Just one day after being picked to the Maxwell Award Watch List, University of Hawai'i junior Cole McDonald was among 30 of the nation's top returning quarterbacks selected to the Davey O'Brien Award Watch List.
 
The Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award is presented annually to the nation's best college quarterback and is the oldest and most prestigious national quarterback award.
 
The last UH quarterback named to the watch list was Bryant Moniz in 2011.
 
Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, a finalist for the 2018 award, headlines the list that also includes eight returning semifinalists. McDonald is one of two Mountain West quarterbacks named to the list along with Utah State's Jordan Love, a 2018 semifinalist.
 
McDonald, a senior from La Mirada, Calif., was among the nation's Top 10 in six categories including sixth in passing touchdowns (36) and eighth in passing yards per game (298.1) and total offense (325.7). The honorable mention all-Mountain West selection led the Rainbow Warriors to an eight-win season and appearance in the SoFi Hawai'i Bowl.
 
Sixteen semifinalists for the award will be named on Wednesday, Nov. 13. From that list, the Foundation will announce the three finalists on Monday, Nov. 25. The 2019 Davey O'Brien Award winner will be unveiled live on ESPN Thursday, Dec. 12, during The Home Depot College Football Awards.
 
The 2019 season marks the 13th year that fans will be invited to participate in the voting process on VoteOBrien.org. Results from the Davey O'Brien fan vote will be combined with the ballots from the selection committee.