Image courtesy of Yale Athletics
Back-to-back Ivy League titles. Back-to-back wins in ‘The Game’ and back-to-back Bushnell Cups.
You couldn’t have written a Hollywood script any better if you’re Nolan Grooms.
Yale’s superstar QB took home the award at a presentation in New York at the prestigious New York Athletic Club on Monday for the second consecutive year. Grooms is just the sixth athlete ever to win the award twice. Penn’s Joey Slackman won the Bushnell Cup as the Defensive Player of the Year in the Ivy League.
Brown’s Wes Rockett was the other offensive finalist while Dartmouth’s Charles Looes was the other defensive finalist.
Grooms led the Ivy League with 22 passing touchdowns this season. The former Taft star racked 2,451 yards of total offense with 1,863 passing yards and 588 rushing yards There were six games during the year in which Grooms had a rush of at least 20 yards and pass of 30 yards.
In his career at Yale, Grooms finished with 5,136 yards passing and 1,793 yards rushing. He also had 52 career touchdown passes with 26 interceptions and 11 rushing TD’s.
“Grooms family, I just want to thank you,” said head coach Tony Reno. “Five years ago, you took a shot on us. You trusted Yale, you trusted Yale football and really, me to help raise your son, raise your grandson and your bother. It was an honor. It’s a big piece of who we are. Nolan’s been a big piece of my family. I know I speak for my wife and for our children too. I’ve got a lot of guys in the back that were part of this program for the last five years and we’ve got an incredible family with these young men that have joined us at Yale. Nolan’s been the catalyst all the way through…at Yale, we’ve been doing this for quite some time, over 150 years and Nolan Grooms is going to go down as one of the greatest players to ever play football at Yale. He’s won two Bushnell Cups and led us to two back-to-back Ivy League titles in consecutive seasons.
“He’s going to go down as one of the greatest players to ever play in the Ivy League. When you think about the perspective of what he’s done as a football player, it’s pretty amazing. The things you don’t know by how he throws passes and how he runs and what he does with a helmet on is the type of person that he is. An incredible leader, an incredible teammate. He’s someone who drove this team in the last 25 games since he’s been our starter and I think the success on the field really speaks volumes. But, the things he did off the field really tells a lot about Nolan and who he is as a player and a person. There’s a saying that goes ‘big time players make big time plays in big time games,’ and there was no player in my time at Yale who had more big plays in big moments than Nolan Grooms. I think his teammates would attest to that as well. Even more than that for me, it’s his growth as a man. His growth as a leader, his growth as a teammate, his growth as a friend as someone who’s been part of my family. That’s what I’m most proud of…really excited about what he’s done and what you’ve done for us Nolan at Yale football, but more importantly, of what lies ahead. Congrats from all of us at Yale and thank you Nolan.”
Grooms then spoke briefly as well to close out the day’s ceremonies as some teammates cheered on from the back of the packed room.
“I just want to say thank you,” Grooms said after first congratulating Rockett on a great career, adding that he “felt like you and I were in the Ivy League forever,” and “ya’ll’s PA announcer did a great job, I think you have the coolest name in the Ivy League.”
“The past four years has been the experience that I really could never dream of. It has been the best experience. I remember running around the backyard as a kid, my dream was always to be a college football player. The last four years…it’s just been an experience I can’t really put into words, I just want to thank ya’ll for that. Specifically the last two years have been some of the most challenging years of my life. College football and especially the Ivy League isn’t easy. But, the memories and bonds created will last me a lifetime. I’ve got a lot of my teammates here today…those dudes in the back, they’re my world. Nothing we accomplished could have really been done without every single one of my teammates. It’s been a lifetime dream of mine and I just want to thank you all for being a part of the roller coaster ride that college football can be. Thank you for simply allowing me to be me. I can be a headache to deal with sometimes, but I just want to thank you all for allowing me to be me and just allowing me to have this experience.
“I can’t really put this into words. I want to thank you all for attending and thank you for the last four years.”