Top Five Finalists Named for 2019 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Presented by A. O. Smith

November 26, 2019

A. O. Smith and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Announce 2019 Class of Candidates

The Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Presented by A. O. Smith Corp. has narrowed its 2019 season watch list to five of the nation's top quarterbacks.

The Golden Arm Award Selection Committee selected the remaining nominees based on player performance on-and-off the field. Candidates must be a college senior or fourth-year junior on schedule to graduate with their class.

After 11 weeks of play, these are the five finalists for the 2019 Golden Arm Award:

Joe Burrow, LSU - Burrows has completed 236 of 299 passes for 3,198 yards (79 percent completion rate) throwing for 33 touchdowns with just four interceptions, and a QB rating of 92.6.
Justin Herbert, Oregon – Herbert has completed 200 of 288 passes for 2,329 yards (69 percent completion rate) throwing for 24 touchdowns with just two interceptions, and a QB rating of 78.1.
Tyler Huntley, Utah- Huntley has completed 141 of 191 passes for 2,062 yards, (74 percent completion rate) throwing for 11 touchdowns with just one interception, and a QB rating of 89.5.
Jalen Hurts, Oklahoma- Hurts has completed 151 of 206 passes for 2,742 yards, (73 percent completion rate) throwing for 24 touchdowns with just four interceptions, and a QB rating of 94.1.
Brady White, Memphis- White has completed 164 of 243 passes for 2,511 yards (68 percent completion rate) throwing for 23 touchdowns with just four interceptions, and a QB rating of 74.8.

The 2019 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Presented by A. O. Smith will be presented on Wednesday, Dec. 11 in Baltimore at the Four Seasons Hotel Baltimore.

Giving life to the commitment to give back, the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Educational Foundation and presenting sponsor A. O. Smith continue to promote football on all levels by providing financial aid to deserving young scholar athletes. A. O. Smith is committed to creating innovative solutions that set new standards for their industry, just like Unitas did in football.

Proceeds donated to the Golden Arm Award help support the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Educational Foundation, which helps underprivileged and deserving student athletes throughout Maryland and Kentucky.

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.

Unitas was inducted into Pro Football's Hall of Fame in 1979. The Hall of Fame, in commemorations of the NFL's 25th, 50th, and 75th anniversaries, selected Unitas as the top quarterback of all time. In turn-of-the-century listings, he was named to Sports Illustrated's list of top 10 athletes, Time Magazine's list of 10 most influential athletes, and ESPN's series on the 50 greatest athletes of the century.

Past standout winners of the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award include the following: Peyton Manning (Tennessee, 1997); Carson Palmer (USC, 2002); Eli Manning (Ole Miss, 2003); Brady Quinn (Notre Dame, 2006); Matt Ryan (Boston College, 2007); Colt McCoy (Texas, 2009); Andrew Luck (Stanford, 2011); Marcus Mariota (Oregon, 2014); Connor Cook (Michigan State, 2015); Deshaun Watson (Clemson, 2016); Mason Rudolph (Oklahoma State, 2017); and last year's winner, Gardner Minshew II (Washington State).

Other sponsors of the Golden Arm Award Presented by A. O. Smith include the following: MedStar Sports Medicine, The Babe Ruth Museum, Century Engineering, Comcast, Dunbar Security Solutions, Dunbar Protective Services, The Four Season Hotel Baltimore, Haddock Investments, Harvey Agency, HMS Insurance Associates Inc., Milwaukee Tool, PSAV, Panini, TRAY, TTI, The Scott Garceau Show, SILKS, Wilson Sporting Goods, Wolf Professional Security Inc. and ZBest Executive & Global Transportation Services.