BOISE, Idaho — The 2022 college football season finally arrived Saturday, meaning the celebration of preseason accolades is coming to an end, as athletes hope to play their way into end-of-year award talks.
As Bronco Nation patiently waits for kickoff at Oregon State Sept. 3, blue and orange diehards can toast to seeing their veteran quarterback earn national recognition multiple times this week.
On Aug. 24, the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Educational Foundation announced the candidates for the 2022 Golden Arm Award. Boise State's Hank Bachmeier is one of four Mountain West quarterbacks included on the watch list.
The Golden Arm Award is presented to the top upperclassman quarterback in the country each year, based on performance on the gridiron and outside the white lines. The award's selection committee also recognizes qualities like character, leadership and scholastic achievement.
Despite 25 career starts and passing for 3,079 yards and 20 touchdowns in 2021, Bachmeier did not appear on the 2022 Preseason All-Mountain West Team or the Davey O'Brien Award Watch List for the nation's top passer this offseason.
This week, the three-year starter's preseason hype picked up steam. Bachmeier joined Boise State safety JL Skinner on Pro Football Network's list of Top 100 College Football Players for 2022 and was named to the 2023 Reese's Senior Bowl Watch List in back-to-back days.
Recognition for the Murrieta, Calif., native is well deserved, considering Bachmeier's fight to keep the Broncos' offense productive in 2021.
In a program with deep history at the quarterback position, Bachmeier ranks seventh in program history in 200-yard passing games (20), 10th in completions (252) and is one of 13 players with more than 4,000 passing yards at Boise State.
76 schools and all 10 FBS conferences were represented on the 2022 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Watch List. Utah State's Logan Bonner, San Diego State's Braxton Burmeister and Fresno State's Jake Haener also represented the Mountain West as candidates.
For more information on Boise State's season opener in Corvallis Sept. 3, check out KTVB's Game Day Guide:
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