NEW ORLEANS (Oct. 13, 2026) – Four quarterbacks who excelled through the air and on the ground headline this week's Manning Futures honorees.
West Jefferson's Curnell Cole ran for 185 yards and three touchdowns to outlast East Jefferson in a shootout, while Northshore's JJ Gonzalez and Patrick Taylor's Parker Marks kept their teams unbeaten with big performances. Archbishop Rummel's Colton
Nussmeier rounds out the group after accounting for four touchdowns in a district win over Brother Martin.
The recognition is called "Futures" because these high school stars are potential future candidates for the Manning Award, which the Allstate Sugar Bowl created in 2004 to honor the college football accomplishments of Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning. The award recognizes the nation's top collegiate quarterback each year.
Since the Futures program began in 2020, the Sugar Bowl has recognized 142 quarterbacks from 59 different high schools.
Manning Award Futures – High School QBs of the Week, 10/13/26
Curnell Cole, West Jefferson
Cole completed 5 of 9 passes for 107 yards and rushed 19 times for 185 yards and three touchdowns in a 39-35 win over East Jefferson.
JJ Gonzalez, Northshore
Gonzalez completed 16 of 23 passes for 166 yards and a touchdown and added 26 rushing yards on 7 carries in a 7-3 win over St. Paul's to remain unbeaten.
Parker Marks, Patrick Taylor
Marks completed 13 of 19 passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns and rushed 8 times for a team-high 104 yards and a score in a 49-6 win over Jefferson Rise to stay unbeaten.
Colton Nussmeier, Archbishop Rummel
Nussmeier completed 9 of 16 passes for 127 yards and two touchdowns and rushed 5 times for 33 yards and two more scores in a 33-10 win over Brother Martin.
The 93rd Allstate Sugar Bowl Football Classic, serving as a College Football Playoff Semifinal, will be played January 15, 2027. Beyond football, the Sugar Bowl Committee annually invests more than $1 million in the community through the hosting and sponsorship of sporting events, awards, scholarships and clinics, supporting and honoring thousands of student-athletes each year while injecting more than $2.6 billion into the local economy over the last decade.
For more information, visit www.AllstateSugarBowl.org.
