Tag: Davey O’Brien

Dillon Gabriel named a finalist for two prestigious awards

Dillon Gabriel has had a great season for the Sooners so far and that has landed him as a finalist of two awards.

[autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] has been as good as advertised this season for the Oklahoma Sooners. He’s currently completing a career-high 71.4% of his passes for 2,302 yards, 19 touchdowns and only four interceptions.

His play this season has earned him a spot as a finalist for two prestigious awards; the [autotag]Davey O’Brien[/autotag] QB Class of 2023 and the Unitas Golden Arm Award.

Gabriel is a member of the 35-player Davey O’Brien QB Class making him an official candidate for the 2023 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award, which will be presented on Dec. 8, 2023.

A Sooner has won the Davey O’Brien award six times. [autotag]Billy Sims[/autotag] won the first one in 1978 when it was given to the most outstanding player and not just the most outstanding quarterback. [autotag]Jason White[/autotag] won the award twice, in 2003 and 2004. [autotag]Sam Bradford[/autotag] won the award in 2008. [autotag]Baker Mayfield[/autotag] in 2017, and [autotag]Kyler Murray[/autotag] in 2018.

He was announced as a top-10 finalist for the [autotag]Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award[/autotag] on Tuesday. That award is given to the top quarterback who is a college senior or fourth-year junior on schedule to graduate with their class. White is the lone Sooner to win the award.

Gabriel is certainly deserving of both of those awards. Per a release from the University of Oklahoma, He ranks in the top 10 nationally in points responsible for per game (20.2; third), total offense (324.5 yards per game; fifth), pass completion percentage (.714; eighth), passing efficiency rating (169.6; ninth) and passing touchdowns (19; 10th). He also leads the Big 12 in passing offense (278.8 yards per game; 13th nationally) and yards per pass attempt (9.1; 14th nationally).

He has a big opportunity to build upon his stellar season with a rivalry game this weekend.

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Georgia QB Carson Beck named to Davey O’Brien Great 8 list

Beck earns Davey O’Brien Great 8 list mention for Week 4 performance…

Georgia quarterback Carson Beck had his best performance as a Bulldog in a 49-21 win over UAB on Saturday.

The first-year starter completed 22-of-32 passes for 338 yards with three touchdowns and zero interceptions. Beck also added a rushing touchdown.

Beck currently sits fourth in the SEC in passing yards (1,184) and third in completion percentage (72.6%).

The Jacksonville, Florida, native has been named to the Davey O’Brien Great 8 list for his performance in Week 4. The Davey O’Brien Award committee chose to use its “Davey Double” option to recognize 16 players this week.

Davey O’Brien Great 8 – Week 4
Drew Allar, Penn State
Rocco Becht, Iowa State
Carson Beck, Georgia
Davis Brin, Georgia Southern
Byrum Brown, South Florida
Ben Bryant, Northwestern
Jayden Daniels, LSU
Jordan McCloud, James Madison
Bo Nix, Oregon
Jack Plummer, Louisville
Spencer Rattler, South Carolina
Jaylen Raynor, Arkansas State
Taulia Tagovailoa, Maryland
Jordan Travis, Florida State
Cameron Ward, Washington State
Caleb Williams, USC

Georgia will be back in action on Saturday at Auburn (3-1) in ‘The Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry’. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. and the game will air on CBS.

Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks, from Davey O’Brien to Caleb Williams

This year’s Heisman Trophy winner was a quarterback. Here are all of the QBs to win the award in college football history.

Believe it or not, a majority of the 88 Heisman Trophies have not been handed out to quarterbacks. When looking at the progression of college football over time, this did not become a quarterback-centric sport until the late 1980s.

Andre Ware’s Heisman Trophy for Houston in 1989, under a modernized passing offense, really seemed to mark the changing of the guard in college football. That’s when the sport was beginning to turn from a running back’s game into a quarterback’s domain. Steve Spurrier changed the SEC from a run-first conference to a pass-first conference beginning in 1990. Innovators such as Hal Mumme and Mike Leach began to revolutionize the passing game at Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Texas Tech. Leach taught a man named Lincoln Riley about the passing game.

Through the mid-1980s, however, non-quarterbacks dominated the Heisman, including at USC, which produced four Heisman running backs in the 17 seasons spanning 1965 to 1981. With Caleb Williams winning the Heisman in 2022, three of USC’s last four Heisman winners — all in the 21st century — have been quarterbacks. USC has five running backs and three QBs among its eight winners.

The sport has changed.

Quarterbacks make up “only” 38 of the 88 Heisman winners, but they will soon have half, and are likely to keep winning most of these awards in the coming decades. Let’s look at all 38 Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks, with Caleb Williams being the latest member of the club:

Hendon Hooker named to Davey O’Brien watch list

Hendon Hooker named to Davey O’Brien watch list.

Hendon Hooker has been named as one of 35 players to the 2022 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award preseason watch list.

Hooker a semifinalist for the award in 2021, is one of seven SEC quarterbacks on the list.

The Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award honors the nation’s top quarterback and is the oldest and most prestigious college football award.

The 46th annual Davey O’Brien awards dinner honoring the winner will be held Feb. 20, 2023 at the Fort Worth Club in Fort Worth, Texas.

Hooker made 11 starts last season for the Vols after transferring from Virginia Tech. He holds the single-season program record for completion percentage (84.0) and passing efficiency rating (181.4).

The Greensboro, North Carolina native accounted for 3,561 yards of total offense and 36 touchdowns.

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Alabama’s Bryce Young lands on the Davey O’Brien watch list

After winning the Davey O’Brien award last season, Alabama quarterback Bryce Young has been named to the award’s preseason watch list.

The 2022 SEC media days are in full swing, and some of the preseason award watch lists are being released. Just yesterday, a pair of Alabama players landed on the Maxwell Award watch list in quarterback [autotag]Bryce Young[/autotag] and linebacker [autotag]Will Anderson[/autotag].

On Tuesday it was announced that Young has now been named to the Davey O’Brien watch list. The Davey O’Brien is awarded to the nation’s top collegiate quarterback.

Young is the reigning winner of the award and former Tide quarterback [autotag]Mac Jones[/autotag] won it for his fantastic season in 2020.

Young and Jones are the only two Alabama quarterbacks to have ever been awarded the Davey O’Brien.

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Hendon Hooker named to Davey O’Brien Great 8 list

Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker named to Davey O’Brien Great 8 list.

Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker has been named to the Davey O’Brien Award’s Great 8 list after his performance against South Carolina Saturday.

Hooker, a redshirt senior and transfer from Virginia Tech, passed for 225 yards and rushed for 66 more as Tennessee (4-2, 2-1 SEC) darted out to a fast start against the Gamecocks (3-3,0-3) at Neyland Stadium.

Hooker, who was named a Manning Award Star of the Week after the Vols defeated Missouri, 62-24, on Oct. 2, passed for three touchdowns and ran for another against the Gamecocks.

He leads the SEC in quarterback rating (185.89) and is the first signal-caller to throw for multiple touchdowns in five consecutive games since Tyler Bray achieved the feat in 2012.

Since being named starting quarterback for the Vols, Hooker, who hails from North Carolina, has thrown 10 touchdown passes.

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