NEW ORLEANS (October 8, 2024) – The Allstate Sugar Bowl has announced this week's Manning Award Futures – four local high school quarterbacks who turned in outstanding performances on the football field this past weekend. The recognition is entitled "Futures" as these high school stars are potential future candidates for the Manning Award, which recognizes the top collegiate quarterback in the nation on an annual basis. It was created by the Allstate Sugar Bowl in 2004 to honor the college football accomplishments of Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning.
 
The Sugar Bowl has had the opportunity to recognize 89 quarterbacks from 47 different high schools since the honor's inception in 2020.
 
Manning Award Futures – High School QBs of the Week, 10/8/24:
 
Brody Smith, Archbishop Hannan (8-of-12, 176 total yards, 3 TDs)
Smith passed for 126 yards and two touchdowns while running for 50 yards and another score as the Hawks snapped a 15-game losing streak with a 46-7 nondistrict victory over St. Thomas Aquinas at Hawk Field on Thursday.
 
Eli Friend, Isidore Newman (7-of-8, 222 yards, 4 TDs)
Friend completed seven of his eight passes and four of those went for touchdowns totaling 153 yards as he only saw one-half of action in a 49-21 win over Riverdale on Friday night.
 
Blaze Rodriguez, Pope John Paul II (5-of-9, 232 total yards, 1 TD)
Rodriguez passed for 106 yards and ran for 126 as he led the Jaguars to a 28-21 win over St. Martin's Episcopal in a battle of unbeatens at Lester Latino Field on Friday.
 
Caden Heck, Covington (10-of-11, 218 yards, 3 TDs)
Heck led the Lions to 413 yards of offense on just 38 plays (11.94 yards per play) while tossing three touchdown passes in a 48-0 nondistrict victory over Fontainebleau.
 
The Allstate Sugar Bowl has established itself as one of the premier college football bowl games, having hosted 29 national champions, 107 Hall of Fame players, 52 Hall of Fame coaches and 21 Heisman Trophy winners in its 90-year history. The 91st Allstate Sugar Bowl Football Classic, which will double as a College Football Playoff Quarterfinal, is scheduled to be played on January 1, 2025. In addition to football, the Sugar Bowl Committee annually invests over $1 million into the community through the hosting and sponsorship of sporting events, awards, scholarships and clinics. Through these efforts, the organization supports and honors thousands of student-athletes each year, while injecting over $2.5 billion into the local economy in the last decade. For more information, visit www.AllstateSugarBowl.org.