Ohio State sophomore quarterback Dwayne Haskins was named one of 16 semifinalists for the 2018 Davey O’Brien Award on Wednesday.
Since 1981, the O’Brien Award goes to the best quarterback in the nation each year.
Troy Smith is the only Buckeye to win the award. He took it home back in 2006.
Statistically, Haskins has already surpassed many of the numbers that Smith put up that season.
Smith went 203-for-311 for 2,542 yards, 30 touchdowns and 6 interceptions.
With three regular season games still to play, Haskins already has more completions (242), attempts (347), passing yards (3,053), and touchdowns (32).
He is track to break virtually every single-game and single-season passing record in Ohio State history.
The O’Brien Award includes a fan vote that accounts for five percent of the final totals. Fans can vote once per day at VoteOBrien.org until November 18, when the finalists will be announced.
Other semifinalists include Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa, Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence, and Michigan’s Shea Patterson among others.
The complete release from Ohio State is below.
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Sophomore quarterback Dwayne Haskins is one of 16 semifinalists for the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award, as announced today by The Davey O’Brien Foundation.
The organization and its selection committee will release the names of the three finalists on Monday, Nov. 19. The 2018 Davey O’Brien Award winner will be announced on The Home Depot College Football Awards in Atlanta, Ga. on Thursday, Dec. 6, on ESPN.
In his first season as the Buckeyes’ signal caller, Haskins is putting together one of the best seasons in Ohio State history. He’s currently tied for the national lead with 32 touchdown passes and his 3,053 yards is third-best nationally. Haskins is the only quarterback in school history to throw for 400 or more yards in three straight games and is currently on pace to set single-season school records in TD passes, passing yards, 300-yard passing games and completion percentage. He already owns the season record for pass completions (242), which he set last week vs. Nebraska.
A native of Potomac, Md., Haskins is a four-time Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week and is also a semifinalist for the Maxwell Award, which is presented to the nation’s best all-around player. Earlier this season, he set a Big Ten record by having three games with five or more touchdown passes. His six-TD performance in a 49-26 win against Indiana tied a school record.
The Fan Vote at VoteOBrien.org will open today (Nov. 7) and remain open until 1 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 18, for the second round of balloting. Fans are invited to cast their vote once daily per email address. The Davey O’Brien Fan Vote counts as five percent during each round of the voting process.
Haskins and the 10th-ranked Buckeyes have a key Big Ten East Division contest at noon on Sunday against No. 18 Michigan State in East Lansing, Mich. Kick-off is slated for noon with FOX televising.
We have all of the pieces of the puzzle but can’t put them together to fit. That’s coaching!!
What a complete an utter WASTE! One of the most prolific passers in the country, a complete arsenal at the receiver position, two proven 1,000 yard RBs that the rest of the conference would kill to have along with and this team is an utter dumpster fire!
Absolutely 100% correct Charlie…what a shame..all this build up in the summer and fall from coaching staff about how well this team is progressing and how “ELITE” these players are , and then they take the field…..what an utter, mis-leading load of CRAP. This team has so many weaknesses, and this staff is so delusional that they think they are “CLOSE” to being where they need to be.. which is our BIGGEST problem, they don’t think we have any issues that are too bad… This PROGRAM is in complete disarray. I know there are people that think we overreact, and should be satisfied with a 10-2 or 9-3, like most good programs, however, this is THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY.. With the investments of this staff, and facilities that are much superior to MOST universities, and the talent pool available to it….we SHOULD expect nothing less that conference championships and opportunity to play for NATTY annually…..PERIOD