NEW ORLEANS (September 27, 2018) – Blake LaRussa, a junior from Old Dominion University, has been selected as the Manning Award Quarterback of the Week. He earns the win over seven other Manning Award Stars of the Week in the Allstate Sugar Bowl’s Facebook contest.
Facebook Voting
LaRussa came off the bench during the game’s second series to throw for 495 yards and four touchdowns on 30-of-49 passing, setting career-highs in nearly every category, as he led the 29-point underdog Monarchs to a shocking 49-35 upset of No. 13 Virginia Tech.
The Virginia Beach, Va., native only had one Division II scholarship offer out of high school so he opted to walk-on with the Monarchs. In his first two seasons, he made two starts and saw limited action in 11 other games, totaling 560 passing yards and three TDs in his 13 appearances. He nearly matched his yardage numbers and surpassed the touchdown totals in one performance against his school’s nationally-ranked in-state rival.
“I’m just so proud of him, man,” running back Jeremy Cox told The Virginian-Pilot. “Blake stepped up to the challenge. When his number was called, he did what he was supposed to do.”
Following his memorable performance, LaRussa has been given the starting nod for the first time this season as the Monarchs go on the road to take on East Carolina this Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT on ESPN3.
LaRussa’s top competitors were West Virginia’s Will Grier and Nathan Elliott of North Carolina. Grier completed 25-of-35 passes for 356 yards and five touchdowns, registering his fifth five-touchdown game, as he led the Mountaineers to a 35-6 Big 12 win over Kansas State. Elliott completed 22-of-31 passes for a career-high 313 yards and two touchdowns as he directed the Tar Heels to their first win of the year, 38-35, over Pittsburgh in ACC action.
Manning Award
In its first 14 years, the Manning Award has recognized the top names in college football. It has honored quarterbacks from 12 different schools and from four different conferences. The Big 12 Conference (Baker Mayfield, Vince Young, Colt McCoy and Robert Griffin III) joins the Southeastern Conference (Johnny Manziel, Cam Newton, JaMarcus Russell and Tim Tebow) and the Atlantic Coast Conference (Deshaun Watson twice, Matt Ryan and Jameis Winston) with four Manning Award winners each, while Texas is the only school with two different winners (McCoy and Young).
All the Manning Award winners follow in the footsteps of the Mannings themselves. In college, Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning combined for over 25,000 passing yards and 201 touchdowns while playing in 10 bowl games and earning four bowl MVP awards. Archie was the No. 2 pick in the NFL Draft, while both Peyton and Eli were selected No. 1 overall.
-www.AllstateSugarBowl.org-
