USC quarterback Sam Darnold was previously a semifinalist for the Davey O'Brien Award.
FORT WORTH, Texas – The Davey O’Brien Foundation unveiled the 2017 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award Watch List today, a group that includes 30 of the nation’s top college quarterbacks.
Compiled by a subset of the Davey O’Brien National Selection Committee, this year’s list was selected based on player performance during the previous year and expectations heading into the 2017 college football season. All nominees are required to have previously started at least one game at their current institution.
Two finalists for last year’s award, Lamar Jackson of Louisville and Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield, headline the list. It was Mayfield’s second straight season as a finalist.
The watch list also includes a pair of two-time semifinalists, Ohio State’s J.T. Barrett (2014, 2016) and Washington State’s Luke Falk (2015, 2016). Other previous semifinalists include: Jake Browning of Washington, USC’s Sam Darnold, Jalen Hurts of Alabama, UCLA’s Josh Rosen, Mason Rudolph of Oklahoma State and Michigan’s Wilton Speight.
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The other members of the watch list include: Austin Allen (Arkansas), Josh Allen (Wyoming), Jake Bentley (South Carolina), Shane Buechele (Texas), Eric Dungey (Syracuse), Jacob Eason (Georgia), Jesse Ertz (Kansas State), Nick Fitzgerald (Mississippi State), Riley Ferguson (Memphis), Quinton Flowers (USF), Deondre Francois (Florida State), Daniel Jones (Duke), Tanner Mangum (BYU), Trace McSorley (Penn State), Shea Patterson (Ole Miss), Brett Rypien (Boise State), Brandon Silvers (Troy), Brent Stockstill (Middle Tennessee), Mike White (Western Kentucky) and Logan Woodside (Toledo).
Eleven seniors, 11 juniors and eight sophomores comprise the list. Among leagues, the SEC led the way with six selections, while the ACC, Big 12 and Pac-12 had four apiece.
Appearing on the watch list is not a requirement for a player to win the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award. Quarterbacks from all 130 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision schools are eligible for the award.
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Sixteen semifinalists for the award will be named on Tuesday, Nov. 7. From that list, the Foundation and the Selection Committee will announce the three finalists on Monday, Nov. 20. The 2017 Davey O’Brien Award winner will be announced live Thursday, Dec. 7, on The Home Depot College Football Awards.
The 2017 season marks the 11th year that fans will be invited to participate in the voting process on VoteOBrien.org. Results from the Davey O’Brien Fan Vote will be combined with the ballots from the Selection Committee. Fan voting, which accounts for five percent of the total balloting, will begin on Tuesday, Sept. 5.
Previous Davey O’Brien Award winners include: Jim McMahon (BYU, 1981), Todd Blackledge (Penn State, 1982), Steve Young (BYU, 1983), Doug Flutie (Boston College, 1984), Chuck Long (Iowa, 1985), Vinny Testaverde (Miami, 1986), Don McPherson (Syracuse, 1987), Troy Aikman (UCLA, 1988), Andre Ware (Houston, 1989), Ty Detmer (BYU, 1990-91), Gino Torretta (Miami, 1992), Charlie Ward (Florida State, 1993), Kerry Collins (Penn State, 1994), Danny Wuerffel (Florida, 1995-96), Peyton Manning (Tennessee, 1997), Michael Bishop (Kansas State, 1998), Joe Hamilton (Georgia Tech, 1999), Chris Weinke (Florida State, 2000), Eric Crouch (Nebraska, 2001), Brad Banks (Iowa, 2002), White (Oklahoma, 2003-04), Vince Young (Texas, 2005), Troy Smith (Ohio State, 2006), Tim Tebow (Florida, 2007), Sam Bradford (Oklahoma, 2008), Colt McCoy (Texas, 2009), Cam Newton (Auburn, 2010), Robert Griffin III (Baylor, 2011), Johnny Manziel (Texas A&M, 2012), Jameis Winston (Florida State, 2013), Marcus Mariota (Oregon, 2014) and Deshaun Watson (Clemson, 2015-16).
The 41st Annual Davey O’Brien Awards Dinner will be held Monday, Feb. 19, 2018, in Fort Worth, Texas.
2017 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award Watch List
Austin Allen (Arkansas, Sr., Fayetteville, Ark.)
Josh Allen (Wyoming, Jr., Firebaugh, Calif.)
J.T. Barrett (Ohio State, Sr., Wichita Falls, Texas)
Jake Bentley (South Carolina, So., Opelika, Ala.)
Jake Browning (Washington, Jr., Granite Bay, Calif.)
Shane Buechele (Texas, So., Arlington, Texas)
Sam Darnold (USC, So., Capistrano Beach, Calif.)
Eric Dungey (Syracuse, Jr., Lake Oswego, Ore.)
Jacob Eason (Georgia, So., Lake Stevens, Wash.)
Jesse Ertz (Kansas State, Sr., Burlington, Iowa)
Luke Falk (Washington State, Sr., Logan, Utah)
Riley Ferguson (Memphis, Sr., Matthews, N.C.)
Nick Fitzgerald (Mississippi State, Jr., Richmond Hill, Ga.)
Quinton Flowers (USF, Sr., Miami, Fla.)
Deondre Francois (Florida State, So., Orlando, Fla.)
Jalen Hurts (Alabama, So., Houston, Texas)
Lamar Jackson (Louisville, Jr., Pompano Beach, Fla.)
Daniel Jones (Duke, So., Charlotte, N.C.)
Tanner Mangum (BYU, Jr., Eagle, Idaho)
Baker Mayfield (Oklahoma, Sr., Austin, Texas)
Trace McSorley (Penn State, Jr., Ashburn, Va.)
Shea Patterson (Ole Miss, So., Shreveport, La.)
Josh Rosen (UCLA, Jr., Manhattan Beach, Calif.)
Mason Rudolph (Oklahoma State, Sr., Rock Hill, S.C.)
Brett Rypien (Boise State, Jr., Spokane, Wash.)
Brandon Silvers (Troy, Sr., Orange Beach, Ala.)
Wilton Speight (Michigan, Jr., Richmond, Va.)
Brent Stockstill (Middle Tennessee, Jr., Murfreesboro, Tenn.)
Mike White (Western Kentucky, Sr., Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
Logan Woodside (Toledo, Sr., Frankfurt, Ky.)
By Conference: SEC (6), Pac-12 (4), ACC (4), Big 12 (4), Big Ten (3), American (2), C-USA (2), Mountain West (2), MAC (1), Sun Belt (1), Independent (1).
By Class: Senior (11), Junior (11), Sophomore (8).
