QB Damon Huard Named KC's 2008 Ed Block Courage Award Winner

Nov 19, 2008, 3:38:06 PM

Kansas City Chiefs President Carl Peterson announced on Wednesday that QB Damon Huard is the recipient of the club’s 2008 Ed Block Courage Award. Dating back to ‘83, the Ed Block Courage Award has annually honored one player from every NFL team who exemplifies commitment to the principles of sportsmanship and courage.

Named in honor of longtime Colts athletic trainer Ed Block, recipients of the award are selected by a vote of their teammates. Huard and the NFL’s other 31 Ed Block Courage Award winners will be honored at the annual Courage Award Banquet in Baltimore on March 10, 2009.

Huard joined the Chiefs as a free agent in 2004 after earning a pair of Super Bowl rings in New England (Super Bowl XXXVI and XXXVIII). Known as a reliable performer who can step into a starting role at a moment’s notice, the 12-year veteran has posted a 15-12 record as an NFL starter (10-11 with Kansas City). In 64 career games (27 starts), Huard has completed 574 of 946 passes for 6,303 yards with 33 TDs and 26 INTs for an 80.6 passer rating. He was placed on Injured Reserve on October 22nd.

Huard earned the respect and confidence of his teammates in 2006 when he emerged as one of the league’s biggest surprises. Despite not opening a game since the 2000 season, Huard replaced injured starting QB Trent Green in the season opener and opened the next eight games for Kansas City. He went on to lead the Chiefs to a 5-3 record in those contests, completing 134 of 221 passes for 1,684 yards with 10 TDs and one INT for a 97.6 passer rating. He finished the 2006 campaign with a 98.0 passer rating that ranked second in the NFL behind only Colts QB Peyton Manning (101.0) and set a Chiefs single-season record to lead the NFL with a 0.4 INT percentage (one INT on 244 attempts).

The Yakima, Washington native was a three-year starter at Washington, completing 458 of 744 passes for 5,692 yards with 34 TDs and 28 INTs. Those 5,692 passing yards ended his collegiate career as the Huskies all-time passing leader. A prep standout in both football and basketball, Huard earned All-America honors as a quarterback at Puyallup High School in Puyallup, Washington.