It’s AWARD WATCH LIST season for Notre Dame football and the rest of the country. On Thursday, Irish quarterback Riley Leonard was named to the Davey O’Brian Award watch list.
From the ND press release:
Leonard on the list of candidates for the Davey O’Brien Award
SOUTH BEND, Indiana. – Senior quarterback Riley Leonard was named to the 2024 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award Preseason Watch List. The award is given annually to the country’s top college quarterback.
Notre Dame players have been finalists for the award five times: Tony Rice in 1988 and 1989, Rick Mirer in 1992 and Brady Quinn in 2005 and 2006.
Leonard, who is already on the preseason watch lists for the 2024 Walter Camp Player of the Year and Maxwell Award, started all seven games he played for Duke in 2023, completing 95 of 165 passes for 1,102 yards (57.5 percent completion rate) and three touchdowns. On the season, he ran 58 times for 352 yards (44 long) and four touchdowns.
In 2022, he started all 13 games for the Blue Devils, completing 250 of 392 (.638) passes for 2,967 yards with 20 touchdowns and leading the team in rushing with 699 yards on 124 carries and 13 touchdowns. He was one of three FBS quarterbacks to record more than 2,900 passing yards and 695 rushing yards, joining LSU’s Jayden Daniels and North Carolina’s Drake Maye.
The official Davey O’Brien Midseason Watch List will be released on Tuesday, October 22nd and will include active quarterbacks from the Preseason Watch List, players who have been named to the Great 8 each week for the first eight weeks of the season, and any additional quarterbacks approved by the Selection Subcommittee.
The Midseason Watch List will be whittled down to the 35-player Davey O’Brien QB Class of 2024 on Tuesday, October 29. For the fourth consecutive year, fan voting on social media (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter) will earn players bonus votes on the Selection Committee during the semifinalist, finalist and winner voting rounds. First-round fan voting will begin on October 29 following the QB Class announcement.
The list of semifinalists from the QB class will be announced on Tuesday, November 12. The Foundation will announce the three finalists two weeks later (Tuesday, November 26). The winner of the 2024 Davey O’Brien Award will be announced on Thursday, December 12, during the Home Depot College Football Awards live on ESPN.
