Austin reed named a candidate for the 2023 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) - WKU quarterback Austin Reed has been named to the Davey O’Brien QB Class of 2023, making him an official candidate for the 2023 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award.

Reed is one of 35 quarterbacks named to the Davey O’Brien QB Class of 2023. 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 redshirt senior from St. Augustine Beach, Florida, was a Davey O’Brien Award Semifinalist in 2022, when he led the country in passing yards with 4,744. Reed totaled 40 touchdown passes last season and added eight rushing scores.

This season, Reed has thrown for 2,280 yards and 20 touchdowns on 204-of-338 passing with five interceptions, and he has rushed for 91 yards and three touchdowns on 29 attempts. Reed is currently first in Conference USA and ninth nationally in completions per game (25.5), first in CUSA and seventh nationally in passing touchdowns (20), and first in CUSA and 14th nationally in both passing yards (2,280) and passing yards per game (285.0). He ranks first in CUSA and 16th nationally in total offense (296.4), as well as second in CUSA in both points responsible for (140) and points responsible for per game (17.5) – marks that are 10th and 11th nationally, respectively.

The Davey O’Brien QB Class of 2023 will be narrowed down to 16 semifinalists based on voting from the Davey O’Brien National Selection Committee, as well as bonus ballots awarded from the first 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 first round is open now until Friday, Nov. 10, at noon CT. The semifinalists will be named on Tuesday, Nov. 14, and the three finalists will be tabbed on Tuesday, Nov. 28. The winner will be announced live on Friday, Dec. 8, on The Home Depot College Football Awards on ESPN. 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.

This year’s class includes: Drew Allar (Penn State), Carson Beck (Georgia), Davis Brin (Georgia Southern), Brady Cook (Missouri), Jayden Daniels (LSU), JT Daniels (Rice), Jaxson Dart (Ole Miss), Quinn Ewers (Texas), Dequan Finn (Toledo), Dillon Gabriel (Oklahoma), Darren Grainger (Georgia State), Frank Harris (UTSA), Sam Hartman (Notre Dame), Mikey Keene (Fresno State), Zac Larrier (Air Force), Drake Maye (North Carolina), Grayson McCall (Coastal Carolina), J.J. McCarthy (Michigan), Jordan McCloud (James Madison), Kyle McCord (Ohio State), Graham Mertz (Florida), Jalen Milroe (Alabama), Bo Nix (Oregon), Michael Penix Jr. (Washington), Michael Pratt (Tulane), Austin Reed (Western Kentucky), Kaidon Salter (Liberty), Shedeur Sanders (Colorado), Preston Stone (SMU), Taulia Tagovailoa (Maryland), Jordan Travis (Florida State), DJ Uiagalelei (Oregon State), Tyler Van Dyke (Miami), Cameron Ward (Washington State) and Caleb Williams (USC).

The 35 quarterbacks have helped lead their respective teams to a combined record of 226-56 (.801), and all of the teams possess a record of .500 or better through week nine. All 10 FBS conferences, as well as one football independent, are represented on the list.

The Davey O’Brien Foundation was created in 1977, and the National 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 was 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.