Per GoBearcats:
University of Cincinnati quarterback Desmond Ridder (Louisville, Kentucky/St. Xavier) was named a semifinalist for the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award the O’Brien National Selection Committee announced on Monday.
Ridder has helped lead UC to an 8-0 start to the season and a No. 7 ranking in all three national polls. The junior has passed for 1,821 yards and 16 TDs while rushing for 526 yards and 11 scores.
He was also tabbed a semifinalist for the 84th Maxwell Award.
Ridder has 21 career rushing TDs, most ever for a UC QB and tied for No. 9 all-time. Over the past five games, Ridder has accounted for 21 TDs, passing for 1,224 yards and 10 TDs while running for 455 yards (8.8 YPR) and 11 TDs. The last FBS player to reach all of those numbers over a 5-game span was Lamar Jackson during his 2016 Heisman season according to StatsPerform.
He was named the Davey O’Brien National QB of the Week on Oct. 28 following the Bearcats win at SMU and was tabbed for the award’s Great 8 twice this season. He has earned American Athletic Conference Player of the Week honors four times this season.
Ridder joins Notre Dame’s Ian Book, Matt Corral of Ole Miss, Texas’ Sam Ehlinger, Justin Fields of Ohio State, UCF’s Dillon Gabriel, Sam Howell of North Carolina, Alabama’s Mac Jones, D’Eriq King of Miami, Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence, Grayson McCall of Coastal Carolina, Texas A&M’s Kellen Mond, Michael Penix Jr. of Indiana, Iowa State’s Brock Purdy, Spencer Rattler of Oklahoma, Kyle Trask of Florida and BYU’s Zach Wilson as semifinalists.
The next step in the process will be to select the award’s three finalists from these 16 quarterbacks. Round two fan voting is now open and will close on Sunday, Dec. 20. National selection committee voting will take place from Dec. 16-20.
Fans can vote for their favorite quarterback’s post from the Davey O’Brien official accounts via three social media platforms—Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. The top five vote getters on those platforms each received bonus committee member votes.
The three finalists will be named on Tuesday, Dec. 22. The winner is to be announced live on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021, on the 30th annual The Home Depot College Football Awards, which will be held virtually from 7-8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Ridder and the No. 7 Bearcats return to action this weekend, facing No. 18 Tulsa on Saturday, Dec. 12 at 4 p.m. ET inside Chapman Stadium. The game will air on ESPN2 and 700 WLW AM. UC has also qualified for the AAC Championship Game and will again match up with Tulsa on Saturday, Dec. 19 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. The game on the Dec. 12 determines the league’s regular-season champion and the right to play host to the title game.
