Davey O’Brien Award Recognizes Week 8’s Great 8
FORT WORTH, Texas (Oct. 21, 2024) — The Davey O’Brien Foundation has selected its group of Great 8 quarterbacks for Week 8 of the college football season. Four of the eight selected were prep stars in O’Brien’s home state of Texas.
The quarterbacks on this week’s list are Army West Point’s Bryson Daily, Billy Edwards Jr. of Maryland, UCLA’s Ethan Garbers, Kevin Jennings of SMU, BYU’s Jake Retzlaff, Sawyer Robertson of Baylor, Miami’s Cam Ward and Ben Wooldridge of Louisiana.
First-time honorees Edwards, Garbers, Jennings, Retzlaff, Robertson and Wooldridge are officially added to the Davey O’Brien Award’s Midseason Watch List. Daily and Ward are now tied for the national lead with four Great 8 honors each.
The Davey O’Brien National Quarterback of the Week, selected from the Great 8 list, will be announced Tuesday at noon (CT).
The Davey O’Brien Foundation was created in 1977, and the National Quarterback Award, the oldest and most prestigious college quarterback award, was first issued in 1981. Over its time, the Davey O’Brien Foundation has given away more than $1.3 million in scholarships and university grants to help high school and college athletes transform leadership on the field into leadership in life.
In 1938, O’Brien, who wore No. 8 as a star quarterback for TCU, became the first player ever to win the Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award and Walter Camp Award in the same year. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1955.
—www.DaveyOBrienAward.com—
Davey O’Brien Great 8: Week 8
Bryson Daily, Army West Point, Sr., 6-0, 221, Abernathy, Texas
Rushed 31 times for 171 yards (5.5 yards per carry) and five touchdowns and also completed 7 of 10 passes for 147 yards and a score in a 45-28 victory over East Carolina.
Billy Edwards Jr., Maryland, Jr., 6-3, 222, Springfield, Va.
Led Maryland to a 29-28 comeback win over USC by connecting on 39 of 50 passes for a career-high 373 yards while accounting for three touchdowns (two passing, one rushing).
Ethan Garbers, UCLA, Sr., 6-3, 210, Newport Beach, Calif.
Was 32-for-38 passing (84.2 percent) with career highs in yards (383) and touchdown passes (4), and rushed nine times for 48 yards and a TD in a 35-32 win at Rutgers.
Kevin Jennings, SMU, So., 6-0, 185, Oak Cliff, Texas
Threw for a career-high 322 yards (17-for-27) and matched a career-best with three touchdown passes, all in the first quarter, in a 40-10 win at Stanford.
Jake Retzlaff, BYU, Jr., 6-1, 205, Corona, Calif.
Contributed 299 yards of total offense (218 passing, 81 rushing) and three touchdowns (two passing, one rushing) as BYU downed Oklahoma State, 38-35.
Sawyer Robertson, Baylor, Jr., 6-4, 220, Lubbock, Texas
Tossed a career-high five touchdown passes (21-for-32, 274 yards) as the Bears secured an upset victory at Texas Tech (59-35).
Cam Ward, Miami, Sr., 6-2, 223, West Columbia, Texas
Topped 300 passing yards for the seventh straight game (21-for-32, 319 yards) with four touchdown passes, and collected 29 rushing yards in a 52-45 win at Louisville.
Ben Wooldridge, Louisiana, Sr., 6-3, 216, Pleasanton, Calif.
Was 27 of 36 through the air for a career-best 373 yards and three touchdowns and added a rushing TD as Louisiana earned a road win at Coastal Carolina, 34-24.