The Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award® along with presenting sponsor A. O. Smith Corporation announce the 2023 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Watch List Week 8 Stats. Candidates are chosen based on player performance on and off the field. Candidates are judged on their character, citizenship, scholastic achievement, teamwork and leadership qualities.
| NAME | SCHOOL | GAMES | COMPLETIONS | ATTEMPTS | % | YARDS PASSING | TD PASSING | TD RUSHING | TD RECEIVING | INT | YARDS RUSHING | SCORE | RECORD | CONFERENCE | NEXT |
| Jayden Daniels | LSU | 8 | 163 | 223 | 73% | 2,573 | 25 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 521 | W Army 62-0 | 6-2 | SEC | at Alabama 11/4 |
| Jaxson Dart | Ole Miss | 7 | 117 | 184 | 64% | 1,840 | 13 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 346 | W 28-21 Auburn | 6-1 | SEC | Vanderbilt 10/28 |
| Quinn Ewers | Texas | 7 | 151 | 213 | 71% | 1,915 | 15 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 53 | W 31-24 Houston | 6-1 | Big 12 | BYU 10/28 |
| Dillon Gabriel | Oklahoma | 7 | 166 | 233 | 71% | 2,131 | 19 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 230 | W 31-29 UCF | 7-0 | Big 12 | at Kansas 10/28 |
| Sam Hartman | Notre Dame | 8 | 131 | 203 | 65% | 1,838 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 14 | Idle | 6-2 | Independent | Pitt 10/28 |
| Will Howard | Kansas State | 7 | 122 | 198 | 62% | 1,464 | 12 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 289 | W 41-3 TCU | 5-2 | Big 12 | Houston 10/28 |
| KJ Jefferson | Arkansas | 8 | 143 | 219 | 65% | 1,547 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 200 | L 7-3 Mississippi State | 2-6 | SEC | at Florida 11/4 |
| Devin Leary | Kentucky | 7 | 106 | 195 | 54% | 1,377 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 7 | -45 | Idle | 5-2 | SEC | Tennessee 10/28 |
| Riley Leonard | Duke | 6 | 86 | 142 | 61% | 981 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 339 | L 38-20 Florida State | 5-2 | ACC | at Louisville 10/28 |
| Drake Maye | North Carolina | 7 | 170 | 260 | 65% | 2,249 | 14 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 201 | L 31-27 Virginia | 6-1 | ACC | at Georgia Tech 10/28 |
| Grayson McCall | Coastal Carolina | 7 | 151 | 224 | 67% | 1,919 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 48 | W 27-17 Arkansas State | 4-3 | Sun Belt | Marshall 10/28 |
| J.J. McCarthy | Michigan | 8 | 132 | 169 | 78% | 1,799 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 168 | W 49-0 Michigan State | 8-0 | Big Ten | Purdue 11/4 |
| Joe Milton III | Tennessee | 7 | 140 | 223 | 63% | 1,535 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 232 | L 34-20 Alabama | 5-2 | SEC | at Kentucky 10/28 |
| Bo Nix | Oregon | 7 | 182 | 232 | 78% | 2,089 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 105 | W 38-24 Washington State | 7-0 | Pac-12 | at Utah 10/28 |
| Michael Penix Jr. | Washington | 7 | 182 | 257 | 71% | 2,576 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | W 15-7 Arizona State | 7-0 | Pac-12 | at Stanford 10/28 |
| Michael Pratt | Tulane | 5 | 80 | 113 | 71% | 1,121 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 191 | W 35-28 North Texas | 5-1 | American | at Rice 10/28 |
| Spencer Rattler | South Carolina | 7 | 165 | 233 | 71% | 1,941 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 114 | L 34-12Missouri | 3-4 | SEC | at Texas A&M 10/28 |
| Austin Reed | Western Kentucky | 7 | 174 | 294 | 59% | 1,915 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 4 | -49 | L 20-17 Jacksonville State | 4-3 | Conference USA | at Liberty 10/24 |
| Garrett Shrader | Syracuse | 7 | 111 | 179 | 62% | 1,371 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 358 | Idle | 4-3 | ACC | at Virginia Tech 10/26 |
| Kedon Slovis | BYU | 7 | 128 | 226 | 57% | 1,519 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 4 | -49 | W 27-14 Texas Tech | 5-2 | Big 12 | at Texas 10/28 |
| Taulia Tagovailoa | Maryland | 7 | 159 | 249 | 64% | 1,926 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 83 | Idle | 5-2 | Big Ten | at Northwestern 10/28 |
| Jordan Travis | Florida State | 7 | 142 | 218 | 65% | 1,750 | 15 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 176 | W 38-20 Duke | 7-0 | ACC | at Wake Forest 10/28 |
| Tyler Van Dyke | Miami | 6 | 129 | 183 | 71% | 1,721 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 25 | W 28-20 Clemson; DNP (injury) | 5-2 | ACC | Virginia 10/28 |
| Cameron Ward | Washington State | 7 | 181 | 259 | 70% | 2,217 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 131 | L 38-24 Oregon | 4-3 | Pac-12 | at Arizona State 10/28 |
| Caleb Williams | USC | 8 | 166 | 237 | 70% | 2,277 | 23 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 143 | L 34-32 Utah | 6-2 | Pac-12 | at Cal 10/28 |