The Paul Hornung Award

Louisville, KY – Monday, September 29, 2014 – Ishamel Adams from UCLA, Todd Gurley from Georgia, Shaq Thompson from Washington and Ty Mongomery from Stanford all return to the Paul Hornung Award Honor Roll after making big plays on offense, defense and special teams in week five of the college football season. Missouri’s Marcus Murphy earned his first Honor Roll selection after touching the ball four different ways on offense and special teams during the Tiger’s huge win at South Carolina.

The Paul Hornung Award, presented by Texas Roadhouse, is awarded annually to the most versatile player in major college football. The winner and his family will be honored in January 2015 at a banquet presented by KentuckyOne Health at the Galt House Hotel and Suites in downtown Louisville.

College football fans nationwide have the opportunity to cast their votes online for the Paul Hornung Award. Fans can vote as often as once every 24 hours at paulhornungaward.com for players who were on the preseason watch list and players who have been named to the Weekly Honor Roll selection. Voting will continue through November 17, 2014. Fans will then have the chance to vote for the winner from among the finalists in a second round of voting in late-November.

UCLA defensive back Ishmael Adams earned his second Honor Roll when he returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown and ran an interception 95 yards for another score, sparking UCLA’s 62-27 trouncing of Arizona State on Thursday night in Tempe. With ASU driving into the Red Zone, Adams intercepted Mike Bercovici’s pass and took it to the house with two seconds left in the first half, which put UCLA up 27-17 at halftime. Adams’ 95-yard interception return was his second for a score this season. He finished the game with 296 all-purpose yards, including 201 on kickoff returns, and had one tackle and one pass break-up on defense.

Georgia tailback Todd Gurley earned his second Honor Roll when he accounted for a career high 208 yards rushing and two TDs, 30 yards receiving and 47 yards on kickoff returns in a 35-32 SEC East victory against Tennessee between the hedges. Gurley’s 285 all-purpose yards rank third-best in school history in a single game and move him up to number two in career all-purpose yards with 3,961, trailing only Herschel Walker (5,749). Also, Gurley had his 16th game with at least 100 yards rushing, tying him with Garrison Hearst at number two in the school record books. Gurley now has 33 rushing touchdowns in his career and is tied for third on Georgia’s all-time list with Hearst.

Stanford wide receiver and return specialist Ty Montgomery earned his third Honor Roll when he accounted for 149 all-purpose yards and a TD in a 20-13 huge Pac-12 win on the road against Washington. The hard-nosed Montgomery summed up the hard-fought win in the second quarter when he caught a two-yard pass, steamrolled several Husky defenders down the sideline and backpedalled the final five yards for a 17-yard score. Earlier in the drive, he rushed for 15 yards as a wildcat QB and finished the game with three runs for 38 yards and two first downs. Montgomery opened the game with a 62-yard kickoff return that led to the game’s first score, a 35-yard Cardinal field goal.

Missouri running back Marcus Murphy earned his first Honor Roll with 188 all-purpose yards, touching the ball four different ways and setting up the winning touchdown as the Tigers defeated South Carolina 21-20 in Williams-Brice Stadium. Murphy had 98 yards rushing on 16 carries, caught two passes for 12 yards, returned three punts for 46 yards and one kickoff for 32 yards. His 98 rushing yards were a career-best and his 16 rushing attempts tied a career high. With Mizzou trailing 20-14 and the ball at South Carolina’s 24 yard-line with 4:40 left in the game, Murphy carried three times to the one-yard line. The Tigers scored a touchdown on the next play.

Washington linebacker Shaq Thompson earned his third Honor Roll as he continued his remarkable season playing multiple positions in a close Pac-12 division loss to Stanford, 20-13. Thompson tallied his fourth TD – two by fumbles recoveries, one by interception and one rushing – with less than four minutes to go before halftime. He stripped Stanford running back Reumond Wright of the ball, picked it up and rambled it 32 yards for the touchdown to tie the game at 13. The senior linebacker also forced a second half fumble, finished with seven tackles, one pass break-up and three carries on offense. A stalwart at linebacker for the Huskies, Thompson also played safety where he “tackled like a linebacker and covered like a defensive back,” said UW Head Coach Chris Peterson.

Past Paul Hornung Award Honor Roll Selections

Week One: Ishmael Adams (UCLA), Todd Gurley (Georgia), Ty Montgomery (Stanford), Frankie Williams (Purdue)

Week Two: Ameer Abdullah (Nebraska), Ty Montgomery (Stanford), Shaq Thompson (Washington), Jarvis West (Iowa State)

Week Three: Phillip Dorsett (Miami), Leonard Fournette (LSU), Scott Harding (Hawaii), Christion Jones (Alabama), Shaq Thompson (Washington)

Week Four: Ameer Abdullah (Nebraska), Alex Ross (Oklahoma)

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Paul Hornung Award presented by Texas Roadhouse

Created by the Louisville Sports Commission in 2010, the Paul Hornung Award presented by Texas Roadhouse is given annually to the most versatile player in major college football. The Award is designed to promote college football and help preserve the legacy of one of Kentucky’s best-known and accomplished athletes who has always called Louisville home. Hornung, the 1956 Heisman Trophy winner at Notre Dame and NFL MVP for the Green Bay Packers, set a single season NFL scoring record that stood 46 years. Hornung is a member of the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame, and Vince Lombardi once called Hornung, “The most versatile man ever to play the game.” A national selection committee comprised of 16 sports journalists and former NFL stars votes for the Hornung Award, with fan voting powered by Texas Roadhouse comprising the 17th vote.  All votes are tabulated independently by regional accounting firm Dean Dorton. The winner is honored at a banquet presented by KentuckyOne Health in late January in downtown Louisville. For more information, visit  www.paulhornungaward.com Fans can also follow online on Twitter (@hornungaward), on Instagram (@paulhornungaward) and Become a Fan on Facebook.

About Texas Roadhouse

Based in Louisville, Kentucky, Texas Roadhouse opened its doors in 1993. Texas Roadhouse has grown to more than 400 locations in 48 states. The company is famous for hand-cut steaks, made-from-scratch sides, fresh-baked bread and its lively atmosphere. In 2007 and 2008, Forbes magazine ranked the company as one of the 200 Best Small Companies and in 2009 the company was ranked “Best Value” by readers of Consumer Reports magazine. For more information, visit www.texasroadhouse.com.

About KentuckyOne Health

KentuckyOne Health was formed when two major Kentucky health care organizations came together in early 2012. KentuckyOne Health combines the Jewish and Catholic heritages of the two former systems – Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s HealthCare and Saint Joseph Health System. In late 2012, the organization formed a partnership with the University of Louisville Hospital | James Graham Brown Cancer Center.  The nonprofit system is committed to improving the health of Kentuckians by integrating medical research, education, technology and health care services wherever patients receive care. KentuckyOne Health has more than 200 locations including hospitals, physician groups, clinics, primary care centers, specialty institutes and home health agencies across the state of Kentucky and southern Indiana. KentuckyOne Health is the largest health system in Kentucky.

Louisville Sports Commission

The Louisville Sports Commission (LSC) is a Louisville, Kentucky-based 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to create a legacy of economic and social vitality through sports. LSC attracts and hosts sporting events and activities that have a positive economic impact on Louisville, enhance the area’s image as a premier sports destination, promote healthy lifestyles and improve the quality of life for community members of all ages. More information is available online at www.louisvillesports.org and www.facebook.com/louisvillesportscommission.