AUBURN, Ala. – Coming off an outstanding freshman season, Auburn sophomore Bo Nix was one of 30 players named to this year's Davey O'Brien Award Watch List, the Davey O'Brien Foundation announced Monday. The award is presented annually to the nation's best college quarterback.
Compiled by a subset of the Davey O'Brien National Selection Committee, this year's list was selected based on career player performance and expectations heading into the 2020 college football season. All nominees are required to have previously started at least one game at an NCAA Division I institution. In keeping with the changing landscape of college athletics, new transfers were eligible to be included for the first time in the award's history.
Nix, one of only eight sophomores on the list, is the reigning SEC Freshman of the Year after throwing for 2,542 yards, rushing for 313 yards, and scoring a combined 23 touchdowns in his first season at Auburn. He started all 13 games for the Tigers and was the first true freshman quarterback to start a season opener since 1946.
Some highlights from Nix's freshman season included a game-winning touchdown pass to Seth Williams in the opener against Oregon, two 300-yard passing performances against Mississippi State and Ole Miss, and a two-touchdown performance in Auburn's 48-45 win over Alabama.
Nix becomes the fourth Auburn quarterback in the last seven years to make the Davey O'Brien Award Watch List, joining Nick Marshall (2014), Jeremy Johnson (2015) and Jarrett Stidham (2018).
Cam Newton won the award in 2010. He's the lone winner in Auburn's history.
For this year's Davey O'Brien Award, 16 semifinalists selected from the final watch list will be named on Tuesday, Nov. 10. The Foundation will announce the three finalists two weeks later (Tuesday, Nov. 24), and the winner will be unveiled live on ESPN on Thursday, Dec. 10 during The Home Depot College Football Awards.
The 44th annual Davey O'Brien Awards Dinner will be held Feb. 15, 2021, in Fort Worth, Texas.