The Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award® along with presenting sponsor A. O. Smith Corporation announce the 2024 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Watch List Week 1 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 |
| Joey Aguilar | Appalachian State | 1 | 22 | 36 | 61% | 326 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 19 | W 38-10 East Tennessee | 1-0 | Sun Belt | @ Clemson 9/7 |
| Drew Allar | Penn State | 1 | 11 | 17 | 65% | 216 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | W 34-12 West Virginia | 1-0 | Big Ten | Bowling Green 9/7 |
| Luke Altmyer | Illinois | 1 | 19 | 24 | 79% | 213 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | W 45-0 Eastern Illinois | 1-0 | Big Ten | Kansas 9/7 |
| Rocco Becht | Iowa State | 1 | 20 | 26 | 77% | 267 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | W 21-3 North Dakota | 1-0 | Big 12 | @ Iowa 9/7 |
| Carson Beck | Georgia | 1 | 23 | 33 | 70% | 278 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 34-3 Clemson | 1-0 | SEC | Tennessee Tech 9/7 |
| Alan Bowman | Oklahoma State | 1 | 25 | 34 | 74% | 267 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | W 44-20 South Dakota State | 1-0 | Big 12 | Arkansas 9/7 |
| Max Brosmer | Minnesota | 1 | 13 | 21 | 62% | 166 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | -6 | L 19-17 North Carolina | 0-1 | Big Ten | Rhode Island 9/7 |
| Byrum Brown | South Florida | 1 | 13 | 20 | 65% | 152 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 74 | W 48-3 Bethune-Cookman | 1-0 | American | @ Alabama 9/7 |
| Hudson Card | Purdue | 1 | 24 | 25 | 96% | 273 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | W 49-0 Indiana State | 1-0 | Big Ten | Notre Dame 9/14 |
| Thomas Castellanos | Boston College | 1 | 10 | 16 | 63% | 106 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 73 | W 28-13 Florida State | 1-0 | ACC | Duquesne 9/7 |
| Brady Cook | Missouri | 1 | 19 | 30 | 63% | 218 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 22 | W 51-0 Murray State | 1-0 | SEC | Buffalo 9/7 |
| Jalon Daniels | Kansas | 1 | 9 | 15 | 60% | 148 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | W 48-3 Lindenwood | 1-0 | Big 12 | @ Illinois 9/7 |
| Ashton Daniels | Stanford | 1 | 17 | 35 | 49% | 163 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 87 | L 34-27 TCU | 0-1 | ACC | Cal Poly 9/7 |
| Jaxson Dart | Ole Miss | 1 | 22 | 27 | 82% | 418 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | W 76-0 Furman | 1-0 | SEC | Middle Tennessee State 9/7 |
| Kyron Drones | Virginia Tech | 1 | 22 | 33 | 67% | 322 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 19 | L 34-27 Vanderbilt | 0-1 | ACC | Marshall 9/7 |
| Billy Edwards Jr. | Maryland | 1 | 20 | 27 | 74% | 311 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 | W 50-7 UConn | 1-0 | Big Ten | Michigan State 9/7 |
| Quinn Ewers | Texas | 1 | 20 | 27 | 74% | 260 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -6 | W 52-0 Colorado State | 1-0 | SEC | @ Michigan 9/7 |
| Noah Fifita | Arizona | 1 | 19 | 31 | 61% | 422 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | W 61-39 New Mexico | 1-0 | Big 12 | Northern Arizona 9/7 |
| TJ Finley | Western Kentucky | 1 | 18 | 31 | 58% | 92 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 17 | L 63-0 Alabama | 0-1 | Conference USA | Eastern Kentucky 9/7 |
| Dequan Finn | Baylor | 1 | 14 | 22 | 64% | 192 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 19 | W 45-3 Tarleton State | 1-0 | Big 12 | @ Utah 9/7 |
| Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi | Colorado State | 1 | 10 | 18 | 56% | 59 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | L 52-0 Texas | 0-1 | Mountain West | Northern Colorado 9/7 |
| Brett Gabbert | Miami (Ohio) | 1 | 22 | 37 | 60% | 227 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -21 | L 13-6 Northwestern | 0-1 | MAC | Cincinnati 9/7 |
| Dillon Gabriel | Oregon | 1 | 41 | 49 | 84% | 380 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -23 | W 24-14 Idaho | 1-0 | Big Ten | Boise State 9/7 |
| Ethan Garbers | UCLA | 1 | 19 | 38 | 50% | 272 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 47 | W 16-13 Hawaii | 1-0 | Big Ten | Indiana 9/14 |
| Garrett Greene | West Virginia | 1 | 15 | 28 | 54% | 161 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | L 34-12 Penn State | 0-1 | Big 12 | Albany 9/7 |
| Seth Henigan | Memphis | 1 | 22 | 30 | 73% | 308 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | W 40-0 North Alabama | 1-0 | American | Troy 9/7 |
| Will Howard | Ohio State | 1 | 17 | 28 | 61% | 228 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | W 52-6 Akron | 1-0 | Big Ten | Western Michigan 9/7 |
| KJ Jefferson | UCF | 1 | 7 | 14 | 50% | 164 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 39 | W 57-3 New Hampshire | 1-0 | Big 12 | Sam Houston 9/7 |
| Athan Kaliakmanis | Rutgers | 1 | 15 | 24 | 63% | 147 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 | W 44-7 Howard | 1-0 | Big Ten | Akron 9/7 |
| Mikey Keene | Fresno State | 1 | 22 | 36 | 61% | 235 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -30 | L 30-10 Michigan | 0-1 | Mountain West | Sacramento State 9/7 |
| Haynes King | Georgia Tech | 2 | 35 | 45 | 78% | 421 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 81 | W 35 12 Georgia State | 2-0 | ACC | @ Syracuse 9/7 |
| Cade Klubnik | Clemson | 1 | 18 | 29 | 62% | 142 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -17 | L 34-3 Georgia | 0-1 | ACC | Appalachian State 9/7 |
| Riley Leonard | Notre Dame | 1 | 18 | 30 | 60% | 158 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 63 | W 23-13 Texas A&M | 1-0 | Independent | Northern Illinois 9/7 |
| Grayson McCall | NC State | 1 | 26 | 40 | 65% | 318 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 16 | W 38-21 Western Carolina | 1-0 | ACC | Tennessee 9/7 |
| Kyle McCord | Syracuse | 1 | 27 | 39 | 69% | 354 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -1 | W 38-22 Ohio | 1-0 | ACC | Georgia Tech 9/7 |
| Cade McNamara | Iowa | 1 | 21 | 31 | 68% | 251 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | W 40-0 Illinois State | 1-0 | Big Ten | Iowa State 9/7 |
| Fernando Mendoza | Cal | 1 | 15 | 22 | 68% | 158 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | W 31-13 UC Davis | 1-0 | ACC | @ Auburn 9/7 |
| Graham Mertz | Florida | 1 | 11 | 20 | 55% | 91 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | L 41-17 Miami | 0-1 | SEC | Samford 9/7 |
| Jalen Milroe | Alabama | 1 | 7 | 9 | 78% | 200 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 79 | W 63-0 Western Kentucky | 1-0 | SEC | South Florida 9/7 |
| Behren Morton | Texas Tech | 1 | 30 | 42 | 71% | 378 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -5 | W 52-51 Abilene Christian | 1-0 | Big 12 | @ Washington State 9/7 |
| Garrett Nussmeier | LSU | 1 | 29 | 38 | 76% | 304 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | L 27-20 USC | 0-1 | SEC | Nicholls 9/7 |
