ORLANDO (UCFKnights.com) - UCF junior quarterback McKenzie Milton finished eighth in Heisman Trophy voting in 2017. At 10:10 a.m. ET Thursday, UCF Athletics began promoting No. 10 as a candidate for the 2018 Heisman.
Of the top 10 Heisman Trophy vote-getters from last season, three are returning to college football in 2018. Milton is the only quarterback of those three. Following last season, Milton was named the Archie Griffin Award winner as the National Player of the Year by the Touchdown Club of Columbus.
The Kapolei, Hawaii native was also named the American Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year, the Most Valuable Offensive Player of the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl and was a First Team All-American Athletic Conference selection.
UCF Athletics created a HIsman logo to promote Milton's candidacy and will utilize the term as a hashtag on social media as well. The capitalized HI is a nod to Milton's Hawaii roots, while playing off the Heisman name.
Milton set numerous school records and ranked in the top 10 nationally in virtually every statistical category possible. Here's a look at some of Milton's key statistical rankings from last season:
- Passing Efficiency: 179.3 (2nd in nation behind 2017 Heisman winner/No. 1 NFL Draft pick Baker Mayfield)
- Yards Per Attempt: 10.22 (2nd in nation behind 2017 Heisman winner/No. 1 NFL Draft pick Baker Mayfield)
- Total Offense: 357.7 yards per game (4th in nation)
- Passing Touchdowns: 37 (4th in nation)
- Completion Percentage: 67.1 (4th in nation)
- Points Responsible For: 20.8 points per game (5th in nation)
- Yards Per Completion: 15.23 (5th in nation)
- Passing Yards Per Game: 310.5 (7th in nation)
Milton shattered or tied nine single-season UCF records in 2017, nine of which belonged to Daunte Culpepper, who finished sixth in Heisman voting in 1998. Here's a look at the UCF Football season records tied or broken by Milton during his sophomore campaign:
- Passing Yards: 4,037 (Previous-3,770 by Ryan Schneider)
- Passing Touchdowns: 37 (Previous-31 by Ryan Schneider)
- Total Offense: 4,650 (Previous-4,153 by Daunte Culpepper)
- Quarterback Rushing Yards: 613 (Previous-566 by Jeff Godfrey)
- Passing Efficiency: 179.3 (Previous-170.2 by Daunte Culpepper)
- Passing Yards Per Attempt: 10.2 (Previous-9.4 by Blake Bortles)
- Touchdowns Responsible For: 45 (Previous-40 by Daunte Culpepper)
- 300-Yard Passing Games: 7 (Previous-7 by Schneider/Culpepper)
- 400-Yard Passing Games: 2 (Previous=2 by Schneider/Culpepper)
- Consecutive Completions: 15 (Previous-15 by Daunte Culpepper)
Milton and his teammates open the 2018 season Aug. 30, when they travel to East Hartford, Conn. for a matchup with the UConn Huskies.
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Season tickets are going fast for the highly anticipated 2018 campaign. Fans can purchase theirs today and learn about all their options by calling (407) 823-1000 or visiting us online at UCFKnights.com/createthefuture.