University of North Carolina Athletics
Photo by: Greg Fiume
Howell Makes Davey O'Brien Award Watch List
July 14, 2020 | Football
FORT WORTH, Texas – Sam Howell will begin his Carolina sophomore campaign listed on the 2020 Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award Watch List, announced Tuesday by The Davey O'Brien Foundation.
Howell enjoyed one of the finest seasons by a freshman quarterback in college football history. The Indian Trail, North Carolina, native was named an FWAA Freshman All-America and the ACC Offensive & Overall Rookie of the Year after setting the FBS true freshman record and Carolina school record with 38 touchdown passes in 2019.
The 2019 Military Bowl MVP put together a streak of 13 consecutive games with multiple TD passes and had eight games with three or more TD passes. Howell's 3,641 passing yards was second in the ACC and ranked 14th nationally.
This year's list that includes 30 of the nation's top returning college quarterbacks was selected based on career player performance and expectations heading into the 2020 college football season. All nominees are required to have previously started at least one game at an NCAA Division I institution. In keeping with the changing landscape of college athletics, new transfers were eligible to be included for the first time in the award's history.
Justin Fields of Ohio State, a finalist for the Davey O'Brien Award in 2019, is among the players on the watch list. Fields is joined by seven semifinalists from last year: Baylor's Charlie Brewer, Shane Buechele of SMU, Texas' Sam Ehlinger, Trevor Lawrence of Clemson, Minnesota's Tanner Morgan, Brock Purdy of Iowa State and Memphis' Brady White.
The remaining members of the watch list include: Hank Bachmeier of Boise State, Notre Dame's Ian Book, Alan Bowman of Texas Tech, Wisconsin's Jack Coan, Sean Clifford of Penn State, Kent State's Dustin Crum, Micale Cunningham of Louisville, Arizona State's Jayden Daniels, Dillon Gabriel of UCF, Air Force's Donald Hammond III, Alabama's Mac Jones, D'Eriq King of Miami, Louisiana's Levi Lewis, Kellen Mond of Texas A&M, Georgia's Jamie Newman, Bo Nix of Auburn, Florida Atlantic's Chris Robison, Spencer Sanders of Oklahoma State, USC's Kedon Slovis, Zac Thomas of Appalachian State and Florida's Kyle Trask.
Fourteen seniors, eight juniors and eight sophomores comprise the list. Among conferences, the SEC and Big 12 lead the way with five selections. It is the fourth straight year that the SEC has been atop the list. Other leagues with at least three members on the watch list are the Big Ten (4), ACC (4) and AAC (3). Nearly one-third of the quarterbacks are Texas products, as nine of the 30 played high school football in the state.
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 preseason watch list is not a requirement for a player to win the award. This year, players who have been honored as weekly Davey O'Brien Great 8 recipients, as well as any additional quarterbacks approved by the selection subcommittee, will be added to form the final midseason watch list on Tuesday, Oct. 20
Sixteen semifinalists selected from the final watch list will be named on Tuesday, Nov. 10. The Foundation will announce the three finalists two weeks later (Tuesday, Nov. 24). The 2020 Davey O'Brien Award winner will be unveiled live on ESPN Thursday, Dec. 10, during The Home Depot College Football Awards.
The 44th Annual Davey O'Brien Awards Dinner is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 15, 2021, in Fort Worth, Texas.
2020 Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award Watch List
Hank Bachmeier, Boise State, So., 6-1, 200, Murrieta, Calif.
Ian Book, Notre Dame, Sr., 6-0, 206, El Dorado Hills, Calif.
Alan Bowman, Texas Tech, So., 6-3, 210, Grapevine, Texas
Charlie Brewer, Baylor, Sr., 6-1, 206, Austin, Texas
Shane Buechele, SMU, Sr., 6-1, 207, Arlington, Texas
Jack Coan, Wisconsin, Sr., 6-3, 221, Sayville, N.Y.
Sean Clifford, Penn State, Jr., 6-2, 219, Cincinnati, Ohio
Dustin Crum, Kent State, Sr., 6-3, 201, Grafton, Ohio
Micale Cunningham, Louisville, Jr., 6-1, 200, Montgomery, Ala.
Jayden Daniels, Arizona State, So., 6-3, 175, San Bernardino, Calif.
Sam Ehlinger, Texas, Sr., 6-3, 230, Austin, Texas
Justin Fields, Ohio State, Jr., 6-3, 228, Kennesaw, Ga.
Dillon Gabriel, UCF, So., 6-0, 186, Mililani, Hawaii
Donald Hammond III, Air Force, Sr., 6-2, 220, Hampton, Ga.
Sam Howell, North Carolina, So., 6-1 1/4, 225, Indian Trail, N.C.
