Cade Klubnik, Seven other ACC Quarterbacks named to Davey O’Brien Watch List
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – The Atlantic Coast Conference led the way with eight quarterbacks named to the 2024 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award Preseason Watch List, the Davey O’Brien Foundation announced on Thursday, August 8.
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 preseason list features 36 of the nation’s top returning college quarterbacks, highlighted by eight quarterbacks from the ACC, tied for the most of all conferences. Representing the ACC on the prestigious award list are Kyron Drones of Virginia Tech, Haynes King of Georgia Tech, Cade Klubnik of Clemson, Grayson McCall of NC State, Kyle McCord of Syracuse, Preston Stone of SMU, DJ Uiagalelei of Florida State and Cam Ward of Miami.
Both McCord and Uiagalelei were semifinalists for the award last season.
The official Davey O’Brien Midseason Watch List will be released on Tuesday, October 22, and will contain active quarterbacks from the preseason watch list, players honored as weekly Great 8 recipients through the season’s first eight weeks and any additional quarterbacks approved by the selection subcommittee. The Midseason Watch List will be reduced to the 35-player Davey O’Brien QB Class of 2024 on Tuesday, October 29.
For the fourth straight year, fan voting on social media (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter) will earn players bonus selection committee votes during the semifinalist, finalist and winner voting rounds. First-round fan voting will begin on October 29 following the QB Class announcement. The list of semifinalists selected from the QB Class will be named on Tuesday, November 12. The Foundation will announce the three finalists two weeks later on Tuesday, November 26. The 2024 Davey O’Brien Award winner will be unveiled live on ESPN on Thursday, December 12, during The Home Depot College Football Awards Show.
ACC Representatives on the 2024 Davey O’Brien Award Preseason Watch List:
- Cade Klubnik, Clemson, Junior, QB
- DJ Uiagalelei, Florida State, Redshirt Senior, QB
- Haynes King, Georgia Tech, Redshirt Junior, QB
- Cam Ward, Miami, Senior, QB
- Grayson McCall, NC State, Graduate Student, QB
- Preston Stone, SMU, Redshirt Junior, QB
- Kyle McCord, Syracuse, Senior, QB
- Kyron Drones, Virginia Tech, Redshirt Junior, QB
ACC Football Notes
- The ACC is the Conference of Quarterbacks, with the return of full-time starters Thomas Castellanos at Boston College, Cade Klubnik at Clemson, Grayson Loftis at Duke, Haynes King at Georgia Tech, Preston Stone at SMU, and Kyron Drones at Virginia Tech, and transfers DJ Uiagalelei at Florida State, Tyler Shough at Louisville, Cam Ward at Miami, Grayson McCall at NC State, and Kyle McCord at Syracuse among others.
- ACC had 10 quarterbacks named to the Maxwell Award preseason watch list, no other conference had more.
- ACC had eight quarterbacks named to the Davey O’Brien Award preseason watch list, no other conference had more.
- ACC has the top-ranked group of quarterback transfers in 2024 by CBS Sports.
- 13 QBs in the league enter the 2024 season with over 20 career touchdown passes and 3,500 career passing yards.
- Eight quarterbacks from ACC schools are projected to start Week 1 in the 2024 NFL season — 25 percent of NFL teams.
- Since 2018, the ACC has had at least one quarterback drafted in the first round in five different drafts — the only conference to do that.
- The ACC’s non-conference schedule continues to be the most challenging in the country.
- 27 games against Power 4 opponents, including Notre Dame, the most of any conference.
- Nine non-conference games against teams ranked in the final 2023 Associated Press Top 25 Poll, the most of any conference.
- 10 non-conference games against teams in ESPN’s 2024 Way-Too-Early Top 25, the most of any conference.
- ACC Features Elite Coaching Leadership
- Six ACC head coaches were named to the 2024 Dodd Trophy Preseason Watch List, as announced by the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and the Peach Bowl, no other conference had more.
- Two of the three active coaches to win a national title reside in the ACC - Dabo Swinney led Clemson to national titles in 2016 and 2018. North Carolina’s Mack Brown won a national title at Texas in 2005.
- The 2024 ACC Football Championship Game will kick off in primetime at 8 p.m. ET on ABC on Saturday, Dec. 7, at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.
About the Davey O’Brien Award
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 48th Annual Davey O’Brien Awards Dinner honoring the winner will be held Monday, February 17, 2025, at The Fort Worth Club in Fort Worth, Texas.
About the NCFAA
Founded in 1997, the National College Football Awards Association includes college football’s most prestigious awards and its 24 awards have honored more than 900 recipients dating back to 1935. For more information about the NCFAA and its award programs, visit NCFAA.org or follow on X at @NCFAA.
