Myles Brennan

UL Lafayette senior Levi Lewis and LSU junior Myles Brennan were among 48 players named to the 2020 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Watch List, the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Selection Committee announced on Tuesday afternoon.

The award is presented annually to the top senior quarterback or upperclassman set to graduate with their class based on the player performance on and off the field.

Lewis has also been named to the Manning Award Preseason Watch List, the Davey O’Brien Award Preseason Watch List and the Maxwell Award Preseason Watch List.

The Baton Rouge native, who started in all 14 of Louisiana’s contests during the historic 2019 season, threw for 3,050 yards and 26 touchdowns, both of which were single-season school records. He went on to lead the Ragin’ Cajuns to 11 wins and a thrilling 27-17 victory over Miami (Ohio) in the 2020 LendingTree Bowl, where he was named the game’s Most Valuable Player.

He was consistent throughout the year, helping the team set the program record for the highest completion percentage in a single season at 64.89 (268-for-413). His most accurate game came on Nov. 7 at Coastal Carolina, when he set the single-game record for completion percentage at 86.7 (26-for-30).

Lewis’ most impressive performance of the year came in the Sun Belt Conference Championship Game at Appalachian State on Dec. 7, 2019, when he threw for career highs in yards (354) and touchdowns (4) in the team’s second consecutive appearance in the league’s title game.

On top of his stellar performances through the air, Lewis added 195 yards and three scores on the ground, aiding in the team’s school-record 42 rushing touchdowns. With his help, Louisiana finished the season with 6,918 total yards of offense and 69 total touchdowns, the most in a single season in school history.

Lewis enters his final season ranked ninth in program history with 4,012 career passing yards and fourth in total passing touchdowns with 35.

The Cajuns open the 2020 campaign on Saturday, Sept. 5, when the team welcomes in-state foe McNeese State to Cajun Field.

Brennan was the backup to 2019 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award winner Joe Burrow, who set numerous school and Southeastern Conference records in leading LSU to a 15-0 record and the 2019 College Football Playoff championship.

Brennan has completed 42 of 70 passes in his career for 600 yards and two touchdowns. After a freshman season in which he played in six games and completed 14 of 24 passes for 182 yards and a TD, Brennan redshirted the next season after playing in one game.