Tolzien Top Senior QB

The official awards banquet is just days away, but some awards are already coming out, and one of them is in the mail heading towards Madison. With senior quarterback Scott Tolzien listed as the recipient.

Tolzien has been named the 2010 Unitas Award winner. An award that is given annually to the top senior quarterback in the country, and this year that quarterback is from Wisconsin.

Three years ago Tolzien was a relative nobody in Madison. A third string quarterback that pretty much nobody had heard of, and a player that had not seen the field until he played against Iowa. A year later Tolzien was named the starting quarterbac, and as the saying goes "the rest is history."

In his senior season Tolzien is one of the top quarterbacks in the country in terms of completion percentage with 76%. Which is important, but what may be more important is how Tolzien manages the game.

As the Badger quarterback you are not asked to win the ball game, but not to lose it. Something Tolzien has done quite well as the man under center. Especially this season.

While Tolzien has quietly thrown for over 2,000 yards for the second consecutive season, the most impressive statistic is his touchdown to interception ratio. Last season Tolzien threw 16 touchdowns with 11 interceptions. This season the touchdowns have not dropped holding steady at 16, but the throw aways have dropped down to just six.

Showing the progress that Tolzien has made as the starting quarterback is one thing; making an impact on the win loss record of your team is another. A year ago Tolzien seemed to disappear in the big games. This season he stepped up when it mattered most.

One example could be the pass to Brady Ewing in the Ohio State game. At the time it looked like the Buckeyes were beginning to rally against the Badgers. That is until the Badgers chose to pass rather than the expected run. Tolzien connected with Ewing for a big game that flipped field position, and flipped the momentumn back in favor of the Badgers. As well as flipped the Badgers' season as well.

It seems like a long road from nobody to hero for Scott Tolzien. Just two years after being "who's that guy?" at Iowa, Tolzien has become "man I'm going to miss that guy!" against Northwestern. Not to mention being the best quarterback this senior class has to offer, and we're not just talking about the Badgers...