Willis Named to Davey O'Brien Award's Quarterback Class of 2020
12/1/2020 12:00:00 AM | Football
Liberty's Malik Willis has joined an elite group of players with the redshirt junior being named to the Davey O'Brien Award's Quarterback Class of 2020 listing.
Willis, who has been on the Davey O'Brien Award watch list most of the 2020 season, is one of 35 players named to the Quarterback Class of 2020 listing.
Each of the 35 players on the list are now an official candidate to win the 2020 Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award.
Willis is Liberty's leading weapon on the field where the Flames rank No. 8 in the country in rushing offense (252.1 yards per game) and No. 17 in total offense (483.5).
The quarterback has thrown for 2,040 yards, completing 151-of-236 passing attempts with 20 touchdowns. He has also rushed for 807 yards and 10 more touchdowns.
The native of Atlanta, Ga., native currently ranks No. 5 in the country in points responsible (180), No. 11 in passing touchdowns (20) and No. 14 in rushing yards per carry (6.7), rushing touchdowns (14) and total offense yards per game (316.3).
Willis is 8-1 as a collegiate starting quarterback, with all of his starts coming as a Liberty Flame. His first collegiate start (Sept. 19 at Western Kentucky) did not come until his fourth year of college. Willis became the first Liberty quarterback ever to win his first seven starts.
The Class of 2020 consists of players from all 10 FBS conferences, as well as FBS independent programs.
The Atlantic Coast Conference had the most honorees with seven, followed by the Southeastern Conference and American Athletic Conference with five. The list is made up of 13 seniors, nine juniors, nine sophomores and four freshmen.
On Monday, December 7, 16 semifinalists will be named based on voting from the Davey O'Brien National Selection Committee, as well as the first round of the Davey O'Brien Fan Vote, which will run through Sunday, December 6.
Fans will vote via three social media platforms—Instagram, Twitter and Facebook—and the top vote getter on each platform will each receive the equivalent of two additional committee member ballots for that voting period. Fan voting will be done by liking the quarterback's photo from the original post on the official Davey O'Brien social media account.
Following the naming of the semifinalists, the next round of fan voting will take place from Monday, December 7 to Sunday, December 20 with the three finalists named on Tuesday, December 22.
The final round of fan voting will occur from Tuesday, December 22 until Wednesday, December 30. The winner will be announced on Thursday, January 7 on the 30th annual The Home Depot College Football Awards, which will be held virtually from 7 - 8:30 p.m. (EST) 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.
Davey O'Brien Award's QB Class of 2020
Connor Bazelak, Missouri, Fr., 6-3, 215, Dayton, Ohio
Ian Book, Notre Dame, Sr., 6-0, 206, El Dorado Hills, Calif.
Shane Buechele, SMU, Sr., 6-1, 207, Arlington, Texas
Matt Corral, Ole Miss, So., 6-1, 205, Ventura, Calif.
Dustin Crum, Kent State, Sr., 6-3, 207, Grafton, Ohio
Malik Cunningham, Louisville, Jr., 6-1, 200, Montgomery, Ala.
Sam Ehlinger, Texas, Sr., 6-3, 225, Austin, Texas
Kaleb Eleby, Western Michigan, So., 6-1, 215, Maryland Heights, Mo.
Justin Fields, Ohio State, Jr., 6-3, 228, Kennesaw, Ga.
Dillon Gabriel, UCF, So., 6-0, 186, Mililani, Hawaii
Frank Harris, UTSA, Jr., 6-0, 200, Schertz, Texas
Sam Howell, North Carolina, So., 6-1, 225, Indian Trail, N.C.
Mac Jones, Alabama, Jr., 6-3, 214, Jacksonville, Fla.
Phil Jurkovec, Boston College, So., 6-5, 226, Pittsburgh, Pa.
D'Eriq King, Miami, Sr., 5-11, 202, Manvel, Texas
Trevor Lawrence, Clemson, Jr., 6-6, 220, Cartersville, Ga.
Levi Lewis, Louisiana, Sr., 5-10, 184, Baton Rouge, La.
Grayson McCall, Coastal Carolina, Fr., 6-3, 200, Indian Trail, N.C.
Kellen Mond, Texas A&M, Sr., 6-3, 217, San Antonio, Texas
Michael Penix Jr., Indiana, So., 6-3, 218, Tampa, Fla.
Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh, Sr., 6-2, 220, Oakhurst, N.J.
Brock Purdy, Iowa State, Jr., 6-1, 212, Gilbert, Ariz.
Spencer Rattler, Oklahoma, Fr., 6-1, 205, Phoenix, Ariz.
Desmond Ridder, Cincinnati, Jr., 6-4, 215, Louisville, Ky.
Tyler Shough, Oregon, So., 6-5, 221, Chandler, Ariz.
Kedon Slovis, USC, So., 6-2, 200, Scottsdale, Ariz.
Zach Smith, Tulsa, Sr., 6-3, 227, Grandview, Texas
Nick Starkel, San Jose State, Sr., 6-3, 214, Argyle, Texas
Carson Strong, Nevada, So., 6-4, 215, Vacaville, Calif.
Zac Thomas, Appalachian State, Sr., 6-1, 210, Trussville, Ala.
Kyle Trask, Florida, Sr., 6-5, 240, Manvel, Texas
Grant Wells, Marshall, Fr., 6-2, 210, Charleston, W.Va.
Brady White, Memphis, Sr., 6-3, 210, Santa Clarita, Calif.
Malik Willis, Liberty, Jr., 6-1, 215, Atlanta, Ga.
Zach Wilson, BYU, Jr., 6-3, 210, Draper, Utah
