Wilson named official candidate for Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award

Thirty-Five Members of Davey O’Brien QB Class of 2020 Revealed 

FORT WORTH, Texas (Dec. 1, 2020) – The Davey O’Brien Foundation has named BYU junior quarterback Zach Wilson to the Davey O’Brien QB Class of 2020, which recognizes the official candidates for the 2020 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award. 

The Davey O’Brien QB Class of 2020, which includes 35 quarterbacks, will be narrowed down to 16 semifinalists on Monday, Dec. 7. See voting information below.

A 6-foot-3, 210-pound junior from Draper, Utah, Wilson has led BYU to a No. 8 national ranking and the program's first 9-0 start since 2001. The talented signal caller’s consistent and top-rated play in 2020 has garnered Heisman Trophy considerations in addition to being a candidate for the nation’s top quarterback.

Triggering BYU’s potent offense, Wilson ranks No. 1 nationally in points responsible for (208), No. 3 in passing touchdowns (26), No. 3 in passing efficiency (205.3), No. 3 in passing yards per attempt (11.49), No. 3 in completion percentage (.743), No. 6 in passing yards per completion (15.48), No. 7 in passing yards (2,724), No. 7 in points responsible for per game (23.1), No. 11 in passing yards per game (302.7) and No. 11 in total offense (323.9). As a team, the Cougars rank in the top 10 in 14 different statistical categories and are the only FBS team ranked in the top 10 in scoring offense (No.4; 47.6 ppg), scoring defense (No. 4; 13.9 ppg), total offense (No. 5; 535.8 ypg) and total defense (No. 6; 292.6 ypg).  

A point-scoring model was used to determine the quarterbacks in the Davey O’Brien QB Class of 2020. Points were awarded to players based on their overall performance as well as inclusion on the Davey O’Brien Preseason Watch List, weekly Great 8 lists and National Quarterback of the Week winners.  

Vote for Semifinalists

The next step in the process will be to select the award’s 16 semifinalists from these 35 quarterbacks. On Monday, Dec. 7, the semifinalists will be named based on voting from the Davey O’Brien National Selection Committee as well as the first round of the Davey O’Brien Fan Vote, which will run through Sunday, Dec. 6. 

Fans will vote for the semifinalists via three Davey O’Brien Award social media platforms and the top vote getter on each platform will each receive the equivalent of two additional committee member ballots for that voting period. Fan voting will be done by liking the quarterback’s photo from the original post on the official Davey O’Brien social media accounts listed below. 

Vote on Instagram
Vote on Twitter
Vote on Facebook

Following the naming of the semifinalists, the next round of fan voting will take place from Monday, Dec. 7 to Sunday, Dec. 20 with the three finalists named on Tuesday, Dec. 22. The final round of fan voting will occur from Tuesday, Dec. 22 until Wednesday, Dec. 30. The winner will be announced on Thursday, Jan. 7 on the 30th annual The Home Depot College Football Awards, which will be held virtually from 7-8:30 p.m. (ET) on ESPN.  

The 35-member Class of 2020 consists of players from all 10 FBS conferences as well as football independents. The Atlantic Coast Conference has the most honorees with seven, followed by the Southeastern Conference and American Athletic Conference with five. The list is made up of 13 seniors, nine juniors, nine sophomores and four freshmen. 

Davey O’Brien QB Class of 2020  

Connor Bazelak, Missouri, Fr., 6-3, 215, Dayton, Ohio 
Ian Book, Notre Dame, Sr., 6-0, 206, El Dorado Hills, Calif. 
Shane Buechele, SMU, Sr., 6-1, 207, Arlington, Texas 
Matt Corral, Ole Miss, So., 6-1, 205, Ventura, Calif. 
Dustin Crum, Kent State, Sr., 6-3, 207, Grafton, Ohio 
Malik Cunningham, Louisville, Jr., 6-1, 200, Montgomery, Ala. 
Sam Ehlinger, Texas, Sr., 6-3, 225, Austin, Texas 
Kaleb Eleby, Western Michigan, So., 6-1, 215, Maryland Heights, Mo. 
Justin Fields, Ohio State, Jr., 6-3, 228, Kennesaw, Ga. 
Dillon Gabriel, UCF, So., 6-0, 186, Mililani, Hawaii 
Frank Harris, UTSA, Jr., 6-0, 200, Schertz, Texas 
Sam Howell, North Carolina, So., 6-1, 225, Indian Trail, N.C. 
Mac Jones, Alabama, Jr., 6-3, 214, Jacksonville, Fla. 
Phil Jurkovec, Boston College, So., 6-5, 226, Pittsburgh, Pa. 
D’Eriq King, Miami, Sr., 5-11, 202, Manvel, Texas 
Trevor Lawrence, Clemson, Jr., 6-6, 220, Cartersville, Ga. 
Levi Lewis, Louisiana, Sr., 5-10, 184, Baton Rouge, La. 
Grayson McCall, Coastal Carolina, Fr., 6-3, 200, Indian Trail, N.C. 
Kellen Mond, Texas A&M, Sr., 6-3, 217, San Antonio, Texas 
Michael Penix Jr., Indiana, So., 6-3, 218, Tampa, Fla. 
Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh, Sr., 6-2, 220, Oakhurst, N.J. 
Brock Purdy, Iowa State, Jr., 6-1, 212, Gilbert, Ariz. 
Spencer Rattler, Oklahoma, Fr., 6-1, 205, Phoenix, Ariz. 
Desmond Ridder, Cincinnati, Jr., 6-4, 215, Louisville, Ky. 
Tyler Shough, Oregon, So., 6-5, 221, Chandler, Ariz. 
Kedon Slovis, USC, So., 6-2, 200, Scottsdale, Ariz. 
Zach Smith, Tulsa, Sr., 6-3, 227, Grandview, Texas 
Nick Starkel, San Jose State, Sr., 6-3, 214, Argyle, Texas 
Carson Strong, Nevada, So., 6-4, 215, Vacaville, Calif. 
Zac Thomas, Appalachian State, Sr., 6-1, 210, Trussville, Ala. 
Kyle Trask, Florida, Sr., 6-5, 240, Manvel, Texas 
Grant Wells, Marshall, Fr., 6-2, 210, Charleston, W.Va. 
Brady White, Memphis, Sr., 6-3, 210, Santa Clarita, Calif. 
Malik Willis, Liberty, Jr., 6-1, 215, Atlanta, Ga. 
Zach Wilson, BYU, Jr., 6-3, 210, Draper, Utah