Gator Country

GAINESVILLE, Fla. * University of Florida senior quarterback Chris Leak (Charlotte, N.C.) has been named to the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award Preseason Watch List, the Davey O'Brien Foundation announced Monday.

Celebrating its 30th year in 2006, the Davey O’Brien Award is the oldest and most prestigious award in the country for college quarterbacks. It is named after the late Davey O’Brien, who became the first player to win the Heisman, Walter Camp and Maxwell Awards in one season when he pulled off the three-peat in 1938.

Leak, who is set to begin his fourth year as the Gators’ starting quarterback, is the NCAA Division I-A active leader in touchdown passes (65) and stands third among active signal callers in passing yards (8,271). He ranks in the UF all-time top-five in pass attempts (1,093), completions (663), passing yards (8,271) and passing touchdowns (65). He has 26 career games with 200 or more passing yards, which ties him with Rex Grossman for third in school history, trailing only Danny Wuerffel and Shane Matthews.

Semifinalists will be announced in early November as voted on by the O’Brien Selection Committee, comprised of a nationwide panel of sportswriters, commentators and former O’Brien Award winners. The committee will then narrow the field to three finalists before announcing a winner on the ESPN College Football Awards Show (Dec. 7).

In 2004, Leak was named a semifinalist for the award. Wuerffel is the only O’Brien Award recipient in school history, having earned the honor in both 1995 and 1996. The Gators last placed a quarterback in the final group for the award in 2001, when Grossman was named to the final three.

The 2006 Davey O’Brien Award Watch List

* Jerry Babb Sr. Louisiana-Lafayette
* Jeff Ballard Sr. TCU
* John Beck Sr. BYU
* John David Booty Jr. USC
* Colt Brennan Jr. Hawaii
* Alex Brink Jr. Washington State
* Brian Brohm Jr. Louisville
* Shaun Carney Jr. Air Force
* Brandon Cox Jr. Auburn
* Trent Edwards Sr. Stanford
* Luke Getsy Sr. Akron
* Graham Harrell So. Texas Tech
* Omar Haugabook Jr. Troy
* Phil Horvath Sr. Northern Illinois
* Brian Johnson Jr. Utah
* Kevin Kolb Sr. Houston
* Chris Leak Sr. Florida
* Clint Marks Sr. Middle Tennessee State
* Bret Meyer Jr. Iowa State
* Josh Padrick Sr. Florida International
* Tyler Palko Sr. Pittsburgh
* Jordan Palmer Sr. UTEP
* Brady Quinn Sr. Notre Dame
* Jeff Rowe Sr. Nevada
* JaMarcus Russell Jr. LSU
* Paul Smith Jr. Tulsa
* Troy Smith Sr. Ohio State
* Drew Stanton Sr. Michigan State
* Drew Tate Sr. Iowa
* Zac Taylor Sr. Nebraska
* Drew Weatherford So. Florida State
* Pat White So. West Virginia
* Kyle Wright Jr. Miami
* Jarred Zabransky Sr. Boise State

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