PITTSBURGH—Pitt redshirt freshman Eli Holstein is one of 35 quarterbacks named to the Davey O’Brien QB Class of 2024 list, it was announced by the Davey O’Brien Foundation.
Each player on the list is now an official candidate to win this year’s prestigious Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award.
Holstein is the only freshman on the list. His play has sparked Pitt to its first 7-0 start since 1982 and emphatically established him as one of college football’s top newcomers.
On the season, Holstein has completed 64% of his passes (138 of 215) for 1,808 yards and 17 touchdowns with five interceptions. He is also Pitt’s second-leading rusher with 286 yards and three TDs on 62 carries (4.6 avg.).
He has already tied Pitt freshman records for touchdown passes (17) and 300-yard passing games (four), matching marks set by Alex Van Pelt in 1989.
Holstein boasts impressive top 20 national rankings in touchdown passes (14th, 17 total), total offense (15th, 299.1 avg.), points responsible for per game (17th, 17.1 avg.) and pass efficiency (20th, 156.3 rating).
Holstein is the first Pitt quarterback to win his initial seven career starts since Dan Marino accomplished the feat over the 1979-80 seasons.
The next step in the Davey O’Brien process will be to select the award’s 16 semifinalists from the 35 quarterbacks. The semifinalists will be chosen based on voting from the Davey O’Brien National Selection Committee as well as bonus ballots awarded from the first round of the Davey O’Brien Fan Vote.
For the fifth consecutive year, the Fan Vote will take place on the award’s three social media platforms—Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (X)—and the top five vote getters on each platform will receive bonus committee member ballots which will be added to the votes cast by the National Selection Committee.
To participate in the Fan Vote, fans must like the original Davey O’Brien Award (@daveyobrien) post highlighting their quarterback. First-round voting will close Friday, Nov. 8 at 11:59 p.m. (ET). The semifinalists will be named on Tuesday, Nov. 12.
The three finalists will be tabbed on Tuesday, Nov. 26, while the winner will be announced live on Thursday, Dec. 12, on The Home Depot College Football Awards telecast on ESPN.
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