LSU quarterback Joe Burrow and Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts have been named finalists for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. The Golden Arm Foundation revealed its list of five finalists for the award for the nation’s top fourth or fifth-year quarterback on Friday. Not surprisingly, two Heisman Trophy candidates, Burrow and Hurts, were included in the list of finalists for this year’s award.
Three other quarterbacks also were named finalists; Oregon’s Justin Herbert, Utah’s Tyler Huntley, and Brady White of Memphis. The award is based on player performance on and off the field. Only players in their fourth or fifth year of college football are eligible for the award.
No player from LSU has won the Golden Arm Award, so Burrow will be looking to claim the first for the school. Hurts would join Jason White as the second player from Oklahoma to take home the award. Utah and Memphis have never had a Golden Arm Award winner, but Oregon has with Marcus Mariota.
This year’s Golden Arm Award winner will be announced on Wednesday, Dec. 11 in Baltimore, MD.
Gardner Minshew of Washington State (and now in the NFL with the Jacksonville Jaguars) won the award for the 2018 season. Other past winners include Mason Rudolph (Oklahoma State), Deshaun Watson (Clemson), Andrew Luck (Stanford), Eli Manning (Ole Miss), Peyton Manning (Tennessee), Tommie Frazier (Nebraska), Brady Quinn (Notre Dame) and Matt Ryan (Boston College).