Florida redshirt junior quarterback Emory Jones was named a top-25 candidate for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Educational Foundation and A.O. Smith Corporation announced on Thursday.
The Golden Arm Award is presented annually to the top upperclassmen quarterback in the country. A player must be set to graduate with his class to be eligible for the award.
A selection committee that consists of prominent college football journalists, commentators, announcers and former players will select the semifinalists, finalists and winner.
The award is named after Pro Football Hall of Famer Johnny Unitas, who played 17 seasons for the Baltimore Colts after a successful college career at Louisville.
John Unitas Jr. will present the award at the Golden Arm Award banquet and celebration at the Four Seasons Hotel in Baltimore on Dec. 10.
Jones has completed 67.3 percent of his passes for 668 yards with four touchdowns and five interceptions this season. He also leads the Gators with 375 rushing yards on 57 carries. He ranks third among FBS quarterbacks in rushing yards.
He was named the SEC co-Offensive Player of the Week following his performance against Tennessee. He completed 21 of 27 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns and rushed 15 times for 144 yards.
In doing so, he became the first Gator to throw for 200-plus yards and rush for 100-plus yards in the same game since Tim Tebow in 2009. Additionally, his 77.8 completion percentage tied for the 10th-best mark at UF by a player with at least 25 attempts since 1996.
Here’s the complete Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award top-25 list:
Brennan Armstrong, Virginia
Connor Bazelak, Missouri
Anthony Brown, Oregon
Sean Clifford, Penn State
Jack Coan, Notre Dame
Matt Corral, Ole Miss
Malik Cunningham, Louisville
Jayden Daniels, Arizona State
JT Daniels, Georgia
Dillon Gabriel, UCF
Sam Hartman, Wake Forest
Sam Howell, North Carolina
Emory Jones, Florida
D’Eriq King, Miami
Devin Leary, NC State
Grayson McCall, Coastal Carolina
Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh
Jack Plummer, Purdue
Brock Purdy, Iowa State
Spencer Rattler, Oklahoma
Chris Reynolds, Charlotte
Desmond Ridder, Cincinnati
Carson Strong, Nevada
Taulia Tagovailoa, Maryland
Malik Willis, Liberty