Taysom Hill, after racking up eight preseason honors, was newly named to the Davey O’Brien Award Watch List Wednesday, which honors the nation’s top quarterback.
Hill joins 39 other quarterbacks that make up the prestigious list, including last year’s winner, Jameis Winston from Florida State.
The Davey O’Brien National Selection Committee selects the players based on past performance and potential ability for the coming year.
Hill is a quarterback who has proven himself in the past while having even more to prove for the future.
As a sophomore, Hill burst onto the national stage as a dangerous dual-threat quarterback, recording 2,938 passing yards, 1,344 rushing yards and 29 touchdowns, ranking him 10th overall in offensive production.
While these numbers are impressive, Hill understands there’s a lot to improve on, especially if he looks to win the Davey O’Brien.
“I’ve focused a lot on my passing game,” said Hill during BYU Football Media Day. “There’s always room for improvement there.”
While having a BYU player named to the watch list is honorable, BYU is no stranger to the Davey O’Brien award.
In 1981, former quarterback Jim McMahon became the first player to win the award for BYU. Since then three more Davey O’Brien trophies have followed, with Steve Young (1983) and Ty Detmer (1990, 1991).
With four total Davey O’Brien awards, BYU has won more than any other school in the country, with Florida, Florida State and Oklahoma following closely with three each.
