Willis is a Semifinalist for the 2021 Davey O’Brien Award
11/9/2021 1:59:19 PM | Football
National honors continue to roll in for Liberty’s Malik Willis who has been named a semifinalist for the 2021 Davey O’Brien Award.
Willis is one of 20 quarterbacks who advanced to the next round of voting for the national quarterback honor. The three finalists will be selected on Tuesday, Nov. 23. The winner will be announced live on Thursday, Dec. 9 on The Home Depot College Football Awards on ESPN.
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 semifinalist list is comprised of nine seniors, five juniors, four sophomores and two freshmen, and consists of players from nine FBS conferences, as well as one football independent.
The next step in the process will be to select the award’s three finalists based on voting from the Davey O’Brien National Selection Committee, as well as the second round of the Davey O’Brien Fan Vote, which will take place on the award’s three social media accounts—Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. 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 post highlighting the quarterback. Each round of the selection process will offer two one-week voting periods for fans.
Willis continues to be Liberty’s top offensive threat, accounting for 65.2 percent of the Flames’ total offensive yards in 2021 (Team Yards: 4,466/Willis: 2,914 – Rush 755, Pass 2,159).
On the season, Willis has completed 156-of-235 passing attempts for 2,159 yards and 21 touchdowns. The redshirt junior is also Liberty’s leading rusher, having carried the ball 153 times for 755 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Willis moved over the 4,000-yard passing mark during the Flames’ come-from-behind win at North Texas on Oct. 23. In 33 career games, including his time as a quarterback at Auburn, Willis has thrown for 4,008 yards and 38 career touchdowns. He has also rushed for 1,900 yards and 25 touchdowns.
Willis currently ranks No. 6 in the country in points responsible for (188/18.8 per game), No. 12 in passing efficiency (165.6), No. 19 in total offense (291.9 per game) and No. 26 in rushing touchdowns (10).
2021 Davey O’Brien Award Semifinalist
Brennan Armstrong, Virginia
Stetson Bennett, Georgia
Anthony Brown, Oregon
Matt Corral, Ole Miss
Jake Haener, Fresno State
Frank Harris, UTSA
Sam Hartman, Wake Forest
Hendon Hooker, Tennessee
Sam Howell, North Carolina
Grayson McCall, Coastal Carolina
Tanner Mordecai, SMU
Kenny Pickett, Pitt
Desmond Ridder, Cincinnati
Will Rogers, Mississippi State
Carson Strong, Nevada
C.J. Stroud, Ohio State
Caleb Williams, Oklahoma
Malik Willis, Liberty
Bryce Young, Alabama
Bailey Zappe, Western Kentucky