| Cameron Rising | Utah | 1 | 10 | 15 | 67% | 254 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | W 49-0 Southern Utah | 1-0 | Big 12 | Baylor 9/7 |
| Will Rogers | Washington | 1 | 20 | 26 | 77% | 250 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -16 | W 35-3 Weber State | 1-0 | Big Ten | Eastern Michigan 9/7 |
| Kurtis Rourke | Indiana | 1 | 15 | 24 | 63% | 180 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | W 31-7 Florida International | 1-0 | Big Ten | Western Illinois 9/6 |
| Kaidon Salter | Liberty | 1 | 16 | 23 | 70% | 242 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48 | W 41-24 Campbell | 1-0 | Conference USA | @ New Mexico State 9/7 |
| Shedeur Sanders | Colorado | 1 | 26 | 34 | 77% | 445 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 17 | W 31-26 North Dakota State | 1-0 | Big 12 | @ Nebraska 9/7 |
| Brayden Schager | Hawaii | 2 | 42 | 76 | 55% | 430 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 25 | L 16-13 UCLA | 1-1 | Mountain West | @ Sam Houston 9/14 |
| Blake Shapen | Mississippi State | 1 | 15 | 20 | 75% | 247 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 44 | W 56-7 Eastern Kentucky | 1-0 | SEC | @ Arizona State 9/7 |
| Tyler Shough | Louisville | 1 | 18 | 24 | 75% | 232 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -10 | W 62-0 Austin Peay | 1-0 | ACC | Jacksonville State 9/7 |
| Donovan Smith | Houston | 1 | 15 | 30 | 50% | 135 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -12 | L 27-7 UNLV | 0-1 | Big 12 | @ Oklahoma 9/7 |
| Brendan Sorsby | Cincinnati | 1 | 22 | 31 | 71% | 383 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | W 38-20 Towson | 1-0 | Big 12 | Pitt 9/7 |
| Preston Stone | SMU | 2 | 23 | 39 | 67% | 332 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 54 | W 59-7 Houston Christian | 2-0 | ACC | BYU 9/6 |
| Payton Thorne | Auburn | 1 | 13 | 21 | 62% | 322 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 49 | W 73-3 Alabama A&M | 1-0 | SEC | Cal 9/7 |
| DJ Uiagalelei | Florida State | 2 | 40 | 69 | 58% | 465 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | L 28-13 Boston College | 0-2 | ACC | Memphis 9/14 |
| Tyler Van Dyke | Wisconsin | 1 | 21 | 36 | 58% | 192 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 21 | W 28-14 Western Michigan | 1-0 | Big Ten | South Dakota 9/7 |
| Brock Vandagriff | Kentucky | 1 | 12 | 18 | 67% | 169 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 35 | W 31-0 Southern Mississippi | 1-0 | SEC | South Carolina 9/7 |
| Nicholas Vattiato | Middle Tennessee | 1 | 20 | 35 | 57% | 210 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | W 32-25 Tennessee Tech | 1-0 | Conference USA | @ Ole Miss 9/7 |
| Cam Ward | Miami | 1 | 26 | 35 | 74% | 385 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 33 | W 41-17 Florida | 1-0 | ACC | Florida A&M 9/7 |
| Conner Weigman | Texas A&M | 1 | 12 | 30 | 40% | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 26 | L 23-13 Notre Dame | 0-1 | SEC | McNeese 9/7 |
| Hayden Wolfe | Western Michigan | 1 | 12 | 18 | 67% | 141 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -5 | L 28-14 Wisconsin | 0-1 | MAC | @ Ohio State 9/7 |
| Nate Yarnell | Pitt | 1 | 4 | 8 | 50% | 33 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | W 55-24 Kent State | 1-0 | ACC | @ Cincinnati 9/7 |
| Jacob Zeno | UAB | 1 | 23 | 33 | 70% | 215 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 37 | W 41-3 Alcorn State | 1-0 | American | @ UL Monroe 9/7 |