The Davey O'Brien Award, awarded since 1981 by the Davey O'Brien Foundation, is one of two annual awards for the best college football quarterback, the other being the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. Of the two, the O'Brien Award is the more prestigious, since all quarterbacks are eligible. The Unitas Award is restricted to seniors.

Past Winners

  • 1981 Jim McMahon, BYU
  • 1982 Todd Blackledge, Penn State
  • 1983 Steve Young, BYU
  • 1984 Doug Flutie, Boston College
  • 1985 Chuck Long, Iowa
  • 1986 Vinny Testaverde, Miami
  • 1987 Don McPherson, Syracuse
  • 1988 Troy Aikman, UCLA
  • 1989 Andre Ware, Houston
  • 1990 Ty Detmer, BYU
  • 1991 Ty Detmer, BYU
  • 1992 Gino Torretta, Miami
  • 1993 Charlie Ward, Florida State
  • 1994 Kerry Collins, Penn State
  • 1995 Danny Wuerffel, Florida
  • 1996 Danny Wuerffel, Florida
  • 1997 Peyton Manning, Tennessee
  • 1998 Michael Bishop, Kansas State
  • 1999 Joe Hamilton, Georgia Tech
  • 2000 Chris Weinke, Florida State
  • 2001 Eric Crouch, Nebraska
  • 2002 Brad Banks, Iowa
  • 2003 Jason White, Oklahoma