Killer Frogs

TCU Football: Max Duggan Wins the Davey O'Brien Award

TCU's Max Duggan has recently been announced as the winner of the 2022 Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award

Nathan Cross

TCU Football: Max Duggan Wins the Davey O'Brien Award
TCU Football: Max Duggan Wins the Davey O'Brien Award /
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Max Duggan has overcame so much and has worked very hard this season. Duggan went from the teams backup to leading his team to the College Football Playoffs. His work has definitely has been noticed by the whole country. On Thursday Duggan added to his resume, after an announcement was made during the ESPN College Football Awards Show that he had won the Davey O'Brien Award. Max has had a busy, but exciting week, Just before receiving the news of winning the award, Max was in Baltimore to receive the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. He also will end his trip this weekend in New York as a Heisman Finalist, and potentially the winner of The Heisman Trophy. Duggan is the first Horned Frog to win the Davey O'Brien Award, which is named after TCU's 1938 Heisman winner who led the Horned Frogs to the national championship that season.

The award was created in 1977, to honor the legend himself Davey O'Brien. The award is given each season to the nations top quarterback. Let's dive a little deeper into what led to Max earning this prestigious award. He has also been named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year and unanimous First-Team All-Big 12 selection. Duggan is ninth in the nation in passing efficiency with a 165.5 rating. He is also tied for second place among Power 5 quarterbacks, one off the lead, with 16 touchdown passes of at least 20 yards and has accounted for three or more touchdowns in eight of his 12 starts this season. Duggan has had an outstanding season, he leads the Big 12 in passing efficiency, touchdown passes (30), passing yards (3,321), yards per attempt (9.0) and yards per completion (13.9). He has thrown only four interceptions. His touchdown passes and 36 touchdowns responsible for (30 passing, 6 rushing) rank third for a season in TCU history, while his 64.9 completion percentage is ranked fourth. There is no question why he his winning and being considered for most, if not all awards, if you look at his stats and his story.

Max Duggan has been good all season; however, a few games have shown who he is as a person, leader, and player. Duggan fought hard to attempt a comeback win against Kansas State in the Big 12 Championship Game, leading the team on a pair of scoring drives to force overtime after an 11-point deficit in the final 7 minutes. He became the first player with 250 yards passing and 100 rushing in a conference championship game since 2015. Here is a little recap of that game in case you missed the unfortunate outcome. He rushed for 95 yards on the game, tying an 80-yard drive. Max had a 19-yard run on a 4th and two and then a 40-yard gain to set up his 8-yard scoring run on the next snap. He then completed a pass to Tight End Jared Wiley for the 2-point conversion. However, they fell shy of the comeback win as the Wildcats held them in OT on the one-yard line.

Another game that made Max known to the nation was the 29-28 comeback win at Baylor; Duggan led fourth-quarter scoring drives on TCU's final two possessions without its leading rusher (Kendre Miller) and top two receivers (Quentin Johnston, Derius Davis). TCU did this without any timeouts, using a play they had been prating called the "Bazooka." Duggan completed 7-of-9 passes for 83 yards while rushing four times for 33 yards. Max led the offense down the field, allowing Griffin Kell to kick the game-winning field goal.

In the game where TCU obliterated Oklahoma, Max threw a 73-yard touchdown pass to Taye Barber and a 67-yard scoring run just 1:18 apart, becoming the second player nationally in the last 15 years and first since Lamar Jackson in 2016 with a touchdown pass and touchdown run of at least 60 yards in the first quarter of a game.

Max Duggan has led the Frogs to their first College Football Playoff Appearance. TCU is 12-1, including the Big 12's first 9-0 conference season since 2016. The Horned Frogs will face No. 2 Michigan in the CFP Semifinal Vrbo Fiesta Bowl on Dec. 31.

Duggan will be recognized at the Davey O'Brien Award banquet on Feb. 20 in Fort Worth.

I want to close this article with this. Max, if you are reading this, I want to personally thank you for not only being my favorite player but also giving Horned Frog fans the best season we could have asked for. It has been the best season being able to watch this fantastic football team. I am sure proud to be a Horned Frog.

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Nathan Cross
NATHAN CROSS

Nathan (Nate) Cross is a current TCU student (Class of 2025), avid golfer, and a Horned Frog sports enthusiast. He enjoys anything sports-related such as writing, following all stats, and player movements. Additionally, he is always up for a good sports debate.

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