NORFOLK, Va. – This month’s Norfolk Sports Club Jamboree will have a distinct Old Dominion football flavor.
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Former ODU quarterback Taylor Heinicke, who is entering his third season with the Washington Commanders in the NFL, will be the announcer on July 19 at the club’s 75th annual jamboree at the Norfolk Waterside Marriott.
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Heinicke holds almost every major passing record at the ODU, where he led the Monarchs to two Top 10 rankings in the FCS national rankings and a 6-6 record in the university’s first FBS season.
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His NFL career seemed to end at the end of 2020. He was 27 years old and had been cut or resigned six times by five NFL teams and had only 126 NFL shots.
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But just weeks before announcing his retirement, he was called by Washington as a backup at the end of the season. Then, just over a month later, in a playoff game against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Bucs, he resurrected his professional football career with a performance that appeared to be written from a Disney movie.
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Brady and the Bucs predicted, 31-23, but not before that Heinicke impressed millions on national TV by going for 306 yards and one touchdown and rushing for 46 more and one touchdown, a 2-yard run in which he crashed. for the pylon, as it did to the ODU.
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Heinicke has played well in 2021, starting most of the season for the injured-infested team, and is expected to be the lifeline this season for the Commanders.
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Heinicke will be introduced by former ODU football coach Bobby Wilder.
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Longtime ODU donor and elder Dennis Ellmer will receive a rare honor when he receives the Presidential Award. It will be presented by ODU Athletic Director Dr Wood Selig.
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Norfolk Sports Club president Jack Ankerson said the award is given very rarely and only three can be remembered in the last decade.
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“It has to be a unanimous vote from our council, so we don’t present it very often,” he said.
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What did Ellmer do to deserve this award?
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“Like someone said when we discussed this,‘ who didn’t? said Ankerson.
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“He’s done a lot of charity work and he’s done a lot for Old Dominion athletics. He certainly deserves this.”
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It will be Ellmer’s third biggest honor in a few months. The Virginia Sports Hall of Fame honored him during his recent induction ceremonies and the Norfolk Cosmopolitan Club recently honored him as Norfolk’s first citizen.
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Ellmer made a $ 1.5 million donation in 2019 that allowed the Priority Automotive Club in S.B. Ballard Stadium.
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Selig will be the speaker at a sports club’s breakfast at the Marriott that morning. He will talk about ODU’s recent move to the Sun Belt Conference, which became official on July 1st.
Click here for tickets to the Norfolk Sports Club Jamboreeâ & # x20AC; & # x2122;
Monarchs Score in Phil Steele’s Preseason Magazine & # xD;
Four ODU football players have made the first All-Sun Belt team in Phil Steele’s highly respected football magazine, and 12 in all have been listed on the four teams chosen by Steele.
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The first selection of the ODU team included wide receiver Ali Jennings III, tight end Zack Kuntz, offensive lineman Nick Saldiveri and safety R’Tarriun Johnson. Kuntz, by the way, receives an All-American mention in pre-season publications.
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Running back Blake Watson, linebacker Ryan Henry and kickoff returner LaMareon James are listed as second team. Third-team picks include defender Marcus Haynes and point guard Isiah Paige.