Mac Jones, Alabama, Jr., 6-2, 205, Jacksonville, Fla.
D'Eriq King, Miami, Sr., 5-11, 195, Manvel, Texas
Trevor Lawrence, Clemson, Jr., 6-6, 220, Cartersville, Ga.
Levi Lewis, Louisiana, Sr., 5-10, 190, Baton Rouge, La.
Kellen Mond, Texas A&M, Sr., 6-3, 217, San Antonio, Texas
Tanner Morgan, Minnesota, Jr., 6-2, 215, Union, Ky.
Jamie Newman, Georgia, Sr., 6-4, 230, Graham, N.C.
Bo Nix, Auburn, So., 6-2, 207, Pinson, Ala.
Brock Purdy, Iowa State, Jr., 6-1, 212, Gilbert, Ariz.
Chris Robison, Florida Atlantic, Jr., 6-1, 200, Mesquite, Texas
Spencer Sanders, Oklahoma State, So., 6-1, 199, Denton, Texas
Kedon Slovis, USC, So., 6-2, 200, Scottsdale, Ariz.
Zac Thomas, Appalachian State, Sr., 6-1, 210, Trussville, Ala.
Kyle Trask, Florida, Sr., 6-5, 239, Manvel, Texas
Brady White, Memphis, Sr., 6-3, 215, Santa Clarita, Calif.
By Conference: Big 12 (5), Southeastern (5), Big Ten (4), Atlantic Coast (4), American Athletic (3), Mountain West (2), Pac-12 (2), Sun Belt (2), Conference USA (1), Mid-American (1), Independents (1).
By Class: Senior (14), Junior (8), Sophomore (8).
About the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award
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. The Davey O'Brien Award honors candidates who exemplify Davey O'Brien's enduring character while exhibiting teamwork, sportsmanship and leadership in both academics and athletics. Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, the Davey O'Brien Foundation has awarded more than $1 million in scholarships and university grants to help high school and college athletes transform leadership on the field into leadership in life. For more information, visit www.DaveyOBrien.org.
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), Jason 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), Deshaun Watson (Clemson, 2015-16), Baker Mayfield (Oklahoma, 2017), Kyler Murray (Oklahoma, 2018) and Joe Burrow (LSU, 2019).
For up-to-date information on Carolina football, visit GoHeels.com/Football and follow us on Twitter (@TarHeelFootball), Instagram (@tarheelfootball) and Facebook (Facebook.com/TarHeelFootball).
Howell enjoyed one of the finest seasons by a freshman quarterback in college football history. The Indian Trail, North Carolina, native was named an FWAA Freshman All-America and the ACC Offensive & Overall Rookie of the Year after setting the FBS true freshman record and Carolina school record with 38 touchdown passes in 2019.
The 2019 Military Bowl MVP put together a streak of 13 consecutive games with multiple TD passes and had eight games with three or more TD passes. Howell's 3,641 passing yards was second in the ACC and ranked 14th nationally.
This year's list that includes 30 of the nation's top returning college quarterbacks was selected based on career player performance and expectations heading into the 2020 college football season. All nominees are required to have previously started at least one game at an NCAA Division I institution. In keeping with the changing landscape of college athletics, new transfers were eligible to be included for the first time in the award's history.
Justin Fields of Ohio State, a finalist for the Davey O'Brien Award in 2019, is among the players on the watch list. Fields is joined by seven semifinalists from last year: Baylor's Charlie Brewer, Shane Buechele of SMU, Texas' Sam Ehlinger, Trevor Lawrence of Clemson, Minnesota's Tanner Morgan, Brock Purdy of Iowa State and Memphis' Brady White.
The remaining members of the watch list include: Hank Bachmeier of Boise State, Notre Dame's Ian Book, Alan Bowman of Texas Tech, Wisconsin's Jack Coan, Sean Clifford of Penn State, Kent State's Dustin Crum, Micale Cunningham of Louisville, Arizona State's Jayden Daniels, Dillon Gabriel of UCF, Air Force's Donald Hammond III, Alabama's Mac Jones, D'Eriq King of Miami, Louisiana's Levi Lewis, Kellen Mond of Texas A&M, Georgia's Jamie Newman, Bo Nix of Auburn, Florida Atlantic's Chris Robison, Spencer Sanders of Oklahoma State, USC's Kedon Slovis, Zac Thomas of Appalachian State and Florida's Kyle Trask.
Fourteen seniors, eight juniors and eight sophomores comprise the list. Among conferences, the SEC and Big 12 lead the way with five selections. It is the fourth straight year that the SEC has been atop the list. Other leagues with at least three members on the watch list are the Big Ten (4), ACC (4) and AAC (3). Nearly one-third of the quarterbacks are Texas products, as nine of the 30 played high school football in the state.
