The Manning Award, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl, announced its preseason Watch List on August 16, 2018. The list included 30 of the top quarterbacks in the nation heading into the 2018 season. The winner will again be selected by a voting panel, which includes national media and each of the Mannings, after the bowls.
“We’re very excited to jump into another college football season and to have the opportunity to watch all of the tremendous quarterbacks around the country,” said Archie Manning. “While these 30 quarterbacks have been selected to our Watch List, every quarterback in the nation remains eligible to earn the honor. We will make some midseason additions which will allow us to recognize some new faces as well as some of the standout quarterbacks that are still in the midst of preseason competition.”
The 2018 Watch List included players from all 10 Football Bowl Subdivision conferences. The SEC led the way with five selections, while the ACC and the Big Ten each had four selections, followed by the Pac-12 and the MAC with three each. There were 17 seniors on the list while the junior class was represented by 12 quarterbacks and the sophomore class had just one.
Four 2017 Manning Award finalists were included on the 2018 Watch List: Trace McSorley (Penn State), McKenzie Milton (UCF), Jarrett Stidham (Auburn) and Khalil Tate (Arizona).
2018 MANNING AWARD PRESEASON WATCH LIST (2017 STATS)
| Name, School |
Cmp-Att |
Pct. |
Yards |
TDs |
INT |
QBR |
Rushing |
| Jake Bentley, Jr., South Carolina |
245-394 |
.622 |
2,794 |
18 |
12 |
65.1 |
85 yds, 6 TDs |
| Jake Browning, Sr., Washington |
230-336 |
.685 |
2,719 |
19 |
5 |
71.9 |
25 yds, 7 TDs |
| A.J. Erdely, Sr., UAB |
205-338 |
.607 |
2,331 |
16 |
4 |
49.5 |
326 yds, 13 TDs |
| Caleb Evans, Jr., UL Monroe |
211-344 |
.613 |
2,868 |
17 |
6 |
66.7 |
579 yds, 13 TDs |
| Mason Fine, Jr., North Texas |
324-511 |
.634 |
4,052 |
31 |
15 |
56.8 |
NA |
| Ryan Finley, Sr., N.C. State |
312-479 |
.651 |
3,518 |
17 |
6 |
80.4 |
194 yds, 3 TDs |
| Nick Fitzgerald, Sr., Mississippi State |
159-286 |
.556 |
1,782 |
15 |
11 |
78.5 |
984 yds, 14 TDs |
| Andrew Ford, Sr., Massachusetts |
223-353 |
.660 |
2,924 |
22 |
4 |
45.3 |
NA |
| Ty Gangi, Sr., Nevada |
228-374 |
.610 |
2,746 |
25 |
11 |
63.3 |
180 yds, 4 TDs |
| Will Grier, Sr., West Virginia |
250-388 |
.644 |
3,490 |
34 |
12 |
75.8 |
NA |
| Justice Hansen, Sr., Arkansas State |
305-487 |
.626 |
3,867 |
37 |
16 |
52.4 |
422 yds, 7 TDs |
| Ben Hicks, Jr., SMU |
276-472 |
.585 |
3,569 |
33 |
12 |
64.5 |
NA |
| Alex Hornibrook, Jr., Wisconsin |
198-318 |
.623 |
2,644 |
25 |
15 |
74.0 |
NA |
| Josh Jackson, So., Virginia Tech |
236-396 |
.596 |
2,991 |
20 |
9 |
60.3 |
324 yds, 6 TDs |
| Daniel Jones, Jr., Duke |
257-453 |
.567 |
2,691 |
14 |
11 |
52.8 |
518 yds, 7 TDs |
| Kyle Kempt, Sr., Iowa State |
161-243 |
.663 |
1,878 |
15 |
3 |
72.1 |
NA |
| Brian Lewerke, Jr., Michigan State |
246-417 |
.590 |
2,793 |
20 |
7 |
77.7 |
