Article Courtesy: Manning Award News, October 17, 2012
Contact: John
Sudsbury, 504-828-2440
NEW ORLEANS - The
Manning Award, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl, announced 10 additions to
its 2012 Watch List on Wednesday. The winner will be announced after the bowls
in January and will be honored at a banquet in New Orleans.
The Manning Award was created by
the Allstate Sugar Bowl in honor of the college football accomplishments of
Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning. It is the only quarterback award that includes
the candidates' bowl performances in its balloting.
After announcing 25 quarterbacks to watch during the
preseason, the Manning Award opted to increase its focus players based on the
many outstanding performances during the first half of the year. While these
players have been added to the Watch List, every quarterback in the nation
remains eligible to win the honor.
The additions to the Watch List come from eight different
conferences with the SEC and Pac-12 each adding two players. The ACC, Big Ten,
Conference USA, MAC, Sun Belt and WAC are all represented as well. The
newcomers include three juniors, three sophomores, two seniors and two
freshmen.
Ten finalists will be determined by a selected panel of
national media covering college football, as well as each of the Mannings. That
list will be released on Wednesday, Nov. 28. The winner will be announced on
Wednesday, Jan. 9.
The Manning Award will be
recognizing its ninth winner this year. USC's Matt Leinart was the inaugural
winner of the award in 2005, followed by Texas' Vince Young in 2006. Both went
on to be top 10 NFL draft picks. In 2007, LSU's JaMarcus Russell earned the
award and was the NFL's No. 1 draft pick. Boston College's Matt Ryan claimed
the award in 2008 and was drafted No. 3, quickly becoming the starting
quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons. In 2009, Florida star Tim Tebow earned the
honor - he also went on to be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft. The
2010 winner was Texas signal-caller Colt McCoy, the winningest quarterback in
college football history at the time, who was selected by the Cleveland Browns
in the draft. Auburn's Cameron Newton earned the award in 2011, prior to being
selected No. 1 overall in the 2011 NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers. This
past season's honoree was Robert Griffin, III, from Baylor, who was also a top
NFL draft pick (No. 2 overall by the Washington Redskins).
2012 Manning Award Watch List
Midseason Additions
Kolton Browning,
ULM, Jr., 146-234-3 (Comp-Att-Int), 1,606 yards, 14 TDs
Colby Cameron, La. Tech, Sr., 167-238-0, 1,906 yards, 18
TDs
Rakeem Kato, Marshall, So. 218-312-6, 2,311 yards, 18 TDs
Taylor Kelly, Arizona State, So., 112-164-2, 1,600 yards,
14 TDs
Jordan Lynch, Northern Illinois, Jr., 109-178-3, 1,487
yards, 11 TDs
EJ Manuel, Florida State, Sr., 132-183-4, 1,804 yards, 14
TDs
Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M, Fr., 128-190-3, 1,680
yards, 14 TDs
Marcus Mariota, Oregon, Fr., 114-168-5, 1,301 yards, 15
TDs
Braxton Miller, Ohio State, So., 96-159-4, 1,271 yards,
11 TDs
Tyler Russell, Mississippi St., 105-182-1, 1,382 yards,
12 TDs
