Fields Named Semifinalist for James E. Sullivan Award
3/10/2020 11:01:06 AM | Football
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Justin Fields is a semifinalist for the 90th Amateur Athletic Union’s (AAU) James E. Sullivan Award, it was announced on Monday.
The AAU Sullivan Award has been given out since 1930 to the nation’s best amateur athlete and Fields is among a group of 33 collegiate athletes, world champions, gold medalists and national champions selected as semifinalists.
The AAU James E. Sullivan Award annually recognizes the outstanding amateur athlete whose outstanding athletic accomplishments are complemented by qualities of leadership, character and sportsmanship. Winners achieve great success on a national and/or international stage through competition in collegiate athletics, Olympic pursuit or similar high profile competitions.
Older than the Heisman Trophy (1935), the AAU Sullivan Award honors the outstanding amateur athlete in the United States. It has been presented annually by the AAU since 1930 as a salute to founder and past president of the Amateur Athletic Union, and a pioneer in amateur sports, James E. Sullivan.
Over the last six years, two Ohio State student-athletes have won the award. Running back Ezekiel Elliott was the recipient in 2015 and three years later, in 2018, wrestler Kyle Snyder took home the honor.
Voting opened for the semifinalists on Monday, March 9 at 10:30 a.m. (ET) and will stay open through March 13. The voting portal can be found here: https://aausports.wyng.com/AAUSullivanAwardSemifinalists.
In his first year as a starter for Ohio State in 2019, Fields put together one of the greatest statistical seasons by any Ohio State player ever. He became the first quarterback in Big Ten history with 40 passing touchdowns and 10 rushing TDs in the same season on his way to being a Heisman Trophy finalist. Fields threw for 3,273 yards, completed 67.2 percent of his passes and had a nation’s-leading 41-to-3 touchdown to interception ratio.
Fields was at his best against the best. In the Big Ten Championship Game against No. 8 Wisconsin, he throw for 299 yards and three touchdowns while leading the Buckeyes back from a 21-7 halftime deficit to win 34-21. One week prior at rival Michigan, Fields tossed four touchdown passes and throw for 302 yards in a 56-27 victory. In six games against teams ranked in the final College Football Playoff poll, Fields accounted for 17 touchdowns and averaged 280 yards per game of total offense.
The Big Ten’s Graham-George Offensive Player of the Year and Griese-Brees Quarterback of the Year, Fields was a finalist for the Davey O’Brien Award as the nation’s top quarterback and was a second team All-American selection by every major organization. His play guided Ohio State to a 13-1 overall record, a Big Ten championship and an appearance in the College Football Playoff Semifinal.
