Texas A&M's Stephen McGee and Sam Houston State's Rhett Bomar are among 26 college senior quarterbacks named to the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm watch list.
McGee enters his senior season at Texas A&M as one of the nation's top dual threat quarterbacks. Last year he led the Aggies in rushing with nearly 900 yards and averaged over 177 yards through the air.
He accounted for over 60 percent of the team's offense a year ago.
Meanwhile, Bomar is the only quarterback on the list who plays in the Football Championship Subdivision.
Last season he started nine games for the Bearkats and passed for over 2200 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also ran for another seven touchdowns accounting for 497 yards.
Bomar is the only quarterback in Bearkat history to pass for over 300 yards and rush for over 100 yards in the same game.
The Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award is presented annually to the nation's top senior collegiate quarterback by the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Educational Foundation, Inc. This prestigious award bears the name of who many refer to as the finest quarterback to ever play the game of football.
Established in 1987, the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award has previously honored 20 outstanding young men.
Other senior college quarterbacks in the top 26 are: C.J. Bacher of Northwestern, Todd Boeckman of Ohio State, Rhett Bomar of Sam Houston State, Tom Brandstater of Fresno State, Hunter Cantwell of Louisville, Rudy Carpenter of Arizona State, Chase Clement of Rice, Chase Daniel of Missouri, Joe Ganz of Nebraska, Sean Glennon of Virginia Tech, Cullen Harper of Clemson, Graham Harrell of Texas Tech, Chase Holbrook of New Mexico State, Brian Hoyer of Michigan State, Will Hudgens of Memphis, Brian Johnson of Utah, Nate Longshore of California, Tyler Lorenzen of Connecticut, Stephen McGee of Texas A&M, Ben Olson of UCLA, Curtis Painter of Purdue, John Parker Wilson of Alabama, Mike Teel of Rutgers, Willie Tuitama of Arizona, Pat White of West Virginia, and Drew Willy of University of Buffalo. These quarterbacks were selected by a committee of well-recognized football experts from across the United States.
The 2008 winner will be presented with the award on December 5th at the Tremont Grand Meeting & Banquet Facility, in downtown Baltimore, Maryland.
Boston College Quarterback Matt Ryan won the award last year. Other past recipients include Don McPherson (Syracuse, 1987), Rodney Peete (USC, 1988), Tony Rice (Notre Dame, 1989), Craig Erickson (Miami, Fla., 1990), Casey Weldon (Florida State, 1991), Gino Torretta (Miami, Fla., 1992), Charlie Ward (Florida State, 1993), Jay Barker (Alabama, 1994), Tommie Frazier (Nebraska, 1995), Danny Wuerffel (Florida, 1996), Peyton Manning (Tennessee, 1997), Cade McNown (UCLA, 1998), Chris Redman (Louisville, 1999), Chris Weinke (Florida State, 2000), David Carr (Fresno State, 2001) Carson Palmer (USC, 2002), Eli Manning (Ole Miss, 2003), Jason White (University of Oklahoma, 2004), Matt Leinart (USC, 2005), and Brady Quinn (Notre Dame, 2006).
As part of a partnership with CN8, The Comcast Network, the announcement of the winner and the award presentation will be carried live exclusively on "Out of Bounds"
at 7 p.m. Throughout the fall, "Out of Bounds"
has provided a regular look at the award contenders, including game highlights and statistical updates on the "Golden Arm Award Watch List" presented by Transamerica.
The special "Out of Bounds"
coverage culminates with the live award winner announcement as well as interviews and reports from the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Awards.
