Texas Tech University Athletics
Morton named to Davey O’Brien Award watch list
August 07, 2025 | Football
FORT WORTH, Texas — Texas Tech senior quarterback Behren Morton was placed on the 2025 Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award preseason watch list on Thursday, unveiled by the Davey O'Brien Foundation. The annual award is presented to the nation's best FBS quarterback.
Morton, already tabbed to the Maxwell and Wuerffel award watch lists this preseason, adds a third entering his fifth year as a Red Raider. The 2025 Davey O'Brien preseason watch list includes 36 FBS quarterbacks recognized, led by the Big 12 Conference, representing the most of all leagues with eight quarterbacks honored. The Big 12 is followed closely by the SEC and ACC, both with seven.
Texas Tech boasts a 14-4 record since the start of the 2023 season in games Morton starts and finishes, which includes a 9-3 mark at home. He enters his final season with 33 games played and 24 career starts, owning 6,209 career passing yards, and is not far from eclipsing the likes of Zebbie Lethridge (6,789), Billy Joe Tolliver (6,756) and B.J. Symons (6,378) over the first month of 2025, which would move Morton to No. 7 on Texas Tech's list of all-time career passing yard leaders.
The official Davey O'Brien Midseason Watch List will be released on Tuesday, Oct. 21, and semifinalists on Wednesday, Nov. 12. The Davey O'Brien Foundation will announce three finalists two weeks later (Tuesday, Nov. 25) and the winner of the 2025 Davey O'Brien Award will be announced live on ESPN on Thursday, Dec. 11, during The Home Depot College Football Awards.
ABOUT THE DAVEY O'BRIEN AWARD
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 49th Annual Davey O'Brien Awards Dinner honoring the winner will be held Monday, Feb. 16, 2026, at The Fort Worth Club in Fort Worth, Texas. For more information, visit www.daveyobrienaward.com. 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 2025 college football season.
NCFAA WATCH LISTS
The Davey O'Brien Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses college football's most prestigious awards. Sixteen NCFAA members are unveiling preseason watch lists over a two-week-plus period as the association spearheads a coordinated effort to promote each award's preseason candidates.
The following is the 2025 preseason watch list calendar and a link to honorees:
—TECH —
Morton, already tabbed to the Maxwell and Wuerffel award watch lists this preseason, adds a third entering his fifth year as a Red Raider. The 2025 Davey O'Brien preseason watch list includes 36 FBS quarterbacks recognized, led by the Big 12 Conference, representing the most of all leagues with eight quarterbacks honored. The Big 12 is followed closely by the SEC and ACC, both with seven.
Texas Tech boasts a 14-4 record since the start of the 2023 season in games Morton starts and finishes, which includes a 9-3 mark at home. He enters his final season with 33 games played and 24 career starts, owning 6,209 career passing yards, and is not far from eclipsing the likes of Zebbie Lethridge (6,789), Billy Joe Tolliver (6,756) and B.J. Symons (6,378) over the first month of 2025, which would move Morton to No. 7 on Texas Tech's list of all-time career passing yard leaders.
The official Davey O'Brien Midseason Watch List will be released on Tuesday, Oct. 21, and semifinalists on Wednesday, Nov. 12. The Davey O'Brien Foundation will announce three finalists two weeks later (Tuesday, Nov. 25) and the winner of the 2025 Davey O'Brien Award will be announced live on ESPN on Thursday, Dec. 11, during The Home Depot College Football Awards.
ABOUT THE DAVEY O'BRIEN AWARD
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 49th Annual Davey O'Brien Awards Dinner honoring the winner will be held Monday, Feb. 16, 2026, at The Fort Worth Club in Fort Worth, Texas. For more information, visit www.daveyobrienaward.com. 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 2025 college football season.
NCFAA WATCH LISTS
The Davey O'Brien Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses college football's most prestigious awards. Sixteen NCFAA members are unveiling preseason watch lists over a two-week-plus period as the association spearheads a coordinated effort to promote each award's preseason candidates.
The following is the 2025 preseason watch list calendar and a link to honorees:
- Mon., July 28: Maxwell Award
- Tue., July 29: Outland Trophy/Bronko Nagurski Trophy
- Wed., July 30: Paycom Jim Thorpe Award/Butkus Award
- Thu., July 31: Paul Hornung Award/Allstate Wuerffel Trophy
- Fri., Aug. 1: Lou Groza Award/Ray Guy Award
- Mon., Aug. 4: Walter Camp Award
- Tue., Aug. 5: Doak Walker Award
- Wed., Aug. 6: Biletnikoff Award
- Thu., Aug. 7: Davey O'Brien Award
- Fri., Aug. 8: Mackey Award/Rimington Trophy
- Mon., Aug. 11: Bednarik Award
—TECH —
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