Joe Burrow becomes first LSU player to win Davey O’Brien Award as nation’s top QB
Cajun Country is home to college football’s best quarterback.
LSU’s Joe Burrow was named the winner of the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award on Thursday night. The news came as little surprise.
Burrow has thrown for 4,715 yards and an SEC-record 48 touchdowns, leading the Tigers to a conference championship and No. 1-seed for the College Football Playoff.
Burrow’s completion percentage of (.779) is on pace to break the all-time NCAA record, and he’s thrown for more than 300 yards in 11 of 13 games this year.
The Tigers will face the No. 4 Oklahoma Sooners in a semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Dec. 28 in Atlanta.
Burrow was the heavy favorite over fellow finalists in Ohio State’s Justin Fields and OU’s Jalen Hurts. Fields had a sensational season with 40 TD passes to just one interception, as did Hurts (3,634 yards passing and 1,255 yards rushing).
But Burrow had the most impressive season in arguably the toughest conference.
He becomes the first player in LSU history to win the prestigious award. The school has had finalists in prior years, including Alan Risher in 1982 and Tom Hodson in 1987.
The award started in 1977 and has been a QB-only honor since 1981.
Burrow will now look to become the third consecutive Davey O’Brien winner to also win the Heisman Trophy, following in the footsteps of Kyler Murray and Baker Mayfield. The Heisman winner will be announced on Saturday night.
Burrow will be honored at the 43rd annual Davey O’Brien Foundation Awards Dinner on Feb. 17 at The Fort Worth Club.
Tickets to the Feb. 17 awards dinner are available for $200 with a portion being tax deductible. More information is on the foundation’s website, or by calling 817-338-3488.
This story was originally published December 12, 2019 at 6:10 PM.
