Passer Rating vs EPA: Which Tells You More?
Why we rank quarterbacks by EPA per dropback, and what passer rating still gets right.
Read Article →Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award: Winners by Year 1987–2025
Given to the top senior or fourth-year quarterback in college football since 1987 and named for Hall of Fame quarterback Johnny Unitas.
All Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Winners by Year
| Season | Winner | School |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Diego Pavia | Vanderbilt |
| 2024 | Shedeur Sanders | Colorado |
| 2023 | Jayden Daniels | LSU |
| 2022 | Max Duggan | TCU |
| 2021 | Kenny Pickett | Pittsburgh |
| 2020 | Mac Jones | Alabama |
| 2019 | Joe Burrow | LSU |
| 2018 | Gardner Minshew | Washington State |
| 2017 | Mason Rudolph | Oklahoma State |
| 2016 | Deshaun Watson | Clemson |
| 2015 | Connor Cook | Michigan State |
| 2014 | Marcus Mariota | Oregon |
| 2013 | A. J. McCarron | Alabama |
| 2012 | Collin Klein | Kansas State |
| 2011 | Andrew Luck | Stanford |
| 2010 | Scott Tolzien | Wisconsin |
| 2009 | Colt McCoy | Texas |
| 2008 | Graham Harrell | Texas Tech |
| 2007 | Matt Ryan | Boston College |
| 2006 | Brady Quinn | Notre Dame |
| 2005 | Matt Leinart | USC |
| 2004 | Jason White | Oklahoma |
| 2003 | Eli Manning | Ole Miss |
| 2002 | Carson Palmer | USC |
| 2001 | David Carr | Fresno State |
| 2000 | Chris Weinke | Florida State |
| 1999 | Chris Redman | Louisville |
| 1998 | Cade McNown | UCLA |
| 1997 | Peyton Manning | Tennessee |
| 1996 | Danny Wuerffel | Florida |
| 1995 | Tommie Frazier | Nebraska |
| 1994 | Jay Barker | Alabama |
| 1993 | Charlie Ward | Florida State |
| 1992 | Gino Torretta | Miami (FL) |
| 1991 | Casey Weldon | Florida State |
| 1990 | Craig Erickson | Miami (FL) |
| 1989 | Tony Rice | Notre Dame |
| 1988 | Rodney Peete | USC |
| 1987 | Don McPherson | Syracuse |
19 of 39 winners have a player page here: college data starts in 2011, and winners who never played in the NFL from 2016 on are not in our data. Source: Wikipedia, Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award.
Honors are compiled from public award and league lists; the list text comes from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). A name links to a player page when we have that player in our data and the match is certain; winners from before our data have no link. See an error? Tell us.
QBS BLOG · PASSING QUESTIONS · MINDSET
All Posts →Understanding the Throw.
What the box score cannot tell you about the people behind the pass.
What CPOE Means, and How ACE Builds on It
Completion percentage over expected gives credit for difficult completions. Here is how ACE measures it.
Read Article →Why Sacks Belong Partly to the Quarterback
A sack is the rush, the line and the decision. Why our dropback stats count them.
Read Article →FROM THE A-GAME PODCAST
Listen to the Episode ↗10 Mind-Body Performance Recovery Tools Backed By Science
Learn the break down of ten mind-body recovery tools, each backed by science, including how and when to use them to perform at your peak.