Spencer Sanders Named to Davey O’Brien Watch List

Spencer Sanders has only played a year of college football, but people across the country are starting to take notice.

Sanders was one of 30 players to make the Davey O’Brien preseason watch list, the committee announced Tuesday. The award is given annually to the nation’s top quarterback.

Sanders started OSU’s first 10 games as a redshirt freshman in 2019 before a thumb injury effectively ended his season (he played in the Texas Bowl but didn’t throw a pass). In his debut to college football, Sanders completed 62.8 percent of his passes and threw for 2,065 yards and 16 touchdowns. A dual-threat, Sanders also ran for 628 yards and two scores.

He had four games where he accounted for more than 300 total yards. Sanders’ best game in terms of yardage came in OSU’s 36-30 loss to No. 12 Texas. In that game, Sanders threw for 268 yards and ran for 109 (377 total yards).

Half of the Big 12’s quarterbacks made the O’Brien watch list, with Iowa State’s Brock Purdy, Texas’ Sam Ehlinger, Baylor’s Charlie Brewer and Texas Tech’s Alan Bowman joining Sanders.

Sanders is one of eight underclassmen on the watch list, joining Boise State’s Hank Bachmeier, Texas Tech’s Alan Bowman, Arizona State’s Jayden Daniels, UCF’s Dillon Gabriel, North Carolina’s Sam Howell, Auburn’s Bo Nix and USC’s Kedon Slovis.

The Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award has been given out annually since 1981. No Oklahoma State quarterback has ever won the award. LSU’s Joe Burrow took home the honor in 2019.