AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas Longhorns sophomore quarterback Quinn Ewers was named to the preseason watch list for the Davey O’Brien Award.

Announced on Tuesday by the Davey O’Brien Foundation, Ewers was included with 34 other returning quarterbacks from across the country, including 2022 winner Caleb Williams from Southern California.

Ewers completed 58% of his passes and threw for 2,177 yards with 15 touchdowns and six interceptions last season as a freshman. Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said he’s been impressed with the amount of work Ewers put in during the offseason, saying Ewers is in the best shape he’s ever seen him in.

“I think Quinn has worked at that over the last 7 or 8 months and he’s starting to see the value in that,” Sarkisian said after the first day of training camp Aug. 2. “Quinn is a great guy — super coachable, a really good teammate, humble and hard-working and he cares about the people around him. I don’t know if everyone knew that about him a year ago, but now I think people understand that.”

Ewers is one of five sophomores included on the watch list, another one being former Westlake Chaparral star Cade Klubnik who now plays for Clemson. UTSA’s Frank Harris and Oklahoma’s Dillon Gabriel also made the watch list. Michael Penix Jr., a senior at Washington who led the Huskies past the Longhorns in last season’s Alamo Bowl, is on the watch list as well.

The last Longhorn to win the award was Colt McCoy in 2009 and Vince Young won in 2005. Before the award was given out to the nation’s most outstanding quarterback, it was awarded to the best player in the Southwest. Earl Campbell won it in 1977 along with the Heisman Trophy.

The midseason watch list will be released Oct. 24 with the semifinalists announced Nov. 14. Finalists will be named Nov. 28. The award will be given out at The Home Depot College Football Awards on Dec. 7.