559 yds, 5 TDs |
| Drew Lock, Sr., Missouri |
242-419 |
.578 |
3,964 |
44 |
13 |
74.4 |
NA |
| Trace McSorley, Sr., Penn State |
284-427 |
.665 |
3,570 |
28 |
10 |
81.5 |
491 yds, 11 TDs |
| McKenzie Milton, Jr., UCF |
265-395 |
.671 |
4,037 |
37 |
9 |
84.1 |
613 yds, 8 TDs |
| Gus Ragland, Sr., Miami (Ohio) |
150-268 |
.560 |
2,032 |
19 |
7 |
48.9 |
123 yds, 3 TDs |
| Malik Rosier, Sr., Miami |
224-415 |
.540 |
3,120 |
26 |
14 |
67.7 |
468 yds, 5 TDs |
| Nathan Rourke, Jr., Ohio |
161-292 |
.551 |
2,203 |
17 |
7 |
73.5 |
912 yds, 21 TDs |
| Brett Rypien, Sr., Boise State |
218-348 |
.626 |
2,877 |
17 |
6 |
69.7 |
NA |
| Kyle Shurmur, Sr., Vanderbilt |
220-380 |
.579 |
2,823 |
26 |
10 |
62.9 |
NA |
| Nathan Stanley, Jr., Iowa |
196-351 |
.558 |
2,437 |
26 |
6 |
55.9 |
NA |
| Jarrett Stidham, Sr., Auburn |
246-370 |
.665 |
3,158 |
18 |
6 |
67.2 |
153 yds, 4 TDs |
| Khalil Tate, Jr., Arizona |
111-179 |
.620 |
1,591 |
14 |
9 |
92.0 |
1,411 yds. 12 TDs |
| Manny Wilkins, Sr., Arizona State |
260-410 |
.634 |
3,270 |
20 |
8 |
63.7 |
282 yds, 7 TDs |
| Brandon Wimbush, Jr., Notre Dame |
136-275 |
.495 |
1,870 |
16 |
6 |
76.2 |
803 yds, 14 TDs |
Midseason additions to the Watch List were announced on Thursday, October 18.
2018 MANNING AWARD PRESEASON WATCH LIST ADDITIONS (STATS THROUGH OCTOBER 13)
| Name, School |
Cmp-Att |
Pct. |
Yards |
TDs |
INT |
QBR |
Rushing |
| Ian Book, Jr., Notre Dame |
103-137 |
.752 |
1,151 |
11 |
3 |
74.4 |
112 yds, 3 TDs |
| Sam Ehlinger, So., Texas |
136-207 |
.657 |
1,534 |
11 |
2 |
73.2 |
230 yds, 6 TDs |
| Dwayne Haskins, So., Ohio State |
175-242 |
.723 |
2,331 |
28 |
4 |
85.9 |
1 TD |
| Justin Herbert, Jr., Oregon |
106-168 |
.631 |
1,613 |
17 |
5 |
83.0 |
1 TD |
| Tyree Jackson, Jr., Buffalo |
114-200 |
.570 |
1,543 |
18 |
5 |
79.9 |
2 TDs |
| D’Eriq King, Jr., Houston |
116-184 |
.630 |
1,571 |
20 |
3 |
75.6 |
225 yds, 8 TDs |
| Cole McDonald, So., Hawai’i |
178-278 |
.640 |
2,348 |
26 |
3 |
69.0 |
249 yds, 2 TDs |
| Marcus McMaryion, Sr., Fresno State |
130-182 |
.714 |
1,578 |
11 |
2 |
78.8 |
98 yds, 7 TDs |
| Gardner Minshew, Sr., Washington State |
215-313 |
.687 |
2,422 |
19 |
4 |
77.6 |
2 TDs |
| Steven Montez, Jr., Colorado |
141-200 |
.705 |
1,590 |
11 |
3 |
76.7 |
134 yds, 4 TDs |
| Kyler Murray, Jr., Oklahoma |
96-135 |
.711 |
1,764 |
21 |
3 |
96.9 |
377 yds, 5 TDs |
| Jordan Ta’amu, Sr., Ole Miss |
146-222 |
.658 |
2,298 |
15 |
5 |
79.4 |
253 yds, 4 TDs |
| Tua Tagovailoa, So., Alabama |
88-123 |
.715 |
1,760 |
21 |
0 |
97.4 |
117 yds, 2 TDs |
| Zac Thomas, So., Appalachian State |
70-112 |
.625 |
1,040 |
10 |
3 |
86.8 |
233 yds, 6 TDs |
| Jon Wassink, Jr., Western Michigan |
143-231 |
.619 |
1,924 |
16 |
6 |
75.6 |
125 yds, 3 TDs |
The additions to the Watch List came from eight different conferences with the Pac-12 leading the way with three quarterbacks. The Big 12, MAC, Mountain West and SEC each had two recognized. The newcomers included three seniors, seven juniors and five sophomores.
