Mountain West Football: Four Named To Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Watch List
The award given out in Johnny Unitas’s honor to the nation’s best upperclassman quarterback features four players from the Mountain West.
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Standout signal-callers.
Watch list season popped back up into the college football consciousness today with the unveiling of the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award watch list. Given annually to the nation’s top upperclassman quarterback, four players from the Mountain West appear here among 76 represented schools.
Boise State’s Hank Bachmeier, Utah State’s Logan Bonner, San Diego State’s Braxton Burmeister, and Fresno State’s Jake Haener represent the conference. Bachmeier battled through injuries for most of 2021 while posting career-best numbers — a 62.8% completion rate, 3,080 passing yards and 20 touchdowns against eight interceptions — while Burmeister did the same at Virginia Tech before transferring to the Aztecs this offseason. The former Hokie accounted for 206.2 yards of total offense per game in 2021 and threw for 14 touchdowns while running for two more in 12 games.
Haener, meanwhile, was named as the conference’s preseason offensive player of the year last month after leading the Bulldogs to a ten-win season last year, completing 67.1% of his passes for 4,096 yards and 33 touchdowns against nine interceptions. Lastly, Bonner set a number of new single-season program records while leading the Aggies to the Mountain West championship, posting a 61.3% completion rate with 3,628 passing yards and 36 touchdowns against 12 interceptions.
Last year’s Golden Arm Award winner was Pitt’s Kenny Pickett.
