Great 8 “Davey Double” Option Utilized in Week 4

FORT WORTH, Texas (Sept. 25, 2023) — The Davey O’Brien Foundation has elected to use its “Davey Double” option for the fourth week of the college football season, expanding the Davey O’Brien Great 8 from eight players to 16 based on the number of outstanding performances across the country over the weekend.

The quarterbacks on this week’s list are Drew Allar of Penn State, Iowa State’s Rocco Becht, Carson Beck of Georgia, Georgia Southern’s Davis Brin, Byrum Brown of South Florida, Northwestern’s Ben Bryant, Jayden Daniels of LSU, James Madison’s Jordan McCloud, Bo Nix of Oregon, Louisville’s Jack Plummer, Spencer Rattler of South Carolina, Arkansas State’s Jaylen Raynor, Taulia Tagovailoa of Maryland, Florida State’s Jordan Travis, Cameron Ward of Washington State and USC’s Caleb Williams.

The Davey O’Brien National Quarterback of the Week, selected from the “Davey Double” Great 8 list, will be announced Tuesday at 11 a.m. (CT).

Allar, Becht, Beck, Brin, Brown, Bryant, McCloud, Plummer, Rattler and Raynor are now officially added to the Davey O’Brien Award’s Midseason Watch List. With the additions, that list now stands at 56 members. The other eight players recognized in week four had previously been named to the official watch list.

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 4

Drew Allar, Penn State, So., 6-5, 242, Medina, Ohio

• Threw a career-high four touchdown passes, completing 25 of 37 passes for 166 yards with no interceptions, and added 22 rushing yards in a 31-0 shutout of No. 24 Iowa.

Rocco Becht, Iowa State, R-Fr., 6-1, 205, Wesley Chapel, Fla.

• Passed for a career-best 348 yards and a career-high 27 completions (27-for-38, .710) with three touchdown strikes in a 34-27 victory over Oklahoma State.

Carson Beck, Georgia, Jr., 6-4, 220, Jacksonville, Fla.

• Completed 22 of 32 passes for 337 yards and three scores and tacked on a rushing touchdown during a 49-21 win over UAB.

Davis Brin, Georgia Southern, Sr., 6-2, 210, Boerne, Texas

• Connected on 34 of his 46 pass attempts for 344 yards and four touchdowns as the Eagles cruised to a 40-3 road win at Ball State.

Byrum Brown, South Florida, R-Fr., 6-3, 209, Raleigh, N.C.

• Amassed 517 yards of total offense (435 passing, 82 rushing) and three touchdowns (two passing, one rushing) in a 42-29 victory over Rice.

Ben Bryant, Northwestern, Sr., 6-3, 220, La Grange, Ill.

• Led the Wildcats back from a 21-point fourth quarter deficit to a 37-34 overtime win over Minnesota, finishing 33-for-49 (.673) with 396 passing yards and four touchdowns.

Jayden Daniels, LSU, Sr., 6-4, 210, San Bernardino, Calif. 

• Threw for 320 yards and four touchdowns (20-for-29) and carried nine times for 35 yards in a 34-31 victory over Arkansas.

Jordan McCloud, James Madison, Sr., 6-0, 199, Tampa, Fla.

• Totaled six touchdowns (four passing, two rushing), going 23-for-34 for 364 yards and rushing nine times for 26 yards, as JMU won at Utah State, 45-38.

Bo Nix, Oregon, Sr., 6-2, 217, Pinson, Ala.

• Connected on 84.8 percent of his attempts (28-for-33) for 276 yards and three scores and had a rushing touchdown in a 42-6 victory over No. 19 Colorado.

Jack Plummer, Louisville, Sr., 6-5, 215, Gilbert, Ariz.

• Logged six total touchdowns (five passing, one rushing) and was 18 of 21 through the air for 388 yards in a 56-28 win against Boston College.

Spencer Rattler, South Carolina, Sr., 6-1, 217, Phoenix, Ariz.

• Tossed more touchdown passes (3) than incompletions (2), going 18-for-20 for 288 yards and rushing eight times for 43 yards, in a 37-30 triumph over Mississippi State.

Jaylen Raynor, Arkansas State, Fr., 6-0, 204, Kernersville, N.C.

• Passed for 233 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 97 yards and two more scores as Arkansas State dropped Southern Miss, 44-37.

Taulia Tagovailoa, Maryland, Sr., 5-11, 208, Ewa Beach, Hawaii

• Was 21-for-26 for 223 yards and three touchdowns and carried five times for 37 yards and another TD in a 31-9 win over Michigan State.

Jordan Travis, Florida State, Sr., 6-1, 212, West Palm Beach, Fla.

• Helped the Seminoles to a 31-24 comeback win in overtime at Clemson by completing 21 of 37 passes for 289 yards with two passing touchdowns and one rushing TD.

Cameron Ward, Washington State, Jr., 6-2, 223, West Columbia, Texas

• Was 28-for-34 for 404 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for 14 yards and a score in a 38-35 victory over No. 14 Oregon State.

Caleb Williams, USC, Jr., 6-1, 215, Washington, D.C.

• Racked up five total touchdowns (three passing, two rushing) while completing 20 of 31 attempts for 322 yards as USC defeated Arizona State, 42-28.