Hill named to Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Watch List

BALTIMORE, Md --- BYU quarterback Taysom Hill has been selected to the Top 30 Watch List for the 2015 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award announced today by the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Educational Foundation, Inc. and Transamerica.

Named after one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time and established in 1987, this prestigious award is presented annually at the end of each season to the nation’s top college quarterback based on character, citizenship, scholastic achievement, leadership qualities and athletic accomplishments. Candidates must be a college senior or fourth year junior on schedule to graduate with their class. 

Hill, a 6-foot-2, 232-pound senior has also been named to 2015 watch lists for the Maxwell Award, Davey O'Brien Award, Wuerffel Trophy, Walter Camp Award, Manning Award and CFPA National Performer of the Year Award. Hill led the Cougars with 1,435 yards of total offense through four and a half games before injury in 2014. He was completing 66.7 percent of his passes and accounted for seven touchdowns in the air and ran for another eight scores.  

Transamerica, the presenting sponsor of this award, is proud once again to honor the tremendous legacy of Johnny Unitas and salute a new generation of outstanding student athletes. In addition to recognizing great accomplishments on the field, the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award considers character, citizenship, integrity, leadership and honor all characteristics that are highly valued by Transamerica.

For over a century, Transamerica has been helping people prepare a better financial future as a leading provider of solutions for insurance investments and retirement. Creating a better tomorrow comes from hard work, discipline and commitment to a solid plan. Transamerica salutes these outstanding young men on the Top 30 watch list and will cheer them on and wish them great success as they take the field this fall. These strong leaders have demonstrated a commitment to excellence and worked hard to “Transform Tomorrow” for themselves and their teams during the season and beyond.

Past standout winners of the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award® include: Peyton Manning (Tennessee, 1997); Carson Palmer (USC, 2002); Eli Manning (Ole Miss, 2003); Brady Quinn (Notre Dame, 2006); Matt Ryan (Boston College, 2007); Colt McCoy (Texas, 2009); and Andrew Luck (Stanford, 2011). Last year’s winner, Marcus Mariota of University of Oregon, 2015 Heisman Trophy winner and Pac-12 offensive player of the year.

The Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award® will be presented at a ceremony on December 11, 2015 in Baltimore, Maryland. For the 2015 Golden Arm Award ceremony, The Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Educational Foundation, Inc. and Transamerica are happy to be returning to the Embassy Suites Baltimore Inner Harbor Hotel & The Grand.

Proceeds from the event help support the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Educational Foundation, which provides assistance to underprivileged and deserving student-athletes throughout Maryland and Kentucky.

In addition to Transamerica, sponsors of the Golden Arm Award include: Athlon Sports, 120 Sports, The Babe Ruth and Sports Legends Museum, Baltimore Sun Media Group, Century Engineering, Coach for America, Comcast, Dunbar Armored and Dunbar Cybersecurity, Embassy Suites Baltimore Inner Harbor & The Grand, Haddock Investments, HMS Insurance Associates, Inc., Metropolis Funding, PSAV, Panini, SILKS, TRAY, The Scott Garceau Show, MedStar Union Memorial Sports Medicine, Wilson Sporting Goods and ZBest Executive & Global Transportation Services.