I received this in my email inbox today, and thought I'd pass it along:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 14, 2010

 

2010 DAVEY O'BRIEN NATIONAL QUARTERBACK AWARD^®

Watch LisT Announced

 

FORT WORTH, Texas - The Davey O'Brien Foundation announced the 2010 Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award^® (The O'Brien) Watch List today.  

 

 

This year's list, which was compiled by a subset of The O'Brien National Selection Committee, features 30 of the nation's top collegiate quarterbacks who were selected based on player performance during the previous year and expectations heading into the 2010 college football season.  

 

In addition to 2009 O'Brien Finalist Case Keenum (Sr., Houston), five 2009 semifinalists are included on the list: Matt Barkley (Jr., USC), Jacory Harris (Jr., Miami), Jake Locker (Sr., Washington), Kellen Moore (Jr., Boise State) and Ricky Stanzi (Sr., Iowa). 

 

The 2010 O'Brien Watch List features 13 seniors, 13 juniors and four sophomores. The ACC and Big 12 lead all conferences with five candidates each on the list. The Pac-10 is represented by four players. 

 

Appearing on the Watch List is not a requirement for a player to be awarded The O'Brien. Quarterbacks from all 120 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) schools are eligible for the award until the field is narrowed to 16 semifinalists on Monday, Oct. 25. The Foundation and the Selection Committee will announce three finalists on Monday, Nov. 22. The 2010 winner will be announced on The Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards Show on Thursday, Dec. 9. 

 

The 34th Annual O'Brien Awards Dinner will be held Feb. 21, 2011 at The Fort Worth Club in Fort Worth, Texas. 

 

2010 O'Brien Watch List

Matt Barkley                        USC                                 SO       Pac-10

Zach Collaros                       Cincinnati                          JR        Big East

Andy Dalton                         TCU                                 SR       MWC

Dwight Dasher                      Middle Tennessee             SR       Sun Belt

Ricky Dobbs                         Navy                                SR       Independent

Nathan Enderle                     Idaho                                SR       WAC

Nick Foles                            Arizona                             JR        Pac-10

Blaine Gabbert                      Missouri                            JR        Big 12

Robert Griffin                        Baylor                               JR        Big 12

Jacory Harris                         Miami                               JR        ACC

Jerrod Johnson                      Texas A&M                      SR       Big 12

Landry Jones                        Oklahoma                         SO       Big 12

Colin Kaepernick                  Nevada                             SR       WAC

Case Keenum                       Houston                            SR       C-USA

G.J. Kinne                            Tulsa                                 JR        C-USA

Jake Locker                          Washington                       SR       Pac-10

Andrew Luck                       Stanford                            SO       Pac-10

Ryan Mallett                          Arkansas                          JR        SEC

Greg McElroy                       Alabama                           JR        SEC

Kellen Moore                        Boise State                       JR        WAC

Josh Nesbitt                          Georgia Tech                    SR       ACC

Kyle Padron                         SMU                                SO       C-USA

Christian Ponder                   Florida State                     SR       ACC

Taylor Potts                          Texas Tech                       SR       Big 12

Terrelle Pryor                        Ohio State                        JR        Big Ten

Tom Savage                          Rutgers                             JR        Big East

Ricky Stanzi                          Iowa                                 SR       Big Ten

Tyrod Taylor                         Virginia Tech                     SR       ACC

Scott Tolzien                         Wisconsin                         SR       Big Ten

Russell Wilson                       NC State                          JR        ACC

I am happy to see The O'Brien committee included Robert Griffin despite his limited playing time last season; even coming off an injured leg, he is still one of the best QBs in the Big 12, and therefore nation. Texas Tech's Taylor Potts being included is interesting, as he may not even be the starter this coming season. A&M will face five of the O'Brien candidates (Griffin, Potts, Gabbert, Jones, Mallett) during the season, four of them in conference play.

If I had to pick the top five candidates right now, I'd say Jerrod Johnson, Terrelle Pryor, Ryan Mallett, Andrew Luck, and Case Keenum have the best chance of winning the award; Johnson, Mallett, Luck, and Keenum all have Texas ties, which never hurts, and Pryor is going to be the golden boy of the Big Ten media this year, so he'll receive plenty of hype. >