Established in 1987, the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Educational Foundation presents the award to the best senior college quarterback in the country.
An 18-year veteran of the NFL, Unitas played his collegiate career at the University of Louisville (1951-54), passing for 3,007 yards and 27 touchdowns. Unitas, who were number 19 as a professional, had his No. 16 collegiate uniform retired at Louisville, the lone number retired by the Cardinals.
Gino Torretta, 1992
Miami quarterback Gino Torretta captured the award for the Hurricanes in 1992 and was honored in Louisville, Kentucky at the annual banquet.
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Torretta still ranks as Miami's all-time leader with 7,690 passing yards, 555 completions and 7,722 yards in total offense. He also had 123 consecutive pass attempts without an interception. Torretta had 310 first-place votes compared to Faulk's 164 and Hearst's 140.
Craig Erickson, 1990
Craig Erickson became the first Miami quarterback to win the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award in 1990 after a stellar senior season for the Hurricanes.
A fourth-year senior, Erickson lived up to the expectations of the legendary Hurricane quarterbacks who preceeded him. He completed 225 of 393 pass attempts for 3,363 yards and 22 touchdowns, while throwing only seven interceptions.
Erickson averaged 305.7 yards passing per game and, in 1990, was sixth in the nation in pass efficiency with a 144.0 rating and fifth in the country in total offense with 308.9 yards per game.
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