The Manning Award, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl, announced its preseason Watch List on July 30, 2020. The list included 30 of the top quarterbacks in the nation heading into the 2020 season. The winner was selected by a voting panel, which included national media and each of the Mannings, after the bowls.
The 2020 Watch List included players from all 10 Football Bowl Subdivision conferences. The AAC, Big 12 and Big Ten led the way with four selections, while the ACC, C-USA, the Pac-12 and the SEC each had three selections. There were 13 seniors on the list while the junior class was represented by 11 quarterbacks and the sophomore class had six.
Five of the 2019 Manning Award finalists were included on the 2020 Watch List: Justin Fields (Ohio State), Trevor Lawrence (Clemson), Tanner Morgan (Minnesota), Kyle Trask (Florida) and Brady White (Memphis).
2020 MANNING AWARD PRESEASON WATCH LIST (2019 STATS)
| Name, Cl., School |
Cmp-Att |
Pct. |
Yards |
TDs |
INT |
QBR |
Rushing |
| Jack Abraham, Jr., Southern Miss |
275-405 |
.679 |
3,496 |
19 |
15 |
64.1 |
6 TDs |
| Holton Ahlers, Jr., East Carolina |
264-442 |
.597 |
3,387 |
21 |
10 |
57.8 |
359 yds, 6 TDs |
| Ian Book, Sr., Notre Dame |
240-399 |
.602 |
3,034 |
34 |
6 |
76.3 |
546 yds, 4 TDs |
| Charlie Brewer, Sr., Baylor |
251-389 |
.645 |
3,161 |
21 |
7 |
69.2 |
344 yds, 11 TDs |
| Shane Buechele, Sr., SMU |
307-490 |
.627 |
3,929 |
34 |
10 |
72.5 |
105 yds, 2 TDs |
| Sean Clifford, Jr., Penn State |
189-319 |
.592 |
2,654 |
23 |
7 |
76.8 |
402 yds, 5 TDs |
| Jack Coan, Sr., Wisconsin |
236-339 |
.696 |
2,727 |
18 |
5 |
82.0 |
4 TDs |
| Dustin Crum, Sr., Kent State |
216-312 |
.692 |
2,622 |
20 |
2 |
73.7 |
707 yds, 6 TDs |
| Micale Cunningham, Jr., Louisville |
112-179 |
.626 |
2,065 |
22 |
5 |
83.9 |
482 yds, 6 TDs |
| Jayden Daniels, So., Arizona State |
205-338 |
.607 |
2,943 |
17 |
2 |
64.4 |
355 yds, 3 TDs |
| Sam Ehlinger, Sr., Texas |
296-454 |
.652 |
3,663 |
32 |
10 |
77.6 |
663 yds, 7 TDs |
| Justin Fields, Jr., Ohio State |
238-354 |
.672 |
3,273 |
41 |
3 |
92.1 |
484 yds, 10 TDs |
| Dillon Gabriel, So., UCF |
236-398 |
.593 |
3,653 |
29 |
7 |
68.0 |
4 TDs |
| Sam Howell, So., North Carolina |
259-422 |
.614 |
3,641 |
38 |
7 |
72.3 |
NA |
| Trey Lance, So., North Dakota State |
192-287 |
.669 |
2,786 |
28 |
0 |
— |
1,100 yds, 14 TDs |
| Trevor Lawrence, Jr., Clemson |
268-407 |
.658 |
3,665 |
36 |
8 |
87.3 |
563 yds, 9 TDs |
| Levi Lewis, Sr., Louisiana |
243-378 |
.643 |
3,050 |
26 |
4 |
72.5 |
195 yds, 3 TDs |
| Kellen Mond, Sr., Texas A&M |
258-419 |
.616 |
2,897 |
20 |
9 |
73.5 |
500 yds, 8 TDs |
| Tanner Morgan, Jr., Minnesota |
210-318 |
.660 |
3,253 |
30 |
7 |
84.2 |
NA |
| Bo Nix, So., Auburn |
217-377 |
.576 |
2,542 |
16 |
6 |
63.8 |
313 yds, 7 TDs |
| Drew Plitt, Sr., Ball State |
238-370 |
.643 |
2,918 |
24 |
7 |
55.3 |
171 yds, 5 TDs |
| Brock Purdy, Jr., Iowa State |
312-475 |
.657 |
3,982 |
27 |
9 |
71.2 |
249 yds, 8 TDs |
| Chris Reynolds, Jr., Charlotte |
181-291 |
.622 |
2,564 |
22 |
11 |
67.3 |
767 yds, 6 TDs |
| Chris Robison, Jr., FAU |
291-471 |
.618 |
3,701 |
28 |
6 |
58.8 |
2 TDs |
| Kedon Slovis, So., USC |
282-392 |
.719 |
3,502 |
30 |
9 |
81.1 |
NA |
| Zac Thomas, Sr., Appalachian State |
225-359 |
.627 |
2,718 |
28 |
6 |
69.0 |
440 yds, 7 TDs |
| Skylar Thompson, Sr. Kansas State |
177-297 |
.596 |
2,315 |
12 |
5 |
70.2 |
405 yds, 11 TDs |
| Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Jr., UCLA |
216-362 |
.597 |
2,701 |
21 |
12 |
56.6 |
198 yds, 4 TDs |
| Kyle Trask, Sr., Florida |
237-354 |
.669 |
2,941 |
25 |
7 |
81.3 |
4 TDs |
| Brady White, Sr., Memphis |
269-420 |
.640 |
4,014 |
33 |
11 |
74.3 |
4 TDs |
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic affecting the entire college football schedule, the Sugar Bowl did not announce Manning Award Watch List additions for the 2020 season.
