BRIEF: Marecic wins Paul Hornung Award

Yesterday, Stanford senior football player Owen Marecic won the inaugural Paul Hornung Award, given to the nation’s most versatile college football player.

This season, Marecic saw significant playing time on both sides of the ball for the Cardinal, playing in all 13 of the team’s games as the only two-way starter in major college football. On offense, Marecic bulldozed through blockers as the team’s starting fullback, and he anchored the defense as one of its two starting middle linebackers. Of the 13 games in which Marecic played, he started nine on both offense and defense. Marecic logged an average of 110 plays per game, far above the normal workload of a Division I football player.

Marecic scored five offensive touchdowns for Stanford, all in short-yardage situations. On defense, he was fifth on the team with 51 tackles and had two interceptions over the course of the season.

His signature moment came in Stanford’s game against Notre Dame on Sept. 25, when he scored on consecutive plays from scrimmage. Marecic scored on a short touchdown run, and after the ensuing kickoff, he picked off a pass on the Fighting Irish’s first play of the drive and ran it back for a touchdown.

In Stanford’s victory in the Orange Bowl over Virginia Tech on Jan. 3, Marecic had six tackles and one sack. He also added a one-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

The other finalists for the Hornung Award were Randall Cobb of Kentucky and Jeremy Kerley of TCU.

The award is named for Paul Hornung, who won the Heisman Trophy in 1956 with Notre Dame. Hornung played quarterback, running back, defensive back, kicker and punter during his time with the Irish, and played halfback and kicker in the NFL.