At the end of October, the Davey O’Brien Award Quarterback Class of 2024 was announced. 35 quarterbacks nationwide were honored, including six from the Big Ten. Now, the award has been pared back to 16 signal callers and four hail from the Big Ten.
The semifinalists will be voted upon and three finalists will be revealed on November 26. The winner will be announced on December 12, on ESPN.
Four Big Ten Quarterbacks Named Davey O’Brien Semifinalists
Drew Allar, Penn State
Penn State needed Drew Allar to take a step forward in 2024 to get the Nittany Lions over the hump. Through nine games, it’s apparent that he’s done just that. Allar has led Penn State to an 8-1 mark and a fourth-place ranking in the College Football Playoff rankings.
Allar is setting a career mark while completing 70.3 percent of his passes with 2,006 yards and 13 touchdowns thus far. Thus far, Allar has two 300-yard games to his credit and has five games where he completed at least 70 percent of his passes.
In addition to this award, Allar was named a semifinalist for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. Oddly enough, of the four Big Ten semifinalists, Allar is the only non-transfer.
Allar is looking to join Todd Blackledge (1982) and Kerry Collins (1994) as Nittany Lions quarterbacks to win the Davey O’Brien Award.
Dillon Gabriel, Oregon
The top-ranked Oregon Ducks are led by potential Heisman Trophy finalist Dillon Gabriel. The sixth-year quarterback is putting together yet another great season. Heading into this year, he had two previous seasons leading two different conferences in passing.
This year, Gabriel has led the Ducks to a perfect 10-0 mark behind 2,848 yards and 22 passing touchdowns, both good for the best in the conference. Just like his predecessor in the Ducks’ system, Gabriel’s 74.1 percent completion percentage leads the nation
In every game but one this year, the former UCF and Oklahoma quarterback has thrown for at least 243 yards and has scored at least once in every game. His veteran leadership has been invaluable for the Ducks who are looking for the program’s first national title.
Gabriel was also named to the Maxwell Award and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award semifinalist lists.
If Gabriel ends up winning the award, he will be just the second Oregon player to do so, joining 2014 Marcus Mariota.
Will Howard, Ohio State
It’s no easy feat to be the Ohio State starting quarterback but Will Howard has shown that he has what it takes to this point.
After four years at Kansas State, Howard made the jump to Ohio State and has been an upgrade at the position. Through nine games, Howard has completed a career-high 74 percent of his passes for 2,237 yards and a Big Ten-leading (tied with Gabriel) 22 touchdowns. An area Ohio State has been missing over the last few years, Howard provides a spark on the ground as well. This year, he has run the ball 62 times for 122 yards and six touchdowns.
In Columbus, these stats are fine but the one stat fans will lock in on is whether or not Howard gets the win on November 30 against Michigan.
Only one Ohio State quarterback had won the Davey O’Brien. If Howard can win, he will join 2007 Troy Smith.
Kurtis Rourke, Indiana
Through nine games, the Indiana Hoosiers are 9-0. Ohio transfer Kurtis Rourke has been crucial to the surprising start and is playing as well as any quarterback in the nation. The 2022 MAC MVP has made a seamless leap to the Big Ten.
The senior quarterback has thrown for 2,410 yards and 21 touchdowns while completing 71.8 percent of his passes. His touchdown mark is second-best in the Big Ten and 12th at the FBS level. According to Pro Football Focus, Rourke is the highest-rated passer with a 92.3 grade and is second with a 182.7 passing efficiency.
Rourke will get the opportunity to try and outduel Howard next week for an inside track to the Big Ten Championship.
In addition to the Davey O’Brien Award, Rourke is a semifinalist for the Maxwell Award.
Rourke is trying to be the first Hoosier quarterback to win the award.
The Rest of the Semifinalists
- Bryson Daily, Army
- Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss
- Quinn Ewers, Texas
- Blake Horvath, Navy
- Kevin Jennings, SMU
- Cade Klubnik, Clemson
- John Mateer, Washington State
- Jalen Milroe, Alabama
- Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt
- Jake Retzlaff, BYU
- Shedeur Sanders, Colorado
- Cameron Ward, Miami (FL)
