Week 7 Davey O’Brien Great 8 Quarterbacks Recognized

FORT WORTH, Texas (Oct. 16, 2023) — The Davey O’Brien Foundation has announced the quarterbacks named to the week seven Davey O’Brien Great 8 list. With six first-time honorees this week, 46 different players have now been recognized in 2023.

The quarterbacks on this week’s list are Stanford’s Ashton Daniels, Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi of Colorado State, TCU’s Josh Hoover, Drake Maye of North Carolina, Florida’s Graham Mertz, Michael Penix Jr. of Washington, North Texas’ Chandler Rogers and Donovan Smith of Houston. The Davey O’Brien National Quarterback of the Week, selected from the Great 8 list, will be announced Tuesday at 11 a.m. (CT).

Daniels, Fowler-Nicolosi, Hoover, Mertz, Rogers and Smith are now officially added to the Davey O’Brien Award’s Midseason Watch List. Maye and Penix had previously been named.

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 7

Ashton Daniels, Stanford, So., 6-2, 215, Buford, Ga.

• Led Stanford to a remarkable 29-point second-half comeback win at Colorado (46-43, 2OT), by completing 27 of 45 passes for 396 yards and four TDs and adding 16 rushes for 39 yards.

Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi, Colorado State, R-Fr., 6-3, 205, Aledo, Texas

• Led the Rams to an improbable 20-point comeback win (31-30 over Boise State) by throwing three touchdown passes in the final 4:01, the last with no time remaining, to finish 32-for-54 for 359 yards. 

Josh Hoover, TCU, R-Fr., 6-1, 196, Heath, Texas

• Made an impression in his first college start, going 37-for-58 for 439 yards and four touchdowns and rushing once for 26 yards as TCU defeated BYU, 44-11. 

Drake Maye, North Carolina, So., 6-4, 230, Huntersville, N.C.

• Helped North Carolina remain undefeated by tossing four touchdown passes while throwing for 273 yards with no interceptions in a 41-31 triumph over No. 25 Miami.

Graham Mertz, Florida, Jr., 6-3, 215, Overland Park, Kan.

• Threw for a career-high 423 yards (30-for-48, 62.5 percent) to go along with three touchdowns, the last with 47 seconds left, in the Gators’ 41-39 come-from-behind win.

Michael Penix Jr., Washington, Sr. 6-3, 213, Tampa, Fla.

• Directed the Huskies to a 36-33 victory over No. 8 Oregon in which he passed for 302 yards and four touchdowns, including the game-winning 18-yard strike with 1:38 left to play.

Chandler Rogers, North Texas, Jr., 6-0, 195, Mansfield, Texas

• Connected on 25 of 39 pass attempts for 307 yards and four touchdowns against no interceptions in a 45-14 win over Temple.

Donovan Smith, Houston, Jr., 6-5, 241, Las Vegas, Nev.

• Threw a game-winning Hail Mary pass to finish 21-for-27 for 253 yards and four passing touchdowns to go along with 12 carries for 34 yards and a score in a 41-39 win over West Virginia.