It's outside the usual awards season, but what the heck: Ezekiel Elliott has been named the winner of the 2014 AAU James E. Sullivan Award, given to the top amateur athlete in the country.
The Sullivan Award is an award not quite like the Heisman Trophy or Doak Walker; it has been awarded by the New York Athletic Club for the last 85 years and encompasses a variety of sports. Elliott was named one of six finalists in March, and announced the winner in a ceremony on Sunday afternoon, where he accepted the award in person.
In his sophomore season at Ohio State, Elliott rushed for 1,878 yards and 18 touchdowns as the Buckeyes won the national championship. He beat out Shawn Barber (pole vaulting), Simone Biles (gymnastics), Meryl Davis and Charlie White (ice dancing), Katie Ledecky (swimming) and Jahlil Okafor (basketball) to win the Sullivan Award.
Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott has been awarded the AAU Sullivan Award, given to the nation's top amateur athlete. #Buckeyes
— Eric Seger (@EricSeger33) April 19, 2015
"First and foremost I’d like to thank the AAU Sullivan Award for representing the outstanding amateur athlete for the past 85 years,” Elliott said according to an Ohio State press release. “And secondly I want to congratulate all the finalists. I feel somewhat undeserving of this award with all these great athletes up here and all their tremendous accomplishments. I can’t even imagine what it would feel like to win an Olympic gold medal so I want to congratulate all for being here.
“I’ve got to thank my parents for pushing me to being the person I am. They demand excellence out of me and that drove me to be the person I am today," Elliott added. "I also want to thank Ohio State University for this and for all the opportunities it has presented me. And I want to thank my coaches and my teammates for making this opportunity possible. Football is a team sport and I’m nothing without my boys around me."
Although Elliott is still on the mend, he is having a busy weekend. He was in Columbus for the spring game on Saturday, today he accepted the Sullivan Award in New York City, and on Monday he's headed to the White House with the rest of the football team. Quite the rise for a guy who wasn't certain to get all the running back snaps heading into 2014.
"This is a tremendous honor for Ezekiel and his family, and a privilege for Ohio State to have a Sullivan Award winner as the outstanding amateur athlete in America,” Urban Meyer said in the release. “I want to congratulate Ezekiel, and his teammates, and the coaches on the Ohio State staff who all work extremely hard to get the best out of our student-athletes on and off the field."
