The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Ewers named Davey O’Brien Award semifinalist
11.14.2023 | Football
Texas sophomore QB Quinn Ewers was selected as a semifinalist for the award honoring the nation’s best collegiate quarterback.
FORT WORTH, Texas – Texas Football sophomore quarterback Quinn Ewers has been named a semifinalist for the Davey O'Brien Award, the Davey O'Brien Foundation announced on Tuesday. The Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award is presented annually to the nation's best college quarterback.
Texas has had three players receive the Davey O'Brien Award, including a pair of quarterbacks. Heisman Trophy winner Earl Campbell was the first to do so in 1977 when the O'Brien Award recognized the top player in the southwest, while Vince Young (2005) and Colt McCoy (2009) make up the pair of Longhorn quarterbacks to win the award. McCoy was also a finalist for the O'Brien Award in 2008.
Ewers has played in and started eight games for the Longhorns this season, guiding Texas to a 7-1 record in those games. The Southlake, Texas native has completed 173-of-246 passes (70.3%), for 2,232 yards and 14 touchdowns with only four interceptions. He has also rushed 40 times for 53 yards (6.6 ypc) and scored five touchdowns. He ranks 10th in the nation in completion percentage (0.703), 13th in passing efficiency (162.1), 16th in passing yards per game (279.0) and 22nd in completions per game (21.62). He has four games of 300-plus passing yards, tied for the fourth-most in a season in program history, and four multi-passing touchdown games. Against Oklahoma, he had a string of 19 consecutive completions, the longest streak in program history, then connected on 14-straight passes at Houston, tied for the eighth-longest streak for a Longhorn.
Ewers earned Davey O'Brien National Quarterback of the Week accolades for week two of the season after guiding Texas to a 34-24 victory against then-No. 3 Alabama in Tuscaloosa. He completed 24-of-38 passes for 349 yards and three touchdowns in the win, the Longhorns' first road win over a top-3 team since 1969. The sophomore led the Longhorns' 21-point fourth quarter effort with a pair of touchdown passes that lifted Texas to victory and snapped the Crimson Tide's 21-game home winning streak. It also halted Alabama's 57-game regular-season winning streak against non-conference teams. In that fourth quarter, Ewers completed 6-of-7 passes for 135 yards and the two scores.
Twenty quarterbacks were selected as Davey O'Brien Award semifinalist. The next step in the process will be to select the award's three finalists. The finalists will again be chosen based on voting from the Davey O'Brien National Selection Committee as well as bonus ballots awarded from the second round of the Davey O'Brien Fan Vote.
For the fourth straight year, the Fan Vote will take place on the award's three social media platforms—Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (X)—and the top five vote-getters on each platform will receive bonus committee member ballots which will be added to the votes cast by the National Selection Committee.
To participate in the Fan Vote, fans must like the original Davey O'Brien Award post highlighting their quarterback. The second round will be open until Friday, Nov. 24 at noon (CT). The three finalists will be tabbed on Tuesday, Nov. 28, while the winner will be announced live on Friday, Dec. 8, on The Home Depot College Football Awards on ESPN.
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 47th Annual Davey O'Brien Awards Dinner honoring the winner will be held Monday, Feb. 19, 2024, at The Fort Worth Club in Fort Worth, Texas.
