July 14, 2004
FORT WORTH, Texas – Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn (Dublin, Ohio) is one of 42 candidates listed on the preseason watch list for the 2004 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award given annually to the nation’s top college quarterback, the Davey O’Brien Foundation announced.
Quinn, a sophomore, enters the 2004 season off an excellent rookie campaign for the Irish in 2003. Quinn was one of only six first-year players nationally to start a game at quarterback in 2003, having completed 157 of a school-record 332 passes for 1,831 yards and nine touchdowns with 15 interceptions. His completions, attempts and passing yards were the most by an Irish quarterback in his freshman season since 1951, topping the previous marks held by Steve Beuerlein in 1983 (75 of 145 for 1,061 yards). Quinn’s nine passing TDs ended up second only to Matt LoVecchio’s 11 scoring tosses in 2000. Quinn’s 157 completions also ranked third in school history.
The O’Brien Award is the oldest and most prestigious award in the country for college quarterbacks and is named in honor of the late Davey O’Brien, the All-American and Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback for Texas Christian University who led the Horned Frogs to the 1938 national championship.
Semifinalists will be announced in early November and narrowed to three finalists later in that month by the O’Brien National Advisory Committee. The committee is comprised of nationally known sportswriters, commentators and other members of the media. The winner of the 2004 O’Brien Award will be announced Dec. 9 on the ESPN College Football Awards Show from Orlando, Fla. The winner will be honored at the 28th Annual O’Brien Awards Dinner in February 2005, at The Fort Worth Club in Fort Worth, Texas.