Larry Fitzgerald Selected Runner-Up For Prestigious Heisman Trophy
12/13/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Larry Fitzgerald Selected Runner-Up For Prestigious Heisman Trophy
12/13/2003
NEW YORK ?
The Heisman Trophy, awarded to the most outstanding player in college football, went to Oklahoma quarterback Jason White by a slim margin over Fitzgerald (Minneapolis, Minn./Academy of the Holy Angels/Valley Forge Military Academy [Pa.]). White had 319 first-place votes and a total of 1,481 points to Fitzgerald?s 253 first-place votes and 1,353 points. Mississippi quarterback Eli Manning finished third with 710 points and Michigan running back Chris Perry was fourth with a total of 341 points.
The Heisman ballots were split into six regions with White winning three and Fitzgerald winning three, becoming the first sophomore in the trophy?s history to win that many regions.
In addition to being the first Pittsburgh Heisman runner-up in 23 years, Fitzgerald was the first player to finish in the top five in 16 years, when Craig "Ironhead" Heyward placed fifth in 1987. In all, 13 Panthers have finished in the top 10 in balloting a total of 14 times. Fitzgerald is only the fourth Pittsburgh player to finish among the top two, joining Green (1980), Tony Dorsett (1st, 1976) and Marshall Goldberg (2nd, 1938).
Fitzgerald won the Walter Camp Award, annually given to the nation?s best college football player and the Biletnikoff Award, honoring the nation?s top receiver as well as being named to numerous All-America teams, including The Sporting News, American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and Football Writers Association of America (FWAA).
The prolific wideout has set two NCAA receiving records this season, including consecutive games with a TD catch (18) and TD catches as a freshman and sophomore (34). He has tied the NCAA mark for games catching a TD pass in one season (12?tied with Marshall?s Randy Moss, 1997).
He has additionally set seven Big East receiving records this year: single-season receiving yards (1,595), single-season receptions (87), single-season TD catches (22), career TD catches (34), career 1,000-yard receiving seasons (two), career 100-yard receiving games (14) and single-season 100-yard receiving games (10).
Pittsburgh finished the regular-season with an 8-4 overall record and 5-2 Big East mark. The Panthers will play Virginia (7-5) in the Continental Tire Bowl Dec. 27, their fourth consecutive postseason bid. The four consecutive bowl berths mark the Panthers? best postseason stretch since advancing to nine straight from 1975-83.