Colorado State University Athletics
CSU QB named Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year
12/2/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Colorado State senior quarterback Garrett Grayson has been named the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year. He is the fourth CSU player to earn the MW Offensive Player of the Year Award, and one of just six CSU players to win either of the conference’s top player awards.
“I’m very thankful to be surrounded by great players and coaches who make my job easier, and make me look better than I am,” Grayson said. “These coaches and players have put me in position to succeed and this is a team honor. I think Bradlee Van Pelt was our last player to win this award, so to be in same category as him, as I’ve said before, is a huge honor. BVP is still the man around Fort Collins.”
Grayson has captured every career record in Colorado State history this season, and has already broken his own single-season records for passing yards (3,779) and passing touchdowns (32) with a bowl game remaining to be played. He ranks in the top seven among all FBS quarterbacks in 2014 in nearly every significant statistical category entering today’s games.
Grayson, who just accepted invitations to play in the Reese’s Senior Bowl and the East-West Shrine Game, had arguably his best single-game performance against rival Wyoming on Oct. 25. The native of Vancouver, Wash., completed 18-of-21 passes for 390 yards and 5 touchdowns. He finished the game with a passing efficiency rating of 320.3, the highest by an FBS quarterback since 2006.
Entering the year Grayson was a candidate for five major awards, but on Nov. 13 he earned significant recognition from The Heisman Trophy Trust. They notified him in writing, calling him a “legitimate contender for The Heisman Memorial Trophy.”
Grayson has led the Rams to a 10-2 record, which ties for the most victories by a CSU squad in the regular season.
““It's a great honor and well-deserved for Garrett, and for Colorado State University,” said head coach Jim McElwain. “And yet Garrett would be the first to tell you that it's not just about him, but the play of everybody around him, that makes something like this possible. He has also done a tremendous job of really working on his craft and elevating his level of play to help those around him. I'm happy for him, and for this whole program, to receive this kind of recognition.”
He is the first Colorado State player to win Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year honors since Bradlee Van Pelt in 2003. That season Van Pelt led the Rams with 909 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns, and threw for 2,845 yards and 19 touchdowns.