FORT WORTH, Texas — UTSA junior Frank Harris has been named to the Davey O'Brien QB Class of 2020, the Davey O'Brien Foundation announced Tuesday.
Harris one of 35 FBS quarterbacks chosen for the Class of 2020 — and one of only two from Conference USA along with Marshall's Grant Wells — and he is now an official candidate to win the 2020 Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award.
A three-time Davey O'Brien Great 8 weekly list member, Harris has completed 146 of 229 passes for 1,422 yards and 10 touchdowns and rushed for 417 yards and eight scores in 10 games this season. He is 7-2 as the starter and has helped guide the Roadrunners to a 7-4 overall record — their most wins since 2013 — and to first place in the C-USA West Division with a 5-2 mark.
Harris, who was added to the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award Midseason Watch List in September, opened the season by completing 23 of 31 passes for 169 yards and a TD and rushing for 51 yards and three scores in the 51-48 double-overtime victory over Texas State. He followed that with a C-USA Offensive Player of the Week nod after throwing for 269 yards and a touchdown on 23-of-36 passing and running for 104 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the 24-10 triumph over Stephen F. Austin.
The Schertz Clemens High School product turned in arguably his best performance in the 52-21 rout of UTEP, completing 22 of 26 passes for a career-high 312 yards and three touchdowns to go along with 43 yards and a pair of scores on the ground. In his last outing, Harris registered his second 100-yard game of the season and third of his career with 113 rushing yards and a TD on just six carries to go along with 144 yards and two touchdowns on 19-of-24 passing in the 49-17 win over North Texas.
Harris currently ranks second in C-USA in points responsible for (108), third in passing yards and completion percentage (.638) and fourth in passing touchdowns and rushing TDs.
A point scoring model was used to determine the quarterbacks in the Class of 2020. Points were awarded to players based on their overall performance as well as inclusion on the Davey O'Brien Preseason Watch List, weekly Great 8 lists and National Quarterback of the Week winners.
The Class of 2020 consists of players from all 10 FBS conferences as well as football independents. The Atlantic Coast Conference has 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.
The next step in the process will be to select the award's 16 semifinalists from these 35 quarterbacks. On Monday, Dec. 7, the 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, Dec. 6.
The Fan Vote is instituting a major change in its format in 2020. This year, 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, Dec. 7 to Sunday, Dec. 20 with the three finalists named on Tuesday, Dec. 22. The final round of fan voting will occur from Tuesday, Dec. 22 until Wednesday, Dec. 30. The winner will be announced on Thursday, Jan. 7 on the 30th annual The Home Depot College Football Awards, which will be held virtually from 6-7:30 p.m. 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.
In 1938, O'Brien, who was 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. For more information, visit www.DaveyOBrien.org.
Davey O'Brien 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
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