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Football

Seven ACC Quarterbacks Named to the Davey O'Brien QB Class of 2024

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – The Atlantic Coast Conference had seven quarterbacks named to the Davey O’Brien QB Class of 2024, the Davey O’Brien Foundation announced on Tuesday. The seven quarterbacks from the ACC were the most by any conference on the 35-player list.
 
Each player in the class is now an official candidate to win the 2024 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award.
 
Representing the ACC as part of the Davey O’Brien QB Class of 2024 is Kyron Drones of Virginia Tech, Eli Holstein of Pitt, Kevin Jennings of SMU, Cade Klubnik of Clemson, Kyle McCord of Syracuse, Tyler Sough of Louisville and Cam Ward of Miami.
 
The next step in the process will be to select the award’s 16 semifinalists from the 35 quarterbacks. The semifinalists will be chosen based on voting from the Davey O’Brien National Selection Committee as well as bonus ballots awarded from the first round of the Davey O’Brien Fan Vote.
 
For the fifth straight year, the Fan Vote will take place on the award’s three social media platforms—Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (X)—and the top five vote getters on each platform will receive bonus committee member ballots which will be added to the votes cast by the National Selection Committee.
 
To participate in the Fan Vote, fans must like the original Davey O’Brien Award (@daveyobrien) post highlighting their quarterback. First-round voting will close Friday, November 8, at 11:59 p.m. ET. The semifinalists will be named on Tuesday, November 12. Looking ahead, the three finalists will be tabbed on Tuesday, November 26, while the winner will be announced live on Thursday, December 12, on The Home Depot College Football Awards on ESPN.
 
The Davey O’Brien Foundation was created in 1977, and the National Quarterback Award was first issued in 1981. Over its time, the Davey O’Brien Foundation has given away more than $1.3 million in scholarships and university grants to help high school and college athletes transform leadership on the field into leadership in life.
 
In 1938, O’Brien, who was a star quarterback for TCU, became the first player ever to win the Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award and Walter Camp Award in the same year. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1955.
 
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. The 48th Annual Davey O’Brien Awards Dinner honoring the winner will be held Monday, Feb. 17, 2025, at The Fort Worth Club in Fort Worth, Texas.
 
ACC Representatives in the Davey O’Brien QB Class of 2024:
Cade Klubnik, Clemson
Tyler Shough, Louisville
Cam Ward, Miami
Eli Holstein, Pitt
Kevin Jennings, SMU
Kyle McCord, Syracuse
Kyron Drones, Virginia Tech
 
The ACC is the Conference of Quarterbacks (QBs) once again this season:
  • The ACC is the only conference with multiple quarterbacks ranked in the top five nationally in total yards per game, passing yards per game, passing touchdowns, and Total QBR on the season.
  • Seven QBs were named to the Davey O’Brien QB Class of 2024 – the most of any conference.
  • Six QBs were named to the 2024 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Top 25 watch list – tied for the most of any conference.
  • Seven QBs are ranked in the top 25 of FBS in passing efficiency – the most of any conference.
  • Six QBs are ranked in the top 26 of FBS in total yards per game – the most of any conference.
    • ACC has two of the top four players nationally in total yards of offense per game.
    • Cam Ward (Miami) is second nationally with 366.5 total yards of offense per game.
    • Kyle McCord (Syracuse) is fourth nationally at 348.1 total yards of offense per game.
  • Six QBs, including two of the top three players nationally, are ranked in the top 26 of FBS in passing yards per game – the most of any conference.
    • Kyle McCord (Syracuse) is second nationally with an average of 354.4 passing yards per game.
    • Cam Ward (Miami) is third nationally with an average of 343.3 passing yards per game.
  • Seven QBs have thrown 15 touchdown passes or more this season – tied for the most of any conference.
    • Four QBs rank in the top 10 nationally in passing touchdowns – Cam Ward (Miami) – 24; Tyler Shough (Louisville) – 20; Cade Klubnik (Clemson) – 20; and Kyle McCord (Syracuse) – 19.
  • Five QBs are ranked in the top 25 of FBS in completion percentage – the second-most of any conference.
  • Five QBs are ranked in the top 25 of FBS in points responsible for – the second-most of any conference.
    • Cam Ward (Miami) is second nationally with 172 points responsible for this season.
  • Five QBs, including four in the top 15, are ranked in the top 30 of FBS in total passing yards – tied for the second-most of any conference.
    • Cam Ward (Miami) – 2,746; Kyle McCord (Syracuse) – 2,481; Tyler Shough (Louisville) – 2,348; and Fernando Mendoza (Cal) – 2, 095 all rank in the top 15.
    • Kyle McCord (Syracuse) is the only quarterback in all of FBS to throw for at least 300 yards in every game he has played this season.
  • Four QBs are ranked in the top 30 of ESPN’s Total QBR, including two in the top five.
    • Cam Ward (Miami) – 91.0 and Cade Klubnik (87.4) rank in the top five nationally.
  • Fourteen different ACC quarterbacks have thrown for at least 300 yards in a game this year.
    • Three quarterbacks – Jacolby Criswell (North Carolina), Cam Ward (Miami) and Hank Bachmeier (Wake Forest) – have recorded at least one game of over 400 passing yards this season, with Ward posting two 400-plus yard passing games this year.
      • Jacolby Criswell’s 475 passing yards in Week 4 versus James Madison are the most by a quarterback in a single game this season.
  • Three quarterbacks caught a touchdown pass in Week 9 of the season – Kyron Drones (Virginia Tech), Fernando Mendoza (Cal) and Cam Ward (Miami).
  • Miami quarterback Cam Ward has thrown for over 15,000 yards passing in his career, making him the 13th player recognized by the NCAA to have reached that milestone.
  • ACC had the most of any conferences on the following QB preseason watch lists: Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award (13); Maxwell Award preseason watch list (10); and Davey O’Brien Award (8).
  • The ACC had the top-ranked group of quarterback transfers in 2024 by CBS Sports.
  • Since 2018, the ACC has had at least one quarterback drafted in the first round in five different drafts — the only conference to do that.