Media Guides

Billy Cundiff

            To the man on the street, pocket change refers to pennies, nickels and a couple of dimes.  That’s small stuff, nothing that adds up to much.

            At Ashland University, pocket change takes on a much deeper meaning.  With the arrival of quarterback Billy Cundiff (Uniontown, OH/Connecticut) three years ago, a pocket change took place in AU’s football program.  The plays made by Cundiff, in and outside the pocket, have been priceless.   With Cundiff, the quarterback position has reached a level never seen before at Ashland.

              Cundiff put together a season in 2008 that surpasses anything produced by former Ashland field generals.  The Cundiff standard is higher than the gold standard.  That was reinforced today when Cundiff was named a first team All-America by the American Football Coaches of America (AFCA).

            In 2008, Cundiff led the Eagles to a second straight trip to the NCAA Division II playoffs. No other quarterback in school history has accomplished that.  The junior also led the Eagles to the first postseason victory in school history, a 27-16 victory over 25^th-ranked Minnesota State.

            “We were an average team without Bill,” explained AU head coach Lee Owens.  “He gave us a chance to win nine games, go to the playoffs, win a playoff game and win a GLIAC championship.  We couldn’t do that without Bill.  He made a difference in every game we won.”

            The AU quarterback, who began his collegiate career at Division I Connecticut, completed 279-of-414 passes (67.4 percent) for 3,776 yards and 37 touchdown passes.  He was intercepted just eight times.  Cundiff is third in the nation in pass efficiency (169.6 rating), fourth in passing yards (3,776) and ninth in passing yards per game (290.46) and total offense (311.4 ypg.).

            In 2008, Cundiff established school single-season records for pass attempts, pass completions, completion percentage, passing yards, touchdown passes and total offense (4,048).  He is AU’s career leader in touchdown passes (55), passing yards (6,490), total offense (6,877), pass completions (452) and completion percentage (64.9).  Cundiff holds the AU single-game record for touchdown passes (five, done twice).  He is the owner of the highest single-game total offense mark (434) in Ashland history.

            “Really, with Bill, the only statistic he knows is team wins,” Owens said.  “That’s how he judges his season.  It is how many games did you win, how far did you go as a team. That alone defines the kind of player he is.”

            Cundiff was honored as the 2008 GLIAC player of the year. He was a first team all-conference choice and was nominated for the Harlon Hill Trophy, which goes to the NCAA Division II player of the year.  Cundiff advanced to the round of 24 in the Harlon Hill balloting.

            With Cundiff at the controls the Eagles, for the second straight year, had one of the nation’s most prolific offenses.  AU is 13^th in the nation in passing offense (295.9 ypg.), 20^th in total offense (441.7 ypg.) and 21^st in scoring (34.8 ppg.). The Eagles completed the year 9-4, 8-3 in the regular season. AU finished in second place in the GLIAC.  Getting to that stage wasn’t easy as the Eagles began the season 0-2.  Of their four losses, two came to a Grand Valley State team ranked first in the country and one came to a Bloomsburg team which was nationally ranked all season and advanced to the NCAA Division II playoffs.

            This is the second straight year the Eagles have had an AFCA All-America selection. A year ago, center Vince Cashdollar was named to the AFCA team.  The organization selects just one team each year.  The unit consists of 25 players – 11 on offense, 11 on defense, a punter, placekicker and all-purpose player.

            “That team in particular, it’s picked by the coaches,” said Owens.  “That gives it a lot of credibility.  It (two straight selections) gives our program a lot of credibility.  It says that over the last two years we’ve had two of the best players in Division II football. We’ve had someone two years in a row. That says a lot about Ashland University’s tradition.”

            This year’s AFCA All-America team has two quarterbacks. The other signal-caller is Minnesota-Duluth’s Ted Schlafke. Schlafke has led undefeated UMD to this year’s NCAA Division II championship game. This is the first time the AFCA team has had two quarterbacks.

            Cundiff is one of three GLIAC players to make the AFCA squad.  Grand Valley State center Bill Eisenhardt and Ferris State defensive lineman Jake Visser are the other two conference picks.  Visser is the lone repeat selection from 2007.  The team consists of 19 seniors and six juniors.

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