The Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Unveils 2022 Watch List

BALTIMORE, MD — The Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Educational Foundation, Inc., along with presenting sponsor A. O. Smith Corporation, announce the 2022 class of Golden Arm Award candidates. This is the largest selection of active quarterbacks in the history of the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, representing 76 schools around the nation. All 10 FBS conferences, as well as a football independent, are represented on the list. The Big Ten leads the way with 13 preseason selections.

The preseason Watch List, semifinalists, finalists, and award recipient are selected by the distinguished Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Selection Committee, a group of prominent college football journalists, commentators, announcers, and former players. The award annually recognizes the top senior or upperclassman quarterback set to graduate with their class. Candidates are chosen based on player performance on-and-off the field as we head into the 2022 college football season.

2022 Golden Arm Award Watch List Presented by A. O. Smith

Holton Ahlers, East Carolina

Brennan Armstrong, Virginia

Hank Bachmeier, Boise State

Connor Bazelak, Indiana

Stetson Bennett, Georgia

Gerry Bohanon, South Florida

Logan Bonner, Utah State

Charlie Brewer, Liberty

Chase Brice, Appalachian State

Davis Brin, Tulsa

Braxton Burmeister, San Diego State

Zach Calzada, Auburn

Hudson Card, Texas

Sean Clifford, Penn State

Chase Cunningham, Middle Tennessee

Malik Cunningham, Louisville

Jayden Daniels, LSU

JT Daniels, West Virginia

Tommy DeVito, Illinois

Jarret Doege, Western Kentucky

Max Duggan, TCU

Dequan Finn, Toledo

Dillon Gabriel, Oklahoma

Jake Haener, Fresno State

Jaren Hall, BYU

Sam Hartman, Wake Forest

Ryan Hilinski, Northwestern

Hendon Hooker, Tennessee

Dylan Hopkins, UAB

KJ Jefferson, Arkansas

Phil Jurkovec, Boston College

Haynes King, Texas A&M

Devin Leary, NC State

Will Levis, Kentucky

Brendon Lewis, Colorado

Rocky Lombardi, Northern Illinois

Adrian Martinez, Kansas State

D'Wan Mathis, Temple

Grayson McCall , Coastal Carolina

Tanner McKee, Stanford

Cade McNamara, Michigan

Graham Mertz, Wisconsin

Tanner Mordecai, SMU

Tanner Morgan, Minnesota

Dylan Morris, Washington

Bo Nix, Oregon

Chance Nolan, Oregon State

Aidan O'Connell , Purdue

N'Kosi Perry, Florida Atlantic

Spencer Petras, Iowa

Jack Plummer, California

Michael Pratt, Tulane

Spencer Rattler, South Carolina

Chris Reynolds, Charlotte

Anthony Richardson, Florida

Daniel Richardson, Central Michigan

Cameron Rising , Utah

Will Rogers, Mississippi State

Kurtis Rourke, Ohio

Spencer Sanders, Oklahoma State

Tyler Shough, Texas Tech

Garrett Shrader, Syracuse

Jeff Sims, Georgia Tech

Kedon Slovis, Pittsburgh

C.J. Stroud, Ohio State

Taulia Tagovailoa, Maryland

Casey Thompson, Nebraska

Dorian Thompson-Robinson, UCLA

Payton Thorne, Michigan State

Jordan Travis, Florida State

Clayton Tune, Houston

DJ Uiagalelei, Clemson

Tyler Van Dyke, Miami

Grant Wells, Virginia Tech

Hayden Wolff, Old Dominion

Bryce Young, Alabama

Johnny Unitas

The namesake of the Golden Arm Award has a storied history. Johnny Unitas was an 18-year veteran of the NFL, who played his collegiate career at the University of Louisville before joining the Baltimore Colts in 1958. His career passing figures include 2,830 pass completions for 40,239 yards, 290 touchdowns and throwing a touchdown pass in 47 consecutive games.

The 2022 award winner will be presented the Golden Arm Award trophy by The Johnny Unitas Educational Foundation President, John Unitas, Jr., at the Golden Arm Award banquet and celebration at the Four Seasons Hotel in Baltimore, Maryland on Wednesday, December 7, 2022.

Giving life to the commitment to give back, the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Educational Foundation, Inc. and presenting sponsor A. O. Smith continue to promote football on all levels by providing financial aid to deserving young scholar athletes.

Sharing a tradition of innovation with Johnny Unitas, who invented football’s two-minute drill, A. O. Smith has been an innovator in its industry for more than a century. A. O. Smith designs, builds, distributes and supports a broad line of residential and commercial water heaters, as well as commercial boilers. They offer a single-source concept to their customers that simplifies ordering, installation and service and is backed by 80 years of research and innovation.

To learn more about the 2022 Watch List and to watch the full reveal, please visit: 2022 Watch List Unveil. For more information on the Golden Arm Award, please visit: Golden Arm Award. Additionally, follow the conversation throughout the college football season on Twitter, @GoldenArmAward, and use the hashtags #GoldenArmAward and #InnovationLeaders.