Louisville starting QB Malik Cunningham has found himself included on his second preseason watch list so far this week. The AL native has been named to the Davey O’Brien Award watch list.
👀 𝗪𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗦𝗭𝗡 👀@daveyobrien Award – @MalikMalikc10
— Louisville Football (@UofLFootball) July 20, 2021
Details: https://t.co/oZbQLQGbbC#GoCards x #DaveyQBs pic.twitter.com/J4bFldvlxc
This is Cunningham’s second time being named to the Davey O’Brien Award watch list. He was also on the preseason watch list in 2020.
The Davey O’Brien Award is presented annually to the best college QB in the nation as judged by the Davey O’Brien Foundation. The original award began in 1977 and was not designated for QBs only until 1981. Cunningham is seeking to become the first Louisville player to win the award.
To read more about Malik Cunningham’s inclusion on the Davey O’Brien Award watch list, check out the press release below:
PRESS RELEASE:
Cunningham Named to the Davey O’Brien Watch List
FORT WORTH – The Davey O’Brien Foundation revealed the 2021 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award Watch List on Tuesday, a group that includes University of Louisville quarterback Malik Cunningham and 29 other top quarterbacks across the nation.
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.
Entering his third season as a starter, Cunningham has thrownfor 5,153 career yards and 43 touchdowns in his career, which ranks 10th and seventh, respectively, on UofL’s all-time list. He ranks second all-time in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns by a quarterback.
The native of Montgomery, Ala., set career highs last season in passing yards with 2,615 and tossed 20 touchdowns. He finished second on the team with 609 yards rushing and seven touchdowns, while posting a pair of 100-yard rushing contests. He rushed for a career best 197 yards at Virginia and added 133 in a loss at Boston College.
Through the air, Cunningham threw for a season high 350 yards and three touchdowns versus Virginia Tech and opened the year with 343 yards and three scores against Western Kentucky.
The redshirt junior completed 64.1 percent of his throws and became the first quarterback in school history with four 75-yard touchdown passes in a career.
The Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award is presented annually to the nation’s best college quarterback and is the oldest and most prestigious national quarterback award. Appearing on the preseason watch list is not a requirement for a player to win the award.
For the second straight year, players honored as weekly Davey O’Brien Great 8 recipients, as well as any additional quarterbacks approved by the selection subcommittee, will be added to form the official Davey O’Brien QB Class of 2021, which will be announced on Monday, Oct. 25.
Sixteen semifinalists selected from the QB Class of 2021 list will be named on Monday, Nov. 8. The Foundation will announce the three finalists two weeks later (Monday, Nov. 22). The 2021 Davey O’Brien Award winner will be unveiled live on ESPN on Thursday, Dec. 9, during The Home Depot College Football Awards. Fan voting on social media will again play a role in the semifinalist, finalist and winner voting totals when combined with the national selection committee’s ballots.
The 45th Annual Davey O’Brien Awards Dinner is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 21, 2022, in Fort Worth, Texas.
