Davey O’Brien Foundation Honors Great 8 Quarterbacks for Week 5

FORT WORTH, Texas (Sept. 30, 2024) —The Davey O’Brien Foundation has selected its Great 8 quarterbacks for the fifth week of the college football season. Six of the eight players are now multiple time honorees this year.

The Great 8 quarterbacks for week five are: James Madison’s Alonza Barnett III, Avery Johnson of Kansas State, Notre Dame’s Riley Leonard, Jalen Milroe of Alabama, USC’s Miller Moss, Shedeur Sanders of Colorado, Kentucky’s Brock Vandagriff and Hajj-Malik Williams of UNLV.

Vandagriff and Williams are now officially added to the Davey O’Brien Award’s Midseason Watch List, a list that now stands at 57 members. The other six players achieved Great 8 recognition earlier this season, led by Milroe (three times).

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 5

Alonza Barnett III, James Madison, So., 6-0, 207, Whitsett, N.C.

·      Totaled six touchdowns (five passing, one rushing) and 332 yards of total offense (280 passing, 52 rushing) in a 63-7 win over Ball State.

Avery Johnson, Kansas State, So., 6-2, 192, Wichita, Kan.

·      Was 19-for-31 passing for 259 yards and three touchdowns and carried five times for 60 yards and two more scores in a 42-20 victory over No. 20 Oklahoma State.

Riley Leonard, Notre Dame, Sr., 6-4, 216, Fairhope, Ala.

·      Completed 17 of 23 passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns and rushed 13 times for 52 yards and a TD, as Notre Dame downed No. 15 Louisville, 31-24.

Jalen Milroe, Alabama, Jr., 6-2, 225, Katy, Texas

·      Amassed 491 yards of total offense (374 passing, 117 rushing) and accounted for four touchdowns (two passing, two rushing) in Alabama’s 41-34 win over No. 2 Georgia.

Miller Moss, USC, Jr., 6-2, 205, Los Angeles, Calif.

·      Connected on 30 of 45 throws for 308 yards and three touchdowns and carried five times for 17 yards and a TD as USC defeated Wisconsin, 38-21.

Shedeur Sanders, Colorado, Sr., 6-2, 215, Dallas, Texas

·      Led Colorado to a 48-21 victory at previously unbeaten UCF by completing 28 of 35 passes for 290 yards and three touchdowns.

Brock Vandagriff, Kentucky, Jr., 6-3, 217, Bogart, Ga.

·      Directed the Wildcats to a 20-17 upset at No. 6 Ole Miss, going 18-for-28 for 243 yards and a touchdown against the nation’s top-ranked scoring defense.

Hajj-Malik Williams, UNLV, Sr., 6-1, 205, Atlanta, Ga.

·      Rushed 12 times for 119 yards and a touchdown and threw as many TD passes (3) as incompletions (13-for-16, 182 yards) in a 59-14 win over Fresno State.