Release
FORT WORTH, Texas – Tua Tagovailoa of Alabama, a finalist for the 2018 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award, has been selected as the Davey O’Brien Foundation’s Quarterback of the Week for week three of the 2019 college football season.
Tagovailoa tied a career high with five touchdown passes and threw for a career-best 444 yards in a 47-23 victory over South Carolina on Saturday. The junior, who was named the SEC Offensive Player of the Week, completed 28 of 36 pass attempts in the SEC tilt.
Against the Gamecocks, Tagovailoa became the first quarterback in school history to throw for 400-plus yards and five touchdowns in the same game. His 444 yards through the air were the third most in a single game in Crimson Tide history.
Nationally this season, Tagovailoa is tied for first in both touchdown passes (12) and points responsible for (78). In addition, he ranks among the nation’s top 10 in total quarterback rating (2nd, 95.5), passing efficiency (3rd, 213.4), passing yards (6th, 1,007), completion percentage (6th, .769) and total offense (10th, 347.7).
This is the second straight winner from the SEC, as Tagovailoa joins LSU’s Joe Burrow. This is Tagovailoa’s first career weekly honor from the Davey O’Brien Foundation.
The other Great 8 quarterbacks in the season’s third week were:Jack Abraham of Southern Miss, Notre Dame’s Ian Book, Dillon Gabriel of UCF, Duke’s Quentin Harris, Jalen Hurts of Oklahoma, Navy’s Malcolm Perry and Anthony Russo of Temple.
In 1938, O’Brien, who wore No. 8 as 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.
O’Brien was drafted fourth overall in the 1939 NFL Draft and earned Pro Bowl honors in his rookie season after setting a National Football League record for season passing yardage. The NFL’s highest-paid player retired after the 1940 season to become an FBI agent.
The Davey O’Brien Foundation was created in 1977, and the National Quarterback Award, the oldest and most prestigious college quarterback award, was first issued in 1981. The Davey O’Brien Fan Vote, now in its 13th year, gives fans a chance to play a role in determining the award winner. Fans may vote daily for their favorite quarterback at VoteOBrien.org.
Since 1977, the Davey O’Brien Foundation has given away more than $1 million in scholarships and university grants to help high school and college athletes transform leadership on the field into leadership in life. For more information, visit www.DaveyOBrien.org.