BALTIMORE - Fresno State senior quarterback Marcus McMaryion has been named to the 2018 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Watch List released on Tuesday. One of 50 initial watch list nominees, the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award is presented annually by the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Educational Foundation, Inc. and is presented annually since 1987 to the nation's top college quarterback.
Candidates must be a college senior or fourth-year junior on schedule to graduate with their class and criteria for the award include character, citizenship, scholastic achievement, leadership qualities and athletic accomplishments. An All-Mountain West honorable mention selection last season and a preseason MW second-team pick by Phil Steele, McMaryion returns for his second season as a Bulldog leading the 'Dogs high-powered offense.
The Dinuba native, who started his career at Oregon State before joining the Bulldogs as a graduate transfer last August, passed for 2,726 yards and 14 touchdowns through the air in his first season as a 'Dog while rushing for 302 yards and four touchdowns.
Helping Fresno State claim its first bowl victory since 2007, McMaryion threw for a season-high 342 yards against Houston in the Hawai'i Bowl completing 33 of 48 passes while rushing for 50 yards and two touchdowns.
Leading Fresno State to a 9-2 record in his 11 starts, McMaryion helped the Bulldogs become only the second team ever in the Football Bowl Subdivision to record double-digit wins a season after suffering double-digit losses.
McMaryion helped the Bulldogs capture the West Division crown of the Mountain West and a spot in the Mountain West championship game at Boise State with a 28-17 victory over the Broncos at home on Senior Day passing for 332 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
McMaryion, who graduated from Oregon State in August 2017 before coming to Fresno State as a graduate transfer, is currently pursuing a graduate degree in kinesiology with an emphasis in sports administration and earned Academic All-Mountain West honors in March.
The 2018 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award will be presented on Dec. 7 at 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.
McMaryion is joined by four other Mountain West quarterbacks in K.J. Carta-Samuels (Colorado State), Christian Chapman (San Diego State), Ty Gangi (Nevada) and Brett Rypien (Boise State).
This is McMaryion's third watch list of the preseason as he was named to the Maxwell Award Watch List on July 16 and the Wuerffel Trophy Watch List on July 26.
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