2020 Preseason Award Projections: O’Brien Award

By Charlie Campbell
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Heading into the 2020 college football season WalterFootball.com will debut our projections for the nation’s leaders during the fall. The All-American teams always have some surprises and the stars of next fall could be the headlining players next April in the 2021 NFL Draft. We also will project the winners of the postseason awards that are given out to the best of college football.

The Davey O’Brien Award is given to the best quarterback in college football. Last year’s winner was LSU quarterback Joe Burrow, who we had as an honorable mention.

Davey O’Brien Award Winner:

Justin Fields, Ohio State

I’m picking Justin Fields as the winner of the O’Brien Award over Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence because I believe that Fields will end up putting up a larger stat line. I could see Clemson using senior running back Travis Etienne a lot, while Ohio State lost J.K. Dobbins to the NFL. Hence, Fields could have more rushing touchdowns and more throwing scores as the Buckeyes have good receiver talent returning. Lawrence also lost his top two wideouts from last year as Tee Higgins went to the NFL while Justyn Ross is out for the season with a neck injury. Fields, on the other hand, has his No. 1 wide receiver in Chris Olave returning. Ohio State also runs up the score a lot on weak Big Ten opponents, so I could see Fields having a massive junior year.

In 2019, Fields took over as the Buckeyes’ starting quarterback and dominated. The sophomore completed 67 percent of his passes on the season for 3,273 yards with 41 touchdowns and three interceptions. He also ran for 484 yards and 10 scores.

Fields has a dynamic skill set with natural passing ability and is a dangerous runner. Now that Fields has a year of experience, he could be even better. It would not shock me if Fields is the most prolific quarterback in college football in 2020 and earns a lot of postseason honors, including the O’Brien Award.




Davey O’Brien Award Runner-Up:

Trevor Lawrence, Clemson

Lawrence took college football by storm as a freshman compiling a flawless season that culminated with Lawrence ripping Alabama’s defense comprised of NFL talent to win another National Championship for Clemson. Lawrence completed 65 percent of his passes for 3,280 yards with 30 touchdowns and four interceptions that season. The scary part about Lawrence was he looked like he was just scratching the surface and had the upside to get better as he gains experience.

In 2019, Lawrence completed 66 percent of his passes for 3,665 yards with 36 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He also ran for 563 yards and nine touchdowns while leading Clemson back to the National Championship Game. Lawrence showed further development as a passer and as a team leader.

The 6-foot-5, 220-pounder has a good arm, developed poise, and playmaking ability. Lawrence makes good decisions while distributing the ball well to his phenomenal supporting cast. Clemson brings back a loaded offense with quality blocking, good running backs, and mismatch receivers. The Tigers also take on an easy schedule with a conference slate that should not pose much of a challenge to them. Unless Lawrence gets injured, he should have a massive junior season and earn a lot of postseason honors. There is no doubt that Lawrence is a top candidate for the Davey O’Brien.




Davey O’Brien Award Dark Horse:

Sam Ehlinger, Texas

Ehlinger is more of a running quarterback and has drawn some comparisons to Tim Tebow for his style of play, and that could lead to Ehlinger having a big senior year as a passer and rusher. In 2019, Ehlinger completed 65 percent of his passes for 3,663 yards with 32 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He added seven touchdowns as a rusher. That was similar to to his sophomore year, when he completed 65 percent of his passes on the year for 3,292 yards with 25 touchdowns and five interceptions while also running for 16 scores. Ehlinger could produce a big senior year to get some postseason honors, and he could be a dark horse candidate to win the Davey O’Brien Award.

Honorable Mentions: North Dakota State’s Trey Lance, Georgia’s Jamie Newman, Texas A&M’s Kellen Mond, Mississippi State’s K.J. Costello, Minnesota’s Tanner Morgan and Florida’s Kyle Trask.











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