Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Cunningham named Comeback Player of Year Award Semifinalist
12/1/2022 8:00:00 AM | Football
NEW YORK, N.Y. — Middle Tennessee Quarterback Chase Cunningham was named a semifinalist the 2022 Comeback Player of the Year Award, the College Sports Communicators (formerly College Sports Information Directors of America [CoSIDA]) in association with The Associated Press (AP) and the Fiesta Bowl Organization announced on Thursday.
The award recognizes college football student-athletes from all divisions of college football for overcoming injury, illness, or other circumstances. Cunningham, after his 2021 season was ended early due to a torn ACL suffered against Southern Miss, bounced back to lead the Blue Raiders to a 7-5 record and a trip to the Hawai'i Bowl. The Knoxville, Tenn. native has passed for 2920 yards and 19 touchdowns while completing 67 percent of his passes in 11 starts. The sixth-year senior also rushed for six touchdowns on the ground.
In a vote by a panel of AP writers, editors, sports information directors, and Fiesta Bowl Organization representatives, three college football student-athletes will be honored as 2022 Comeback Player of the Year Award winners. Cunningham is one of two Conference USA Athletes (Jyaire Shorter, WR, North Texas) to make the semifinalist list.
The full 15-man semifinalist list is below:
Previous Comeback Player of the Year winners have included: 2018 - Antwan Dixon (Kent State), Seth Simmer (Dartmouth); Antonio Wimbush (Carson-Newman); 2019 – Jake Luton (Oregon State); Drew Wilson (Georgia Southern); Octavion Wilson (Salisbury); 2020 – Jarek Broussard (Colorado); Kenneth Horsey (Kentucky); Silas Kelly (Coastal Carolina); 2021 – Aidan Hutchinson (Michigan); McKenzie Milton (Florida State); J.J. Weaver (Kentucky). For a complete list of past honorees, visit www.Comeback-Player.com.
About College Sports Communicators: College Sports Communicators (formerly College Sports Information Directors of America [CoSIDA]) is a 3,600+ member national organization, comprised of the athletic communications, media relations, digital and creative professionals throughout all levels of collegiate athletics in the United States and Canada. Founded in 1957, the organization is the second oldest management association in intercollegiate athletics. The organization's signature program is the Academic All-America program, honoring thousands of outstanding scholar-athletes annually. To learn more, visit collegesportscommunicators.com.
The award recognizes college football student-athletes from all divisions of college football for overcoming injury, illness, or other circumstances. Cunningham, after his 2021 season was ended early due to a torn ACL suffered against Southern Miss, bounced back to lead the Blue Raiders to a 7-5 record and a trip to the Hawai'i Bowl. The Knoxville, Tenn. native has passed for 2920 yards and 19 touchdowns while completing 67 percent of his passes in 11 starts. The sixth-year senior also rushed for six touchdowns on the ground.
In a vote by a panel of AP writers, editors, sports information directors, and Fiesta Bowl Organization representatives, three college football student-athletes will be honored as 2022 Comeback Player of the Year Award winners. Cunningham is one of two Conference USA Athletes (Jyaire Shorter, WR, North Texas) to make the semifinalist list.
The full 15-man semifinalist list is below:
| CONFERENCE | PLAYER | SCHOOL | POSITION |
| ACC | Payton Wilson | NC State | LB |
| BIG 12 | Adrian Martinez | Kansas State | QB |
| BIG 12 | Dillon Gabriel | Oklahoma | QB |
| BIG 12 | Trace Ford | Oklahoma State | DE |
| BIG TEN | Mohamed Ibrahim | Minnesota | RB |
| BIG TEN | Ronnie Bell | Michigan | WR |
| CONFERENCE USA | Chase Cunningham | Middle Tennessee | QB |
| CONFERENCE USA | Jyaire Shorter | North Texas | WR |
| INDEPENDENT | Marist Liufau | Notre Dame | LB |
| MID-AMERICAN | Kyle Pugh | Northern Illinois | LB |
| PAC 12 | Justin Flowe | Oregon | LB |
| PAC 12 | Laitu Latu | UCLA | LB |
| PAC 12 | Michael Penix Jr | Washington | QB |
| SEC | Ventrell Miller | Florida | LB |
| SEC | Ray Davis | Vanderbilt | RB |
Previous Comeback Player of the Year winners have included: 2018 - Antwan Dixon (Kent State), Seth Simmer (Dartmouth); Antonio Wimbush (Carson-Newman); 2019 – Jake Luton (Oregon State); Drew Wilson (Georgia Southern); Octavion Wilson (Salisbury); 2020 – Jarek Broussard (Colorado); Kenneth Horsey (Kentucky); Silas Kelly (Coastal Carolina); 2021 – Aidan Hutchinson (Michigan); McKenzie Milton (Florida State); J.J. Weaver (Kentucky). For a complete list of past honorees, visit www.Comeback-Player.com.
About College Sports Communicators: College Sports Communicators (formerly College Sports Information Directors of America [CoSIDA]) is a 3,600+ member national organization, comprised of the athletic communications, media relations, digital and creative professionals throughout all levels of collegiate athletics in the United States and Canada. Founded in 1957, the organization is the second oldest management association in intercollegiate athletics. The organization's signature program is the Academic All-America program, honoring thousands of outstanding scholar-athletes annually. To learn more, visit collegesportscommunicators.com.
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