A nation-high 50 percent of Big 12 programs placed a signal caller on the 2020 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award Watch List selected by the Davey O’Brien Foundation.

Compiled by a subset of the Davey O’Brien National Selection Committee, this year’s list of 30 was selected based on career player performance and expectations heading into the 2020 college football season. All nominees are required to have previously started at least one game at an NCAA Division I institution. In keeping with the changing landscape of college athletics, new transfers were eligible to be included for the first time in the award’s history.

Seniors Charlie Brewer (Baylor) and Sam Ehlinger (Texas) along with junior Brock Purdy (Iowa State) are on the watch list after being named semifinalists for the award last season. They are joined by sophomores Spencer Sanders (Oklahoma State) and Alan Bowman (Texas Tech).

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. Appearing on the preseason watch list is not a requirement for a player to win the award. This year, players who have been honored as weekly Davey O’Brien Great 8 recipients, as well as any additional quarterbacks approved by the selection subcommittee, will be added to form the final midseason watch list on Tuesday, Oct. 20

Sixteen semifinalists selected from the final watch list will be named on Tuesday, Nov. 10. The Foundation will announce the three finalists two weeks later (Tuesday, Nov. 24). The 2020 Davey O’Brien Award winner will be unveiled live on ESPN Thursday, Dec. 10, during The Home Depot College Football Awards.

The 44th Annual Davey O’Brien Awards Dinner is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 15, 2021, in Fort Worth, Texas. The Big 12 has won the award 10 times since 1998, including Baker Mayfield (Oklahoma) in 2017 followed by Kyler Murray (Oklahoma) in 2018.