FORT WORTH, Texas – After tabulating the results of the Davey O'Brien National Selection Committee's ballots and votes cast courtesy of the award's Fan Vote, the 2017 semifinalists for the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award have been determined.
The 16 semifinalists, in alphabetical order, are: J.T. Barrett (Ohio State), Jake Browning (Washington), Kelly Bryant (Clemson), Sam Darnold (USC), Luke Falk (Washington State), Riley Ferguson (Memphis), Nick Fitzgerald (Mississippi State),
Will Grier (West Virginia), Kenny Hill (TCU), Jalen Hurts (Alabama), Lamar Jackson (Louisville), Baker Mayfield (Oklahoma), Trace McSorley (Penn State), McKenzie Milton (UCF), Mason Rudolph (Oklahoma State) and Khalil Tate (Arizona).
A number of quarterbacks with strong ties to the award are among the honorees. Mayfield (2015, 2016) and Jackson (2016) are previous finalists. In addition to those two players, Falk is a semifinalist for the third consecutive year, while Browning, Darnold, Hurts and Rudolph are semifinalists for the second straight season.
The collection of semifinalists is comprised of seven seniors, five juniors and four sophomores. Schools from six conference affiliations (ACC, American, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC) make up the list. The Big 12 and Pac-12 lead the way with four apiece.
Of the nominees, 11 were named to the preseason watch list in July. In addition, the group has earned Davey O'Brien "Great 8" weekly honors a total of 31 times this season and collected seven National Quarterback of the Week accolades.
The 16 teams represented own a combined record of 118-27 (.814) this season. Four universities represented—Clemson, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Penn State—are home to previous Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award winners.
The Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award is presented annually to the best college quarterback, and is the nation's oldest and most prestigious national quarterback award.
The Davey O'Brien Fan Vote counts as five percent during each round of the voting process, and is combined with the results from the Foundation's national selection committee, which is comprised of journalists, broadcasters, commentators and former winners.
After clearing the first round totals, the Fan Vote at VoteOBrien.org will reopen today (Nov. 7) and remain open until noon (CT) on Sunday, Nov. 19, for the second round of balloting. Fans are invited to cast their vote for the nation's best college quarterback as often as once daily per email address.
In conjunction with ESPN, the Davey O'Brien Foundation and the Selection Committee will release the names of the three finalists on Tuesday, Nov. 21. The 2017 Davey O'Brien winner will be announced live on
The Home Depot College Football Awards Thursday, Dec. 7.
Previous 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) and Deshaun Watson (Clemson, 2015-16).
The 41st Annual Davey O'Brien Awards Dinner will be held Monday, Feb. 19, 2018, at The Fort Worth Club in Fort Worth, Texas.
