FORT WORTH, Texas – The Davey O’Brien Foundation revealed the 2018 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award Watch List today, a group that includes 26 of the nation’s top college quarterbacks and among them is Arkansas State’s Justice Hansen.
Hansen enters his final season with the Red Wolves having thrown at least one touchdown pass in 17 consecutive games and is coming off a junior season in which he was named the Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Year. He also finished the year ranked among the nation’s top-20 candidates for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Ward, while setting a new single-season Arkansas State and Sun Belt Conference mark for touchdown passes with 37.
The Edmond, Okla., native also broke school records for completions (305) and passing yards (3,967) and ended the 2017 season having established eight new Arkansas State statistical record (five season records and three game records), while also tying another. Hansen ranked among the top-10 players in the nation in seven statistical categories, while leading all of the NCAA FBS division in points responsible for per game at 22.2
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 2018 college football season. All nominees are required to have previously started at least one game at their current institution. In addition, any player who was a finalist or semifinalist the previous year is automatically included.
The Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award is presented annually to the nation’s best college quarterback and is the oldest and most prestigious national quarterback award. Appearing on the watch list is not a requirement for a player to win the award. Quarterbacks from all 130 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) schools are eligible.
Sixteen semifinalists for the award will be named on Tuesday, Nov. 6. From that list, the Foundation will announce the three finalists on Monday, Nov. 19. The 2018 Davey O’Brien Award winner will be unveiled live Thursday, Dec. 6, during The Home Depot College Football Awards.
The 2018 season marks the 12th 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. 4.
The 42nd Annual Davey O’Brien Awards Dinner will be held Monday, Feb. 18, 2019, in Fort Worth, Texas.
2018 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award Watch List
Jake Bentley, South Carolina, (Jr., Opelika, Ala.)
Jake Browning, Washington (Sr., Folsom, Calif.)
Kelly Bryant, Clemson (Sr., Calhoun Falls, S.C.)
Mason Fine, North Texas (Jr., Peggs, Okla.)
Ryan Finley, NC State (Sr., Phoenix, Ariz.)
Nick Fitzgerald, Mississippi State (Sr., Richmond Hill, Ga.)
Andrew Ford, UMass (Sr., Camp Hill, Penn.)
Jake Fromm, Georgia (So., Warner Robins, Ga.)
Will Grier, West Virginia (Sr., Charlotte, N.C.)
Justice Hansen, Arkansas State (Sr., Edmond, Okla.)
Justin Herbert, Oregon (Jr., Eugene, Ore.)
Alex Hornibrook, Wisconsin (Jr., West Chester, Penn.)
Jalen Hurts, Alabama (Jr., Houston, Texas)
Tyree Jackson, Buffalo (Jr., Norton Shores, Mich.)
Daniel Jones, Duke (Jr., Charlotte, N.C.)
Kyle Kempt, Iowa State (Sr., Massilon, Ohio)
Brian Lewerke, Michigan State (Jr., Phoenix, Ariz.)
Drew Lock, Missouri (Sr., Lee’s Summit, Mo.)
Trace McSorley, Penn State (Sr., Ashburn, Va.)
McKenzie Milton, UCF (Jr., Kapolei, Hawaii)
Nathan Rourke, Ohio (Jr., Oakville, Ontario)
Brett Rypien, Boise State (Sr., Spokane, Wash.)
Jarrett Stidham, Auburn (Jr., Stephenville, Texas)
Brent Stockstill, Middle Tennessee (Sr., Murfreesboro, Tenn.)
Khalil Tate, Arizona (Jr., Inglewood, Calif.)
Manny Wilkins, Arizona State (Sr., Novato, Calif.)