Texas quarterback Colt McCoy has been named the winner of the 2009 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award presented to the nation's top senior quarterback.

The award is presented by the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Educational Foundation, Inc., and Transamerica.

McCoy has led the Longhorns to their first 12-0 regular season in school history as they head into Saturday's Big 12 championship game against Nebraska. He is also the all-time winningest quarterback in NCAA history with 44 victories and the only quarterback in NCAA history to lead his team to four 10-win seasons.

"Wow, what a great honor it is to receive an award named after Johnny Unitas, one of the greatest football players ever,” McCoy said. “I had a chance to talk to John, Jr. and Raymond Berry last night when they told me I was this year's winner and I was pretty speechless.

“With all of the great quarterbacks around the country it’s definitely humbling to be picked as the winner of the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. But, like I told them last night, this is an honor I can't wait to share with my teammates and coaches. Without them I wouldn't be able to accomplish anything, so this is an award that reflects the success we've had as a team and is a tribute to all of them."

McCoy becomes the first Longhorn to win the award, which has been presented since 1987. A ceremony will be held in Baltimore on Dec. 11. Presenters at the awards ceremony will include NFL Hall of Famers Bart Starr and Raymond Berry, along with many other former Baltimore Colts teammates of Johnny Unitas.

“We're so happy for Colt and this team that the Johnny Unitas Gold Arm Award has selected him this year's winner,” Texas coach Mack Brown said. “He certainly has had another great year and is deserving of all of the recognition he receives. When you look at the 44 career wins and all of his records, he has been one of the greatest to ever play at Texas and in college football, but he's also a kid that is graduating this semester and is a national scholar-athlete who constantly is giving back in the community. With all of his success on the field, you really have to appreciate what a special person he is off of it to."

McCoy is the fourth player from a Big 12 school to win the Unitas Award. Previous winners include Graham Harrell of Texas Tech last season, Nebraska's Tommie Frazier (1995) and Oklahoma's Jason White (2004).