Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Gardner Minshew II has been named the 2019 Big Cat Country Rookie of the Year, Big Cat Country announced today. Minshew was recognized online at BigCatCountry.com and this morning during Big Cat Country’s Rookie Brunch Party in Jacksonville, which featured a written presentation by BCC’s Alfie Crow, a Spotify playlist, and a performance by a cup of Starbucks coffee.

The No. 178 selection in the 2019 NFL Draft, Minshew led the Jaguars with 3,271 passing yards, a franchise record, and threw for 21 touchdowns and only six interceptions with a quarterback rating of 91.2 on the way to leading the Jaguars to six wins. Minshew set multiple Jaguars franchise records during his season and also won the Pepsi Rookie of the Week seven of possible 12 times, yet was not included on their ballot for Rookie of the Year.

Minshew was one of two finalists nominated for this inaugural honor. The other finalist was Jacksonville Jaguars defensive lineman Josh Allen, who set a franchise record for sacks and led all 2019 rookies in sacks with 10.5.

The two finalists were selected for their outstanding performances through the 2019 NFL season. Each week, five nominees were chosen for the Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week and fans voted for the winner on NFL.com. Those results were clearly not used to help determine the finalists.

This is Big Cat Country’s 15th year as the official stop for all things Jaguars and the first year that Big Cat Country will present the NFL Rookie of the Year award.