FORT WORTH, Texas (Nov. 19, 2018) – Washington State quarterback Gardner Minshew II was named one of three finalists for the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award, the Davey O'Brien Foundation announced Monday.
The Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award is presented annually to the best college quarterback, and is the nation's oldest and most prestigious national quarterback award.

Minshew II, the second Davey O'Brien Award finalist in school history, has thrown for an NCAA-best 4,325 yards while completing 70.4 percent of his pass attempts (407-for-578). He has tossed 36 touchdowns against seven interceptions, and has added three rushing scores.

In addition to leading the nation in passing yards, the senior transfer also ranks first in total offense per game (401.5), completions per game (37.0) and touchdown passes (T1st, 36). He also ranks among the top 5 in the NCAA in points responsible for (4th, 234) and completion percentage (5th, .704).

Against Arizona, Minshew II was 43 of 55 for 473 yards and a school-record and 2018 NCAA-best seven touchdown passes. He has topped the 300-yard passing mark in all 11 games and has eclipsed the 400-yard plateau six times.
The native of Brandon, Miss., has vaulted Washington State to a school-record-tying 10 wins (10-1) and a current ranking of seventh in both the Associated Press and Coaches Polls. Minshew II joins Ryan Leaf (1997) as Cougar finalists for the award.

After totaling the ballots from the Davey O'Brien National Selection Committee as well as fan votes recorded over the past two weeks at VoteOBrien.org, the 16 semifinalists were narrowed down to the trio of signal callers. They will be featured on ESPNU's The Home Depot College Football Awards Nomination Special Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. (ET)/1:30 p.m. (CT).
 
All three are first-time finalists for the award. Alabama and Washington State have never had a Davey O'Brien National Quarterback winner, while Oklahoma has had three previous players win the Davey O'Brien Award a total of four times–Jason White (2003, 2004), Sam Bradford (2008) and Baker Mayfield (2017).