SOUTH BEND, Ind. — University of Notre Dame quarterback Jack Coan was named a semifinalist for the 2021 Mayo Clinic Comeback Player of the Year Award. The award honors college football student-athletes who have overcome injury, illness or other adversity to excel on the field this season.
He started all 12 games for the Irish this season and was 215-for-318 with 2,641 yards, 20 touchdowns and six interceptions. Coan ranks 19th nationally in completion percentage (0.676). The 20 touchdowns set a career high for Coan, surpassing his previous high of 18 at Wisconsin in 2019. In the final three games of the season, he threw for at least two touchdowns or more.
Coan was named a Mayo Clinic Comeback Player of the Year Award Nominee following the record-breaking performance in his Notre Dame debut against Florida State. He led the Irish with a career-high 366 yards and four touchdowns, while tying a career-high with 26 completions.
Coan broke the Notre Dame record for most passing yards in a season-opening game, while tying the record for most passing touchdowns in an opener. He was the eighth-straight quarterback to win their first game under center for the Irish.
The very next week against Toledo, Coan led the Irish on a three-play, 75-yard drive that ended with the game-winning 18-yard touchdown pass to Michael Mayer. It was Coan’s first career game-winning drive that began in the final two minutes of the game.
In the road win over Virginia Tech, Coan and the Irish overcame an eight-point deficit with under four minutes left in the game. He marched the Irish down the field on a seven-play, 75-yard drive that concluded with a four-yard touchdown pass to Avery Davis. Coan converted the two-point conversion on an acrobatic catch by Kevin Austin Jr. to tie the game.
After a three and out by the Irish defense, Coan got the ball back with 1:51 remaining on the clock. He got the Irish into field goal range with 17 seconds remaining and Jonathan Doerer hit the game-winning 48-yard field goal to complete the comeback.
In the season finale against Stanford, he surpassed the 300-yard mark for the second time this season and finished 26-of-35 for 345 yards and two touchdowns. The 26 completions tied his career high from earlier this season against Florida State.
The semifinalists were selected by a panel of writers, editors, and sports information directors from CoSIDA, AP and Touchdown Illustrated, from a field of 30 nominees recognized throughout the season. On December 21, three winners and six honorable mentions will be announced and $30,000 will be donated in the names of the honorees to their schools’ general scholarship funds, with $15,000 being awarded in the names of the three winners and $15,000 on behalf of the six named honorable mention.
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