Panthers QB Cam Newton officially won the Pepsi Rookei of the Year fan vote tonight. Here's the official announcement from Pepsi:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CAROLINA PANTHERS QB CAM NEWTON NAMED
2011 PEPSI NFL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Newton Wins Fan Vote On NFL.com/rookies
Carolina Panthers QB CAM NEWTON is the 2011 PEPSI NFL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR, Pepsi and the National Football League announced today.
Newton set the record for most passing yards by a rookie in a season (4,051), surpassing PEYTON MANNING's previous record of 3,739 in 1998. He set the single-season quarterback rushing touchdown record with 14. He is the first rookie to throw and rush for 10 touchdowns in the same season, and only the second player to pass for more than 20 touchdowns and rush for more than 10 touchdowns in a season. He is the first player in NFL history with more than 4,000 passing yards, 500 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns in the same year. Newton, who started all 16 games, finished his first season with a 60.0 completion percentage and 21 touchdowns. He amassed an additional 706 yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground. The Auburn product was the first overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft and was nominated for Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week 11 times, winning three times.
Newton was one of five finalists for the honor. The other finalists were Cincinnati Bengals QB ANDY DALTON, Denver Broncos LB VON MILLER, Arizona Cardinals CB/PR PATRICK PETERSON and San Francisco 49ers LB ALDON SMITH.
The five finalists were selected for their outstanding performances throughout the 2011 NFL season. Each week, five nominees were chosen for the Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week and NFL fans voted for the winner on NFL.com. Those results were used to help determine the finalists.
This is Pepsi's tenth year as the official soft drink sponsor of the NFL and the tenth year that Pepsi presented the NFL Rookie of the Week and NFL Rookie of the Year awards.
Below are the winners of the 2011 PEPSI NFL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK awards:
2011 PEPSI NFL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
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|
Wk 1 |
Green Bay Packers WR/KR Randall Cobb (Kentucky) |
Wk 2 |
Oakland Raiders WR Denarius Moore (Tennessee) |
Wk 3 |
Oakland Raiders OG Stefen Wisniewski (Penn State) |
Wk 4 |
Carolina Panthers QB Cam Newton (Auburn) |
Wk 5 |
San Francisco 49ers LB Aldon Smith (Missouri) |
Wk 6 |
San Francisco 49ers LB Aldon Smith (Missouri) |
Wk 7 |
Dallas Cowboys RB DeMarco Murray (Oklahoma) |
Wk 8 |
Buffalo Bills NT Marcell Dareus (Alabama) |
Wk 9 |
Cincinnati Bengals QB Andy Dalton (Texas Christian) |
Wk 10 |
Oakland Raiders WR Denarius Moore (Tennessee) |
Wk 11 |
Baltimore Ravens WR Torrey Smith (Maryland) |
Wk 12 |
Cincinnati Bengals QB Andy Dalton (Texas Christian) |
Wk 13 |
Tennessee Titans LB Colin McCarthy (Miami) |
Wk 14 |
Houston Texans QB T.J. Yates (North Carolina) |
Wk 15 |
Carolina Panthers QB Cam Newton (Auburn) |
Wk 16 |
Carolina Panthers QB Cam Newton (Auburn) |
Wk 17 |
New England Patriots DB Sterling Moore (Southern Methodist) |