2018 Davey O’Brien Award watch list: Jarrett Stidham, Jalen Hurts, Drew Lock among six contenders from SEC

The Davey O’Brien Award is presented annually to the top quarterback in the nation. As the 2018 season draws near, watch list season is in full effect. The 2018 Davey O’Brien Award watch list was unveiled earlier in the week, and the Southeastern Conference has six QBs on the board.

The state of Alabama has its two QBs on the list, as Jalen Hurts of the Alabama Crimson Tide and Jarrett Stidham of the Auburn Tigers made the cut. It’s still a bit of a mystery if Hurts will be the QB for ‘Bama, as CFB Playoff Title Game hero Tua Tagovailoa still may have the chops to take the starting job. That being said, Tua is nowhere to be found on the list, but that doesn’t mean he’s not eligible, obviously. Stidham, meanwhile, faces no such quandaries this season. He performed well under center for the Tigers en route to their SEC West Championship a season ago, and should be poised for big things again this year.

The prolific Drew Lock is also on the list. The media’s pick for the Preseason All-SEC First Team is coming off a year in which he threw 44 touchdown passes. That will get you some attention, and it should be no surprise that he’s up for the honor of best QB in the country. Speaking of terrific seasons, Georgia Bulldogs signal caller Jake Fromm is also on the list. Fromm helped command a UGA squad that won the SEC last year and finished as the National Runner Up to Alabama in the CFB Playoff. Fromm has plenty of talent around him again this season and could very well be poised for a big season.

Elsewhere, we have Nick Fitzgerald and Jake Bentley. The Mississippi State Bulldogs quarterback will have a new coach running the show, as Joe Moorhead took the job after Dan Mullen’s departure to the Florida Gators. Moorhead did terrific things with the Penn State Nittany Lions offense, and especially so with Trace McSorley. The senior QB could be in for a huge season under Moorhead’s guidance. Bentley, meanwhile, has grown every year that he’s played for the South Carolina Gamecocks. That much could be said again this coming season, as we’ll see what he has to offer in his junior campaign.