Nov. 22, 2005
The Davey O’Brien Foundation announced three finalists for the 2005 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback AwardTM, presented annually to the nation’s best college quarterback. They are, in alphabetical order: Matt Leinart, Sr., University of Southern California; Brady Quinn, Jr., University of Notre Dame; and Vince Young, Jr., University of Texas. The three finalists were selected by the O’Brien Selection Committee, a nationwide panel of sportswriters and commentators, as well as former O’Brien winners. The committee will vote later this month to determine the winner.
The winner of the 2005 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback AwardTM will be announced on the Home Depot College Football Awards Show at 7:00 p.m. (EST) on Thursday, Dec. 8. The show will air live on ESPN from the Atlantic Dance Hall on The Boardwalk at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. The winner will be honored Feb. 20, 2006, at the 29th annual Davey O’Brien Awards Dinner at The Fort Worth Club in downtown Fort Worth. Len Dawson, recipient of the 2005 Davey O’Brien Legends Award, and the O’Brien High School Scholarship Award winner also will be honored that night. Air transportation is provided by American Airlines, the official airline of the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback AwardTM.
In addition to Leinart, Quinn and Young, the other semifinalists included: Brett Basanez, Northwestern; Brian Brohm, Louisville; Brodie Croyle, Alabama; Jay Cutler, Vanderbilt; Cody Hodges, Texas Tech; Omar Jacobs, Bowling Green; Drew Olson, UCLA; Paul Pinegar, Fresno State; Michael Robinson, Penn State; Brad Smith, Missouri; Drew Stanton, Michigan State; and Marcus Vick, Virginia Tech.
The Davey O’Brien Foundation was established in 1977 to present the O’Brien Memorial Trophy, recognizing annually the outstanding college football player in the five southwestern states of Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma and New Mexico. In 1981, the award was redirected to be national in scope but limited to quarterback, the favorite position of the award’s namesake, Davey O’Brien. O’Brien led the TCU Horned Frogs to the 1938 national championship and was the first player to win the Heisman, Walter Camp and Maxwell Awards in one season. A high school scholarship program began in 1986, awarding annually a $20,000 college scholarship to an outstanding senior student-athlete in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. Since 1977 the Davey O’Brien Foundation has awarded over $248,000 to the various O’Brien winners’ universities and more than $380,000 to deserving high school students.