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B1G lands 3 QBs on Davey O’Brien Award Watch List
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Three B1G quarterbacks found their names on the watch list for the 2021 Davey O’Brien Award on Tuesday morning. A total of 30 college gunslingers made the cut.
Wisconsin’s Graham Mertz, Minnesota’s Tanner Morgan and Indiana’s Michael Penix Jr. were the three B1G quarterbacks to receive a mention on this year’s list. All three were starters for the respective teams during the 2020 season.
Mertz was a first-year starter, stepping in for injured Jack Coan in Madison. Both Penix and Morgan have multiple years of experience under center.
The Davey O’Brien Quarterback Award is presented annually to the nation’s best college quarterback. It is the oldest quarterback award.
Mertz ended his first season as the starter for the Badgers with 1,238 passing yards, 9 touchdowns and 5 interceptions while completing 61.1% of his passes. He helped guide Wisconsin to a 4-3 season, which ended with back-to-back wins over rival Minnesota and Wake Forest in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.
Morgan had a spectacular 2019 campaign for Minnesota during an 11-2 season, throwing for 3,252 yards and 30 touchdowns with a 66% completion rate and just 7 picks. Last year was a little rockier for the QB, totaling 1,374 yards, 7 touchdowns and 5 interceptions during a 3-4 year.
Penix has earned the starting job at Indiana the past two seasons, but injuries have hindered his ability to play a full season. Last year, the Indiana passer averaged a B1G-best 274.2 yards per game through the air while hitting targets on 56.4% of his passes. He also had 14 touchdowns and 4 interceptions.
You can see all college QBs on the watch list here.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB