Grossman enters his junior season after finishing
as the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy a year ago. The Bloomington, Ind.,
native threw for a Florida record 3,896 yards to go along with 34 touchdown
passes a year ago. He became the first quarterback since BYU's Steve Young in
1983 to lead the nation in both passing efficiency (170.8) and total offense
(354.4 yards per game) in the same season.
Grossman will attempt to become the first Gator
to claim the award since former Florida great Danny Wuerfful won back-to-back
Davey O'Brien Awards in 1995 and 1996.
The winner of the 2002 O'Brien Award will be
announced Dec. 12 on the ESPN College Football Awards Show from Orlando, Fla.
Three finalists will be selected by the Davey O'Brien Advisory Committee in late
November and will appear on the show. The
committee is comprised of nationally known sportswriters and commentators and
will vote several times throughout the season to narrow the field.
The winner will be honored at the 26th annual
O'Brien Awards Dinner in February 2003, at The Fort Worth Club in Fort Worth,
Tex. The O'Brien Award is named in honor of the late Davey O'Brien, the
All-American and Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback for Texas Christian
University who led the Horned Frogs to the 1938 national championship.
The candidates on the watch list are:
Grossman enters his junior season after finishing
as the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy a year ago. The Bloomington, Ind.,
native threw for a Florida record 3,896 yards to go along with 34 touchdown
passes a year ago. He became the first quarterback since BYU's Steve Young in
1983 to lead the nation in both passing efficiency (170.8) and total offense
(354.4 yards per game) in the same season.
Grossman will attempt to become the first Gator
to claim the award since former Florida great Danny Wuerfful won back-to-back
Davey O'Brien Awards in 1995 and 1996.
The winner of the 2002 O'Brien Award will be
announced Dec. 12 on the ESPN College Football Awards Show from Orlando, Fla.
Three finalists will be selected by the Davey O'Brien Advisory Committee in late
November and will appear on the show. The
committee is comprised of nationally known sportswriters and commentators and
will vote several times throughout the season to narrow the field.
The winner will be honored at the 26th annual
O'Brien Awards Dinner in February 2003, at The Fort Worth Club in Fort Worth,
Tex. The O'Brien Award is named in honor of the late Davey O'Brien, the
All-American and Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback for Texas Christian
University who led the Horned Frogs to the 1938 national championship.
The candidates on the watch list are:
RJ Anderson, Jr., Syracuse
Kyle Boller, Sr., California
Marquel Blackwell, Jr., South Florida
Brooks Bollinger, Sr., Wisconsin
Timmy Chang, Soph., Hawaii
Casey Clausen, Jr., Tennessee
Ryan Dinwiddie, Jr., Boise State
Ken Dorsey, Sr., Miami
Jason Gesser, Sr., Washington State
David Greene, Soph., Georgia
Rex Grossman, Jr., Florida
Gino Guidugli, Soph., Cincinnati
Mark Farris, Sr., Texas A&M
Kliff Kingsbury, Sr., Texas Tech
Byron Leftwich, Sr., Marshall
Jared Lorenzen, Jr., Kentucky
Luke McCown, Jr., Louisiana Tech
Eli Manning, Jr., Mississippi
Zack Mills, Soph., Penn State
Carson Palmer, Sr., USC
Cody Pickett, Jr., Washington
Dave Ragone, Sr., Louisville
Philip Rivers, Jr., North Carolina State
Chris Rix, Soph., Florida State
Ben Roethlisberger, Soph., Miami Ohio
Chris Simms, Sr., Texas
Jeff Smoker, Jr., Michigan State
Brian St. Pierre, Sr., Boston College
Jason Thomas, Sr., UNLV
Jon Van Cleave, Jr., Louisiana-Lafayette
Seneca Wallace, Sr., Iowa State
Jason White, Jr., Oklahoma
RJ Anderson, Jr., Syracuse
Kyle Boller, Sr., California
Marquel Blackwell, Jr., South Florida
Brooks Bollinger, Sr., Wisconsin
Timmy Chang, Soph., Hawaii
Casey Clausen, Jr., Tennessee
Ryan Dinwiddie, Jr., Boise State
Ken Dorsey, Sr., Miami
Jason Gesser, Sr., Washington State
David Greene, Soph., Georgia
Rex Grossman, Jr., Florida
Gino Guidugli, Soph., Cincinnati
Mark Farris, Sr., Texas A&M
Kliff Kingsbury, Sr., Texas Tech
Byron Leftwich, Sr., Marshall
Jared Lorenzen, Jr., Kentucky
Luke McCown, Jr., Louisiana Tech
Eli Manning, Jr., Mississippi
Zack Mills, Soph., Penn State
Carson Palmer, Sr., USC
Cody Pickett, Jr., Washington
Dave Ragone, Sr., Louisville
Philip Rivers, Jr., North Carolina State
Chris Rix, Soph., Florida State
Ben Roethlisberger, Soph., Miami Ohio
Chris Simms, Sr., Texas
Jeff Smoker, Jr., Michigan State
Brian St. Pierre, Sr., Boston College
Jason Thomas, Sr., UNLV
Jon Van Cleave, Jr., Louisiana-Lafayette
Seneca Wallace, Sr., Iowa State
Jason White, Jr., Oklahoma