UC Football End Of Year Awards: Offensive MVP

Dec 28, 2013; Charlotte, NC, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats quarterback Brendon Kay (11) looks to pass the ball during the second quarter against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

With the football season (sadly) at an end, we at Cincy on the Prowl decided to get together to doll out some end of year awards. Each of us will provide our opinion and a reasoning behind it then toss the question to you our valued reader so you can provide your opinion. Feel free to vote in the poll at the end of this post and share your thoughts in the comments section. We’d love to hear from you!

So, with out further ado, the award for Offensive MVP from around the staff.

Tommy Perry: Brendon Kay. He was truly the “Ironman” of this team and the team went as he went. He had a rough bowl game performance, partially due to the banged up offensive line, but he always fought hard and gave it his all. His 66.3% was even better than it looks, as the rough Belk Bowl performance was added in. He threw for over 3,000 yards and he had 22 touchdowns to 12 interceptions. That is pretty good for a guy who started the year as a backup with a bum shoulder.

Ben Levin (@LevinMachine): Brendon Kay. Without Kay, this team might not have even been a bowl team.  If this was a “Most Outstanding” award, I might have gone with Anthony McClung, who hage a huge year and filled a void in the WR corps, but Kay was by far the most valuable.  Kay silently put up one of the best seasons in school history, and was an absolute warrior.  It wasn’t quite a Willis Reed performance, but his effort in the Louisville game has to make anyone admire his toughness and leadership.

Spencer Tuckerman (@spncrtckrmn): Brendon Kay: I wanted to be creative here and come up with someone other than Kay. Turns out, it’s extremely hard to make an argument for anyone other than the quarterback. Brendon Kay’s 6th year in Clifton saw him quietly break some school records, despite not taking his first snap until the end of the second game of the season. Aside from pure numbers, I felt that Kay showed a lot of the intangibles. There were a few games where I was convinced he’d broken a few ribs, yet he’d peel himself off the field and keep playing. His toughness this season was incredible, and I think it set a good example for the rest of the team. Resiliency was a theme for the 2013 Bearcats. Ironically, I think you could make the best argument for giving Kay the MVP by looking at UC’s losses this year. Aside from the Illinois game in which Kay didn’t start, each of the losses featured a sub-par performance by the QB. For better or for worse, this team followed Brendon. If he wasn’t playing like himself, this team wasn’t too incredible.

Mike Jorgensen (@Bearnati): Gotta be Brendan Kay.  I hate to be unoriginal but really, who else comes close?  We had some good WR play but when you step in as backup QB in a new scheme, coaching staff, etc. and perform the way that Kay did then you deserve some recognition.  3,300 yards, 22 touchdowns with 12 INTs and a season rating of 148.8.  Not too shabby, let’s hope next year we have a starter as good as this year’s backup.

Chris Bains: Yep, we’re all in agreement that Brendon Kay was the most valuable player on offense for the Bearcats. And it’s hard to argue against that choice. You could make the case for Shaq Washington, Hosey Williams, MeKale McKay, or Eric Lefeld but at the end of the day no one did more for this offense in my opinion than Brendon Kay.