The just-released 2011 Davey O’ Brien preseason watch list is littered with familiar names as a total of nine finalists or semifinalists from last year’s process comprise this year’s group, the Davey O’Brien Foundation announced Friday.
Stanford’s Andrew Luck and Boise State’s Kellen Moore were finalists in 2010, and, obviously, make the preseason cut this year for the award that goes to the nation’s top quarterback. A total of seven 2010 semifinalists also made the list -- Matt Barkley (USC), Kirk Cousins (Michigan State), Robert Griffin III (Baylor), Landry Jones (Oklahoma), Taylor Martinez (Nebraska) (no relation), Denard Robinson (Michigan), and Darron Thomas (Oregon).
Additionally, Case Keenum, a 2009 finalist, is a preseason selection after missing most of the 2010 season with a knee injury.
Perhaps the most glaring “omission” from the 38-player list is South Carolina’s Stephen Garcia, who just yesterday was named to the coaches’ preseason All-SEC second team.
Conference-wise, the Big Ten and Conference USA lead the way with six apiece, followed by the Pac-12 with five; the Big 12 with four; and the ACC and Big East with three each.
The O’Brien is named for former SMU great Davey O’Brien and has been awarded annually since 1981. The preseason field will be narrowed to 16 semifinalists on Monday, Oct. 24, with the three finalists announced on Monday, Nov. 21. The 2011 Davey O’Brien winner will be announced on The Home Depot College Football Awards on Thursday, Dec. 8.
Last year’s winner was Auburn’s Cam Newton.
Below is the complete list of the 2011 preseason O’Brien watch listers:
Matt Barkley, USC
Tyler Bray, Tennessee
Alex Carder, Western Michigan
Zach Collaros, Cincinnati
Kirk Cousins, Michigan State
Dayne Crist, Notre Dame
Austin Davis, Southern Miss.
Dominique Davis, East Carolina
Nick Foles, Arizona
Jeff Godfrey, UCF
Robert Griffin III, Baylor
Chandler Harnish, Northern Illinois
Jake Heaps, BYU
Landry Jones, Oklahoma
Case Keenum, Houston
G.J. Kinne, Tulsa
Ryan Lindley, San Diego State
Andrew Luck, Stanford
EJ Manuel, Florida State
Taylor Martinez, Nebraska
Bryant Moniz, Hawaii
Kellen Moore, Boise State
Aaron Murray, Georgia
Danny O’Brien, Maryland
Kyle Padron, SMU
Dan Persa, Northwestern
Chris Relf, Mississippi State
Sean Renfree, Duke
Corey Robinson, Troy
Denard Robinson, Michigan
Nathan Scheelhaase, Illinois
Geno Smith, West Virginia
Tino Sunseri, Pittsburgh
Ryan Tannehill, Texas A&M
Darron Thomas, Oregon
Brandon Weeden, Oklahoma State
Russell Wilson, Wisconsin
Jordan Wynn, Utah