Aug. 21, 2002
LAS VEGAS - UNLV senior Jason Thomas has been named one of 32 candidates for the 2002 Davey O'Brien Award, which is given annually to the nation's top college quarterback.
The Davey O'Brien Foundation, which is based in Fort Worth, Texas, released its Watch List of elite signal-callers this week. Thomas, who was named preseason All-MWC by various preview publications, was also on last year's O'Brien list.
The award's advisory committee is comprised of nationally known sportswriters and commentators and will select eight semifinalists the first week of November. Three finalists will be chosen at the end of November and the winner of the O'Brien will be announced December 12 during ESPN's Home Depot College Football Awards Show in Orlando, Fla. All three finalists will be honored at the 26th annual O'Brien Awards Dinner in February at the Fort Worth Club.
The award is named in honor of the late Davey O'Brien, an All-America and Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback for Texas Christian University who led the Horned Frogs to the 1938 national championship.
2002 DAVEY O'BRIEN AWARD WATCH LIST
PLAYER, YEAR, SCHOOL
RJ Anderson,Jr., SyracuseKyle Boller, Sr., CaliforniaMarquel Blackwell, Jr., South FloridaBrooks Bollinger, Sr., WisconsinTimmy Chang, Soph., HawaiiCasey Clausen, Jr., TennesseeRyan Dinwiddie, Jr., Boise StateKen Dorsey, Sr., MiamiJason Gesser, Sr., Washington StateDavid Greene, Soph., GeorgiaRex Grossman, Jr., FloridaGino Guidugli, Soph., CincinnatiMark Farris, Sr., Texas A&MKliff Kingsbury, Sr., Texas TechByron Leftwich, Sr., MarshallJared Lorenzen, Jr., KentuckyLuke McCown, Jr., Louisiana TechEli Manning, Jr., MississippiZack Mills, Soph., Penn StateCarson Palmer, Sr., USCCody Pickett, Jr., WashingtonDave Ragone, Sr., LouisvillePhilip Rivers, Jr., North Carolina StateChris Rix, Soph., Florida StateBen Roethlisberger, Soph., Miami OhioChris Simms, Sr., TexasJeff Smoker, Jr., Michigan StateBrian St. Pierre, Sr., Boston CollegeJason Thomas, Sr., UNLVJon Van Cleave, Jr., Louisiana-LafayetteSeneca Wallace, Sr., Iowa StateJason White, Jr., Oklahoma
