction of play to eleven men per side. The Walter Camp Football Foundation – a New Haven-based all-volunteer group – was founded in 1967 to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and to continue the tradition of selecting annually an All-America team. Visit www.waltercamp.org for more information.
The Walter Camp Football Foundation is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA). The NCFAA was founded in 1997 as a coalition of the major collegiate football awards to protect, preserve and enhance the integrity, influence and prestige of the game’s predominant awards. The NCFAA encourages professionalism and the highest standards for the administration of its member awards and the selection of their candidates and recipients. Visit http://www.ncfaa.org.
Walter Camp Players of the Year
2014 – Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon
2013 – Jameis Winston, QB, Florida State
2012 – Manti Te’o, LB, Notre Dame
2011 – Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford
2010 – Cam Newton, QB, Auburn
2009 – Colt McCoy, QB, Texas
2008 – Colt McCoy, QB, Texas
2007 – Darren McFadden, RB, Arkansas
2006 – Troy Smith, QB, Ohio State
2005 – Reggie Bush, RB, USC
2004 – Matt Leinart, QB, USC
2003 – Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Pittsburgh
2002 – Larry Johnson, RB, Penn State
2001 – Eric Crouch, QB, Nebraska
2000 – Josh Heupel, QB, Oklahoma
1999 – Ron Dayne, RB, Wisconsin
1998 – Ricky Williams, RB, Texas
1997 – Charles Woodson, DB, Michigan
1996 – Danny Wuerffel, QB, Florida
1995 – Eddie George, RB, Ohio State
1994 – Rashaan Salaam, RB, Colorado
1993 – Charlie Ward, QB, Florida State
1992 – Gino Torretta, QB, Miami
1991 – Desmond Howard, WR, Michigan
1990 – Raghib Ismail, WR, Notre Dame
1989 – Anthony Thompson, RB, Indiana
1988 – Barry Sanders, RB, Oklahoma State
1987 – Tim Brown, WR, Notre Dame
1986 – Vinny Testaverde, QB, Miami
1985 – Bo Jackson, RB, Auburn
1984 – Doug Flutie, QB, Boston College
1983 – Mike Rozier, RB, Nebraska
1982 – Herschel Walker, RB, Georgia
1981 – Marcus Allen, RB, USC
1980 – Hugh Green, DE, Pittsburgh
1979 – Charles White, RB, USC
1978 – Billy Sims, RB, Oklahoma
1977 – Ken MacAfee, TE, Notre Dame
1976 – Tony Dorsett, RB, Pittsburgh
1975 – Archie Griffin, RB, Ohio State
1974 – Archie Griffin, RB, Ohio State
1973 – John Cappelletti, RB, Penn State
1972 – Johnny Rodgers, RB, Nebraska
1971 – Pat Sullivan, QB, Auburn
1970 – Jim Plunkett, QB, Stanford
1969 – Steve Owens, RB, Oklahoma
1968 – O.J. Simpson, RB, USC
1967 – O.J. Simpson, RB, USC
