Haener named semifinalist

FORT WORTH, Texas - Fresno State senior quarterback Jake Haener has been named a semifinalist for the Davey O'Brien Award, the organization announced on Tuesday. The semifinalists for the award were selected after tabulating the results of the Davey O'Brien National Selection Committee ballots, as well as the social media fan votes.

Haener has passed for 3,167 yards and 25 touchdowns on the year, while completing 252-of-382 pass attempts. The senior from Danville, Calif. became the first Bulldog to have a 3,000-yard passing season since Marcus McMaryion in 2018. Haener is just the seventh Bulldog to make the 3,000-yard milestone in program history.

The Bulldog quarterback was added to the Davey O'Brien watch list with a Great 8 recognition from the organization following his performance in the win at then-No. 13 UCLA (Sept. 18). Haener was the first quarterback to be added to the Davey O'Brien watch list since McMaryion in 2018. That season, McMaryion was a semifinalist for the award. Prior to McMaryion, both David Carr (2001) and Derek Carr (2013) were semifinalists. Kevin Sweeney finished as the runner-up for the 1986 Davey O'Brien Award.

Haener is one of two quarterbacks from around the Mountain West selected as a semifinalist for the Davey O'Brien Award, joining Nevada's Carson Strong.

In alphabetical order, the semifinalists are: Virginia's Brennan Armstrong, Stetson Bennett of Georgia, Oregon's Anthony Brown, Matt Corral of Ole Miss, Fresno State's Jake Haener, Frank Harris of UTSA, Wake Forest's Sam Hartman, Hendon Hooker of Tennessee, North Carolina's Sam Howell, Grayson McCall of Coastal Carolina, SMU's Tanner Mordecai, Kenny Pickett of Pitt, Cincinnati's Desmond Ridder, Will Rogers of Mississippi State, Nevada's Carson Strong, C.J. Stroud of Ohio State, Oklahoma's Caleb Williams, Malik Willis of Liberty, Alabama's Bryce Young and Bailey Zappe of Western Kentucky.

Four of the 20 quarterbacks–Corral, Howell, McCall and Ridder–are semifinalists for the second straight year. None of the quarterbacks has previously been named a finalist.

"Due to the closeness in our voting, the Foundation decided to expand to 20 deserving semifinalists this year," Davey O'Brien Foundation executive director Kendall Cason Iles said. "The 2021 season has been fascinating, and our Fan Vote reflected that excitement as a record number of voters showed support for their favorite quarterback during our first round."

The semifinalist list is composed 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 Southeastern Conference has the most honorees with five, followed by the Atlantic Coast Conference (four).

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.

The three finalists will be tabbed 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 Foundation was created in 1977, and the National Quarterback Award, the oldest and most prestigious college quarterback award, was first issued in 1981. Over its time, the Davey O'Brien Foundation has given away more than $1.2 million in scholarships and university grants to help high school and college athletes transform leadership on the field into leadership in life.

In 1938, O'Brien, who was 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. For more information, visit www.DaveyOBrien.org.

"Fresno State Athletics: The Pride of the Valley" – The Bulldog Foundation creates championship experiences for Fresno State student-athletes as they strive for excellence in the classroom, in competition, and in life. To become a BDF member, please visit bulldogfoundation.org.

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