Feb. 2, 2007

EASTON, Pa. (www.lafayette.edu) - Senior quarterback Brad Maurer (Loveland, Ohio/Kings) became the third straight Lafayette player to earn the Patriot League Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, the league announced Friday.

Maurer, the starting quarterback for Lafayette's 2004, 2005 and 2006 Patriot League championship teams, is also the third straight co-captain to earn the award for the Leopards. He joins Maurice Bennett (2005) and Stephen Bono (2004) as a recipient of the Patriot League's most prestigious honor given to a football student-athlete.

A Neuroscience major and Spanish minor with a 3.51 grade-point average, Maurer has excelled in both arenas of his life during his tenure at Lafayette.

He led the Leopards to their first three postseason appearances in school history, earning the Patriot League's automatic bid to the NCAA Playoffs in 2004 and 2006, and an at-large bid in 2005. He is also one of four Lafayette players to be named MVP of the Lafayette-Lehigh game, the most-played series in the history of college football, twice in their careers. Maurer joined Jonathan Hurt as the first teammates to earn co-MVP honors following the Leopards' 49-27 victory in the 142nd meeting last fall.

Maurer was recognized as a member of the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District II Team for all three years that he was eligible, and was named a semifinalist for the Draddy Trophy, known as the "Academic Heisman." He also earned Academic All-Star Status from the I-AA Athletic Directors Association and was one of 10 finalists for the ARA National Sportsmanship Award, which is given to a Division I football student-athlete.

A member of Lafayette's EXCEL Scholar program, Maurer has performed research that has included a study of the mating behaviors of zebra finches with Professor Wendy Hill, and examination of the lyrical poetry of the "bolero," a Latin American music style, with Professor George Torres.

Maurer entered Lafayette as a Marquis Scholar, the highest level of scholarship awarded by the College to an incoming freshman, after earning National Merit Scholar finalist status and the National Football Foundation's "That's My Boy" award as Ohio's top football scholar-athlete. He also earned Offensive Player of the Year honors at every level, including conference, country, district and state, at Kings High School, located in the suburbs of Cincinnati.

As a freshman, Maurer spent his first year at Lafayette as the scout team quarterback, where he was named the scout team co-offensive MVP by the coaching staff. He earned the starting quarterback position vacated by Patriot League record-holder Marko Glavic prior to the 2004 season. Maurer shared time with Pat Davis through the first half of the year before taking over full-time in a 35-14 win at Columbia, a game in which he tied the school record for completion percentage in a single game, hitting on 12-of-14 passes, and also ran for a 63-yard touchdown.

Lafayette won its first Patriot League championship in 10 years in 2004, with Maurer leading a 24-10 upset victory of No. 8 Lehigh in the regular-season finale. Maurer ran for 124 yards and a touchdown and completed 11-of-21 passes for 108 yards against the Mountain Hawks as the Leopards completed an 8-3 regular season. He threw for a career-high 211 yards in Lafayette's 28-14 loss in the I-AA Playoffs at Delaware.

As a junior, Maurer was named second team All-Patriot League after posting a league-best 141.6 passing efficiency rating in PL games. He started each of the first 11 games and guided the Leopards to a 7-3 record before being knocked out of the Lehigh game with a separated shoulder on the third play. Lafayette went on to earn a share of its second straight championship with a 23-19 win, and the Leopards made their second appearance in the I-AA Playoffs at Appalachian State.

Maurer returned from the injury to have his most productive season in a Lafayette uniform as a senior. He was 181-of-307 for 2,239 yards and 13 touchdowns, ranking 10th in school history in passing yards in a single season and sixth in completions. Maurer also ran for 295 yards and five touchdowns and was once again named second team all-league. His career total of 6,323 yards of total offense ranks 12th in Patriot League history, and he is fifth in school history in passing yards (5,114) and completions (434) and sixth in touchdowns (28). He holds the school record for completion percentage in a career, at 60.7 percent, and in a single season, with a 67.0 rate as a sophomore in 2004.

Maurer saved his top performance for his final regular-season game, when he completed 20-of-24 passes for 243 yards and three touchdowns in a 49-27 dismantling of Lehigh. He was named the national Offensive Player of the Week by The Sports Network to go with his second career Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week award and his second Lafayette-Lehigh MVP trophy. The victory sent Lafayette to the NCAA Playoffs for the third straight season, where Maurer was 18-of-33 for 140 yards and two touchdowns in a 35-14 loss at No. 2 Massachusetts.

Maurer may embark on one of a number of opportunities following graduation, including medical school, graduate school in several disciplines and pursuing a career in writing. He is also considering traveling internationally for a year before making a decision on his career path.