Davey O’Brien Great 8 Honorees Chosen for Week 2

FORT WORTH, Texas (Sept. 8, 2025) — The Davey O’Brien Foundation has revealed the eight quarterbacks named to the Davey O’Brien Great 8 for week two. The quarterbacks on this week’s list are Byrum Brown of USF, Michigan State’s Aidan Chiles, Anthony Colandrea of UNLV, Army West Point’s Cale Hellums, John Mateer of Oklahoma, Missouri’s Beau Pribula, Sawyer Robertson of Baylor and Mississippi State’s Blake Shapen.

Chiles, Colandrea, Hellums, Pribula and Shapen are now officially added to the Davey O’Brien Award’s Midseason Watch List. With the additions, that list now stands at 46 members. The other three players recognized in week two, Brown, Mateer and Robertson, had previously been named to the watch list.

The Davey O’Brien National Quarterback of the Week, selected from the Great 8 list, will be revealed Tuesday at 11 a.m. (CT).

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 $1.3 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 2

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

·      Led USF to an 18-16, last-second win over instate rival and 13th-ranked Florida by throwing for 263 yards and a score and adding a team-high 66 rushing yards.

Aidan Chiles, Michigan State, Jr., 6-3, 225, Long Beach, Calif.

·      Accounted for five touchdowns (four passing, one rushing) and 270 yards of offense (231 passing, 39 rushing) in a 42-40 double-overtime thriller over Boston College.

Anthony Colandrea, UNLV, Jr., 6-0, 205, St. Petersburg, Fla.

·      Helped UNLV down UCLA, 30-23, by completing 15 of 21 passes (71.4 percent) for 203 yards and three scores and adding 11 carries for 59 yards (5.4 average).

Cale Hellums, Army West Point, Jr., 5-10, 205, Tomball, Texas

·      Set an all-time Army record with 41 carries (124 yards) and logged two rushing touchdowns and a passing TD (7-for-11, 43 yards) in a comeback win at Kansas State, 24-21.

John Mateer, Oklahoma, Jr., 6-1, 225, Little Elm, Texas

·      Was 21-for-34 through the air for 270 yards and a touchdown and had 19 carries for 74 yards and two more scores in a 24-13 win over No. 15 Michigan.

Beau Pribula, Missouri, Sr., 6-2, 212, York, Pa.

·      Connected on 30 of 39 pass attempts for 334 yards (76.9 percent) and three touchdowns in a 42-31 win over Kansas in the return of the Border Showdown.

Sawyer Robertson, Baylor, Sr., 6-4, 220, Lubbock, Texas

·      Directed the Bears back from a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit and finished 34-for-50 for 440 yards and four touchdowns in a 48-45 double-overtime win at No. 17 SMU.

Blake Shapen, Mississippi State, Sr., 6-1, 210, Shreveport, Texas

·      Secured a 24-20 win over No. 12 Arizona State by going 19-for-33 for 279 yards with three TD passes, including the 58-yard, game-winner with 30 seconds left.