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 preseason watch list is not a requirement for a player to win the award. This year, players who have been honored as weekly Davey O'Brien Great 8 recipients, as well as any additional quarterbacks approved by the selection subcommittee, will be added to form the final midseason watch list on Tuesday, Oct. 20
Sixteen semifinalists selected from the final watch list will be named on Tuesday, Nov. 10. The Foundation will announce the three finalists two weeks later (Tuesday, Nov. 24). The 2020 Davey O'Brien Award winner will be unveiled live on ESPN Thursday, Dec. 10, during The Home Depot College Football Awards.
The 44th Annual Davey O'Brien Awards Dinner is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 15, 2021, in Fort Worth, Texas.
2020 Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award Watch List
Hank Bachmeier, Boise State, So., 6-1, 200, Murrieta, Calif.
Ian Book, Notre Dame, Sr., 6-0, 206, El Dorado Hills, Calif.
Alan Bowman, Texas Tech, So., 6-3, 210, Grapevine, Texas
Charlie Brewer, Baylor, Sr., 6-1, 206, Austin, Texas
Shane Buechele, SMU, Sr., 6-1, 207, Arlington, Texas
Jack Coan, Wisconsin, Sr., 6-3, 221, Sayville, N.Y.
Sean Clifford, Penn State, Jr., 6-2, 219, Cincinnati, Ohio
Dustin Crum, Kent State, Sr., 6-3, 201, Grafton, Ohio
Micale Cunningham, Louisville, Jr., 6-1, 200, Montgomery, Ala.
Jayden Daniels, Arizona State, So., 6-3, 175, San Bernardino, Calif.
Sam Ehlinger, Texas, Sr., 6-3, 230, Austin, Texas
Justin Fields, Ohio State, Jr., 6-3, 228, Kennesaw, Ga.
Dillon Gabriel, UCF, So., 6-0, 186, Mililani, Hawaii
Donald Hammond III, Air Force, Sr., 6-2, 220, Hampton, Ga.
Sam Howell, North Carolina, So., 6-1 1/4, 225, Indian Trail, N.C.
Mac Jones, Alabama, Jr., 6-2, 205, Jacksonville, Fla.
D'Eriq King, Miami, Sr., 5-11, 195, Manvel, Texas
Trevor Lawrence, Clemson, Jr., 6-6, 220, Cartersville, Ga.
Levi Lewis, Louisiana, Sr., 5-10, 190, Baton Rouge, La.
Kellen Mond, Texas A&M, Sr., 6-3, 217, San Antonio, Texas
Tanner Morgan, Minnesota, Jr., 6-2, 215, Union, Ky.
Jamie Newman, Georgia, Sr., 6-4, 230, Graham, N.C.
Bo Nix, Auburn, So., 6-2, 207, Pinson, Ala.
Brock Purdy, Iowa State, Jr., 6-1, 212, Gilbert, Ariz.
Chris Robison, Florida Atlantic, Jr., 6-1, 200, Mesquite, Texas
Spencer Sanders, Oklahoma State, So., 6-1, 199, Denton, Texas
Kedon Slovis, USC, So., 6-2, 200, Scottsdale, Ariz.
Zac Thomas, Appalachian State, Sr., 6-1, 210, Trussville, Ala.
Kyle Trask, Florida, Sr., 6-5, 239, Manvel, Texas
Brady White, Memphis, Sr., 6-3, 215, Santa Clarita, Calif.
By Conference: Big 12 (5), Southeastern (5), Big Ten (4), Atlantic Coast (4), American Athletic (3), Mountain West (2), Pac-12 (2), Sun Belt (2), Conference USA (1), Mid-American (1), Independents (1).
By Class: Senior (14), Junior (8), Sophomore (8).
About the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award
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. The Davey O'Brien Award honors candidates who exemplify Davey O'Brien's enduring character while exhibiting teamwork, sportsmanship and leadership in both academics and athletics. Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, the Davey O'Brien Foundation has awarded more than $1 million in scholarships and university grants to help high school and college athletes transform leadership on the field into leadership in life. For more information, visit www.DaveyOBrien.org.
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), Jason 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), Deshaun Watson (Clemson, 2015-16), Baker Mayfield (Oklahoma, 2017), Kyler Murray (Oklahoma, 2018) and Joe Burrow (LSU, 2019).
For up-to-date information on Carolina football, visit GoHeels.com/Football and follow us on Twitter (@TarHeelFootball), Instagram (@tarheelfootball) and Facebook (Facebook.com/TarHeelFootball).
Players Mentioned
Quarterback
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