Two Nittany Lion quarterbacks are previous winners of the prestigious award -- Todd Blackledge in 1982 and Kerry Collins in 1994. Mills was a semifinalist for the 2002 O'Brien Award. The O'Brien Award is the oldest and most prestigious award in the nation for collegiate quarterbacks and is named in honor of the late Davey O'Brien, the All-American and Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback for Texas Christian University, who led the Horned Frogs to the 1938 national championship. The O'Brien Award has been presented annually since 1981 to the nation's top quarterback. The 6-3, 214-pound Mills is preparing for his third full season as the Nittany Lions' starting quarterback. He already owns 12 Penn State game, season and career passing and total offense records and is on the brink of breaking at least three more marks this season. Last season, the poised, confident and athletic quarterback was 136-of-251 (54.2) for 1,404 yards, with six touchdowns and five interceptions, missing most of the Minnesota game and all of the Wisconsin and Purdue games with a sprained ankle. The former Urbana High School standout also was fourth on the squad in rushing with 124 yards on 63 carries and one touchdown. An All-Big Ten candidate, Mills already owns 12 schools records, including passing yards (399 vs. Iowa, 2002) and total offense (418 yards vs. Ohio State, 2001) in a game, career pass completions (451) and career total offense (6,002). He enters his senior season with 5,400 career passing yards, 470 short of passing Tony Sacca's school record of 5,869; 814 career pass attempts (11 shy of breaking Sacca's mark of 824); and 32 career touchdown passes, 10 short of breaking the mark of 41 held by Todd Blackledge and Sacca. Semifinalists for the O'Brien Award will be announced in early November and narrowed to three finalists later that month by the O'Brien National Advisory Committee. The committee is comprised of nationally known sportswriters, commentators and other members of the media. The winner of the 2004 O'Brien Award will be announced December 9 on the ESPN College Football Awards Show from Orlando, Fla. The winner will be honored at the 28th annual O'Brien Awards Dinner in February 2005, at The Fort Worth Club in Fort Worth, Texas. Coach Joe Paterno's squad returns 32 lettermen and 15 starters for the upcoming season. The Nittany Lions open the season September 4, hosting Akron in Beaver Stadium at 3:30 p.m.
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