Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green has been named to the preseason watch list for the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award. The announcement was made Thursday by the Davey O’Brien Foundation.
The list includes 35 quarterbacks from across the country and is compiled by a subset of the Davey O’Brien National Selection Committee. Selections are based on career performance and expectations for the upcoming season. All players on the list have started at least one game at an NCAA Division I institution.
Green, a redshirt senior from Lewisville, Texas, comes into the 2025 season after a notable 2024 campaign. He recorded 3,756 yards of total offense—602 rushing and 3,154 passing with 23 touchdowns—which is the second-highest single-season total in program history behind Ryan Mallett’s record of 3,795 yards. Green also achieved just the seventh 3,000-yard passing season in Arkansas history. His national rankings last year included finishing 13th in total offense per game (288.9), 14th in passing yards per completion (13.71), and 21st in total passing yards (3,154).
Green earned Liberty Bowl MVP honors after completing 11 of 21 passes for a bowl-record 341 yards and two touchdowns while adding another touchdown on the ground with an additional 81 rushing yards during Arkansas’ win over Texas Tech. This performance marked him as the first Arkansas quarterback to surpass 300 passing yards in a bowl game since 2016. Over three games last season, he threw for more than 300 yards, including a career-high of 416 against Oklahoma State on September 7.
For this season, Green and John Mateer of Oklahoma are noted as the only returning quarterbacks nationally who both passed for over 3,000 yards and rushed for more than 600 in 2024. Green is among ten FBS quarterbacks entering this year who have surpassed both the milestones of throwing for over 4,000 yards and running for more than 1,000 during their FBS careers. His combined career totals stand at 8,576 passing and rushing yards—ranking third nationally among all players with five or fewer seasons of eligibility entering this fall.
Green was also recently named to the Maxwell Award Preseason Watch List.
According to details released by the foundation, “The official Davey O’Brien Midseason Watch List will be released on Tuesday, Oct. 21, and will contain active quarterbacks from the Preseason Watch List, players honored as weekly Great Eight recipients through the season’s first eight weeks, and any additional quarterbacks approved by the selection subcommittee.”
“The thirty-five-player Davey O’Brien QB Class of 2025 will be announced on Tuesday, Oct.28,” according to organizers. “For the fifth straight year fan voting on social media (Facebook Instagram and Twitter) will earn players bonus selection committee votes during semifinalist finalist and winner voting rounds.” First-round fan voting starts October 28 after QB Class announcement.
Semifinalists chosen from this group will be revealed November 12; finalists will be announced November 25; and “the 2025 Davey O’Brien Award winner will be unveiled live on ESPN on Thursday December 11 during The Home Depot College Football Awards.”
Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman began preseason practices last week with his team scheduled for their opener against Alabama A&M at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium on August 30 at 3:15 p.m., broadcasted by SEC Network.
