LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels added to his list of preseason accolades Thursday as he was named to the 2024 Davey O’Brien Award Watch List, which features a group of 36 of the nation’s top returning college quarterbacks.
This is the fourth preseason watch list of the preseason for Daniels, who was previously listed by the Maxwell Award, Walter Camp Award and the Comeback Player of the Year Award. His appearance on the Davey O’Brien Watch List marks his second straight season among the top returning quarterbacks.
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, Feb. 17, 2025, at The Fort Worth Club in Fort Worth, Texas. Compiled by a subset of the Davey O’Brien National Selection Committee, this year’s list was selected based on previous Division I career player performance as well as expectations heading into the 2024 college football season.
Daniels returns for his fifth season at Kansas in 2024 after throwing for 705 yards and five touchdowns in three games last year. In 2022, Daniels was a breakthrough player as he led the Jayhawks to a 5-0 start and the program’s first bowl game appearance since 2008. He was an All-Big 12 Second Team selection after completing 66.1 percent (152-of-230) of his passes for 2,014 yards and 18 touchdowns. Daniels capped off his sophomore season with a record-setting performance in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, when he completed 37-of-55 passes for 544 yards and five touchdowns, while also rushing for a touchdown.
From Lawndale, California, Daniels enters the season ranked No. 9 in school history with 4,297 passing yards and No. 5 with 31 passing touchdowns. At his current career completion rate of 63.6 percent (365-of-574), Daniels would surpass the previous school record of 63.3 percent, set by Todd Reesing from 2006-09.
The preseason watch list features 22 seniors, 12 juniors and two sophomores. Daniels is one of eight quarterbacks from the Big 12 Conference on the list, which ties the league with the ACC for the most watch list honorees. The official Davey O’Brien Midseason Watch List will be released on Tuesday, Oct. 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 list of semifinalists selected from the QB Class will be named on Tuesday, Nov. 12. The Foundation will announce the three finalists two weeks later (Tuesday, Nov. 26). The 2024 Davey O’Brien Award winner will be unveiled live on ESPN on Thursday, Dec. 12, during The Home Depot College Football Awards.
2024 Kansas Football Preseason Watch Lists:
Maxwell Award – QB Jalon Daniels, RB Devin Neal
Patrick Mannelly Award – LS Luke Hosford
Bronko Nagurski Award – CB Cobee Bryant
Paycom Jim Thorpe Award – CB Cobee Bryant
Allstate Wuerffel Trophy – TE Jared Casey
Walter Camp Award – QB Jalon Daniels
Doak Walker Award – RB Devin Neal, RB Daniel Hishaw Jr.
Biletnikoff Award – WR Lawrence Arnold
Comeback Player of the Year – QB Jalon Daniels
Davey O’Brien Award – QB Jalon Daniels
