PROVO -- BYU senior quarterback John Beck has been named one of 18 semifinalists for the 2006 Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award. The list of finalists for the award, which is presented annually to the nation's best college quarterback, will be announced Tuesday, Nov. 21.
Beck, who was recently named one of four finalists for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, is expected to pass Jim McMahon this week (vs. Wyoming) for second place on BYU's career passing list. Beck needs just 51 yards to pass McMahon. With three games remaining in the regular season, Beck and the Cougars could clinch at least a share of the Mountain West title with a win over Wyoming on Saturday.
"His growth as a player and a person over the past three years has been impressive," BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall said. "If you put John Beck--the player--today on the field and compared him to how he was three years ago, there has been an amazing transformation. It's come step by step by step and has been all hard earned through diligence. It has been much like the growth of the program, and I see a lot parallels between the two. My hope is both components, John and the team, continue to play and improve."
He currently leads the Mountain West Conference and ranks fourth nationally, averaging 294.75 yards passing per game. Beck, a native of Mesa, Ariz., has a touchdown to interception ratio of 20:4 and has a league-best efficiency rating of 169.9, which is also the second highest efficiency rating by a senior quarterback this season. Beck is the nation's most accurate senior quarterback--second overall--connecting on 185-of-260 attempts (.711).
"More important even than his ability to be a successful quarterback at BYU, John is an incredible person," said former BYU standout and NFL Pro-Bowl tight end Chad Lewis. "He treats other people with kindness and patience. He represents BYU in such a positive light. I feel grateful to know him and to be his friend. I know that after the lights of football fade, John will still be the quality individual that he is now. Every coach should be lucky enough to coach someone like John."
The winner of the 2006 Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award will be announced on ESPN's Home Depot College Football Awards Show scheduled for December 7 at 7 p.m. EST. The show will air live from the Atlantic Dance Hall on The Boardwalk at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. The winner will then be honored on February 19, 2007, at the 30th annual Davey O'Brien Awards Dinner at The Fort Worth Club in downtown Fort Worth, Texas, along with Paul Hornung, recipient of the 2006 Davey O'Brien Legends Award, and the O'Brien High School Scholarship Award winner.
Celebrating 30 years, the O'Brien Award is the oldest and most prestigious award in the country for college quarterbacks. The Davey O'Brien Foundation was established in 1977 to present the O'Brien Memorial Trophy, recognizing an outstanding college football player in the five southwestern states of Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma and New Mexico.
In 1981, the award was redirected to be national in scope but limited to quarterback, the favorite position of the award's namesake, Davey O'Brien. The award carries with it a $10,000 grant to the scholarship program of the university in which the winner is enrolled. A high school scholarship program began in 1986, awarding a $20,000 college scholarship to an outstanding senior student-athlete in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex each year. Since 1977, the Davey O'Brien Foundation has awarded more than $250,000 to the various O'Brien winners' universities and more than $400,000 to deserving high school students.
DAVEY O'BRIEN AWARD SEMIFINALISTS
Erik Ainge, Tennessee
John Beck, BYU
John David Booty, USC
Colt Brennan, Hawaii
Brian Brohm, Louisville
Chad Henne, Michigan
Kevin Kolb, Houston
Chris Leak, Florida
Nate Longshore, California
Colt McCoy, Texas
Tyler Palko, Pittsburgh
Brady Quinn, Notre Dame
Bobby Reid, Oklahoma State
JaMarcus Russell, LSU
Troy Smith, Ohio State
John Stocco, Wisconsin
Pat White, West Virginia
Jared Zabransky, Boise State