Davey O’Brien Award Picks Final Great 8 of Regular Season

FORT WORTH, Texas (Dec. 1, 2025) — The Davey O’Brien Foundation has announced its list of Great 8 quarterbacks for the final week of the regular season. For the year, 70 different quarterbacks were honored as Great 8 performers.

This week’s recipients are USF’s Byrum Brown, Trinidad Chambliss of Ole Miss, TCU’s Josh Hoover, Brad Jackson of Texas State, Louisiana Tech’s Trey Kukuk, Drew Mestemaker of North Texas, California’s Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele and Julian Sayin of Ohio State.

The Davey O’Brien National Quarterback of the Week, selected from the Great 8 list, will be revealed Tuesday at 11 a.m. (CT). In January, following the completion of all Bowl Season/College Football Playoff games, the Davey O’Brien Foundation will award its final Great 8 of the 2025 season for postseason play.

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 $1.4 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 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.

—www.DaveyOBrienAward.com—

Davey O’Brien Great 8: Week 14

Byrum Brown, USF, Sr., 6-3, 232, Raleigh, N.C.

·      Amassed 379 total yards (275 passing, 104 rushing) and five touchdowns (four passing, one rushing) in a 52-3 victory over Rice.

Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss, Sr., 6-0, 200, Grand Rapids, Mich.

·      Was 23-for-34 passing for 359 yards and four touchdowns, and added 26 rushing yards, in a 38-19 rivalry win at Mississippi State.

Josh Hoover, TCU, Jr., 6-2, 200, Heath, Texas

·      Tossed more touchdown passes (4) than incompletions (19 of 22, .864) while throwing for 306 yards as TCU defeated Cincinnati, 45-23.

Brad Jackson, Texas State, R-Fr., 6-0, 200, San Antonio, Texas

·      Was 20 of 26 through the air for 280 yards and two scores and rushed 13 times for 113 yards (8.7 per carry) and three more TDs in a 49-26 win over South Alabama.

Trey Kukuk, Louisiana Tech, Jr., 6-1, 201, Mission Viejo, Calif.

·      Rushed for a LA Tech quarterback record 172 yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries (10.8 per attempt), and added 87 passing yards, in a 42-30 victory at Missouri State.

Drew Mestemaker, North Texas, R-Fr., 6-4, 211, Austin, Texas

·      Connected on 20 of 24 passes (83.3 percent) for 366 yards and three touchdowns in a 52-25 triumph over Temple.

Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, California, Fr., 6-3, 225, Ewa Beach, Hawaii

·      Led Cal to a 38-35 victory over No. 21 SMU by completing 31 of 40 passes for 330 yards and four touchdowns.

Julian Sayin, Ohio State, So., 6-1, 208, Carlsbad, Ala.

·       Was 19-for-26 passing for 233 yards and three touchdowns as Ohio State snapped a four-game losing streak to rival and 15th-ranked Michigan (27-9).