2013 College Football Performance Awards Watch List
ITHACA, N.Y. – Cornell seniors
Grant Gellatly and
Jeff Mathews have been named to the 2013 College Football Performance Awards Watch List. The list encompassed many of the nation's top returning players in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).
One of the top open field threats in the Ancient Eight, Gellatly is a threat with the ball in his hands anywhere on the field as a wide receiver. Gellatly earned his first All-Ivy nod, a spot on the second team, after finishing second in the Ivy League in receiving yards and fifth in receptions per game in a breakout 2012. He also ranked second in all-purpose yards. He ranked in the top 30 nationally in both categories, sitting 18th in receiving yards per game (94.0) and 28th in receptions per game (6.1). Gellatly ended the year with 61 receptions for 940 yards and five touchdowns this season. The 940 yards ranks fifth in a season at Cornell. Gellatly scored three touchdowns (two receiving, one rushing) in the loss to Dartmouth and had 12 catches for 215 yards in the win over Princeton. He had a career-high 13 catches for 181 yards and a touchdown at Fordham and six catches for 111 yards at No. 23 Harvard. Gellatly closed the season by grabbing six passes for 141 yards and a score against Ivy champ Penn.
One of the most exciting and productive quarterbacks in the history of the Ivy League, Mathews enters his final season on East Hill on the cusp of history. Already Cornell's career passing leader, he is a two-time Bushnell Cup finalist for Ivy League Player of the Year, and became the first sophomore to ever win the award in 2011. Despite playing through numerous injuries that limited him in 2012, Mathews was one of 20 players on the Walter Payton Award Watch List and a preseason first-team FCS All-American by Beyond Sports College Network as a junior . He was a two-time conference Offensive Player of the Week in 2012 and led the Ivy League in passing attempts (405), completions (251) and yards (3,196). He also finished second in passing touchdowns (18), completion percentage (.620) and pass efficiency (137.5) for players with at least five starts despite missing a game. Mathews finished on the All-Ivy second team and was runner-up for the Bushnell Cup. He ranked second nationally in passing yardage (355.1), third in total offense (338.4), 21st in points responsible for (13.8) and 32nd in pass efficiency (137.5). Mathews became Cornell's career passing leader with his 315-yard, three-touchdown effort against Dartmouth, surpassing Ricky Rahne's record of 7,710 yards. His 8,331 yards after three seasons is second all-time in Ivy League history. Mathews passed for at least 300 yards in seven of his nine games. He completed 35-of-51 passes for 525 yards and four touchdowns (0 interceptions) in the win over Princeton. Mathews opened the season by completing 38-of-56 passes for 489 yards and three touchdowns (0 interceptions) in a 34-27 loss at Fordham. He also ran for a score. Mathews passed for 340 yards and four touchdowns without a pick in the win over Yale en route to earning Ivy League co-Offensive Player of the Week honors and threw for 445 yards and a touchdown, along with a late two-point conversion to tie the game, in a 35-28 loss to Ivy champ Penn.
Gellatly and Mathews will lead the offense into fall practice, which begins in mid-August. The Big Red opens the 2013 season at home against Bucknell on Saturday, Sept. 21 at Schoellkopf Field.
