The Manning Award, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl, announced its preseason Watch List on August 22, 2022. The list included 30 of the top quarterbacks in the nation heading into the 2022 season. The winner was selected by a voting panel, which included national media and each of the Mannings, after the bowls.
The 2022 Watch List included players from all 10 Football Bowl Subdivision conferences. The SEC leads the way with six selections, while the ACC and Big Ten have five each.
Five of the 2021 Manning Award finalists were included on the 2022 Watch List, led by the 2021 Manning Award winner Bryce Young from Alabama. Joining Young as returning finalists are Brennan Armstrong (Virginia), Sam Hartman (Wake Forest), Will Rogers (Mississippi State) and C.J. Stroud (Ohio State).
2022 Manning Award Preseason Watch List (2021 stats)
| Name, Class, School |
QBR |
Pct. |
Yards |
TD |
INT |
Rushing |
| Brennan Armstrong, Sr., Virginia |
75.4 |
65.2 |
4,449 |
31 |
10 |
251 yds, 9 TDs |
| Stetson Bennett, Sr., Georgia |
86.7 |
64.5 |
2,862 |
29 |
7 |
259 yds, 1 TD |
| Logan Bonner, Sr., Utah State |
63.7 |
61.2 |
3,628 |
36 |
12 |
NA |
| Chase Brice, Sr., Appalachian State |
67.9 |
62.1 |
3,337 |
27 |
11 |
149 yds, 3 TDs |
| Sean Clifford, Sr., Penn State |
66.2 |
61 |
3,107 |
21 |
8 |
163 yds, 2 TDs |
| Malik Cunningham, Sr., Louisville |
81.9 |
62 |
2,941 |
19 |
6 |
1,031 yds, 20 TDs |
| Brett Gabbert, Jr., Miami (Ohio) |
64.5 |
59.5 |
2,648 |
26 |
6 |
151 yds, 1 TD |
| Jake Haener, Sr., Fresno State |
66.5 |
67.1 |
4,096 |
33 |
9 |
3 TDs |
| Jaren Hall, Jr., BYU |
78 |
63.9 |
2,583 |
20 |
5 |
307 yds, 3 TDs |
| Frank Harris, Sr., UTSA |
75.8 |
66.1 |
3,177 |
27 |
6 |
566 yds, 6 TDs |
| Sam Hartman, Jr., Wake Forest |
79.7 |
58.9 |
4,228 |
39 |
14 |
363 yds, 11 TDs |
| Seth Henigan, So., Memphis |
62.9 |
59.8 |
3,322 |
25 |
8 |
147 yds |
| Hendon Hooker, Sr., Tennessee |
77.9 |
68.2 |
2,945 |
31 |
3 |
620 yds, 5 TDs |
| KJ Jefferson, Jr., Arkansas |
76.7 |
67.3 |
2,676 |
21 |
4 |
664 yds, 6 TDs |
| Devin Leary, Jr., NC State |
71.9 |
65.7 |
3,433 |
35 |
5 |
2 TDs |
| Will Levis, Sr., Kentucky |
76.8 |
66 |
2,826 |
24 |
13 |
376 yds, 9 TDs |
| Grayson McCall, Sr., Coastal Carolina |
81.5 |
73 |
2,873 |
27 |
3 |
290 yds, 4 TDs |
| Tanner Mordecai, Sr., SMU |
69.6 |
67.8 |
3,628 |
39 |
12 |
202 yds, 2 TDs |
| Aidan O’Connell, Sr., Purdue |
85.7 |
71.6 |
3,712 |
28 |
11 |
1 TD |
| Chris Reynolds, Sr., Charlotte |
53.3 |
63.9 |
2,680 |
26 |
9 |
174 yds, 4 TDs |
| Cameron Rising, Jr., Utah |
84.2 |
63.8 |
2,493 |
20 |
5 |
499 yds, 6 TDs |
| Will Rogers, Jr., Mississippi State |
74 |
73.9 |
4,739 |
36 |
9 |
NA |
| Spencer Sanders, Sr., Oklahoma St. |
68.1 |
62.1 |
2,839 |
20 |
12 |
668 yds, 6 TDs |
| C.J. Stroud, So., Ohio State |
91.6 |
71.9 |
4,435 |
44 |
6 |
NA |
| Taulia Tagovailoa, Jr., Maryland |
70.3 |
69.2 |
3,860 |
26 |
11 |
77 yds, 2 TDs |
| Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Sr., UCLA |
79 |
62.2 |
2,409 |
21 |
6 |
609 yds, 9 TDs |
| Payton Thorne, Jr., Michigan State |
77.7 |
60.4 |
3,240 |
27 |
10 |
181 yds, 4 TDs |
| Clayton Tune, Sr., Houston |
71.5 |
68.2 |
3,546 |
30 |
10 |
154 yds, 2 TDs |
| Tyler Van Dyke, So., Miami |
80.1 |
62.3 |
2,931 |
25 |
6 |
1 TD |
| Bryce Young, Jr., Alabama |
87.6 |
66.9 |
4,872 |
47 |
7 |
3 TDs |
After announcing 30 quarterbacks to watch during the preseason, the Manning Award opted to increase its focus players based on the many outstanding performances during the first half of the year. Twelve midseason additions were announced on October 28.
2022 Manning Award Watch List Midseason Additions
| Name, Class, School |
Cmp-Att |
Pct. |
Yards |
TD |
INT |
QBR |
Rushing |
| Holton Ahlers, Sr., East Carolina |
208-296 |
70.3 |
2,435 |
18 |
5 |
79.5 |
114 yds, 3 TDs |
| Todd Centeio, Sr., James Madison |
121-189 |
64 |
1,780 |
17 |
4 |
76.3 |
333 yds, 5 TDs |
| Jayden Daniels, Sr., LSU |
165-236 |
69.9 |
1,812 |
12 |
1 |
80 |
524 yds, 9 TDs |
| Jayden de Laura, So., Arizona |
174-275 |
63.3 |
2,274 |
19 |
7 |
74.7 |
71 yds, 1 TD |
| Max Duggan, Sr., TCU |
133-193 |
68.9 |
1,871 |
19 |
1 |
87.1 |
274 yds, 4 TDs |
| Drake Maye, Fr., North Carolina |
162-231 |
70.1 |
2,283 |
24 |
3 |
88.6 |
378 yds, 3 TDs |
| Bo Nix, Sr., Oregon |
153-214 |
71.5 |
1,809 |
17 |
3 |
88.3 |
382 yds, 8 TDs |
| Michael Penix Jr., Sr., Washington |
230-339 |
67.8 |
2,560 |
22 |
4 |
77.9 |
18 yds, 2 TDs |
| Austin Reed, Sr., Western Kentucky |
224-318 |
70.4 |
2,442 |
21 |
5 |
68.4 |
174 yds, 6 TDs |
| Kurtis Rourke, Jr., Ohio |
187-273 |
68.5 |
2,408 |
16 |
3 |
63.6 |
189 yds, 4 TDs |
| D.J. Uiagalelei, Jr., Clemson |
150-234 |
64.1 |
1,803 |
17 |
4 |
69.9 |
350 yds, 4 TDs |
| Caleb Williams, So., USC |
147-230 |
63.9 |
1,971 |
19 |
1 |
86.5 |
235 yds, 3 TDs |
The additions to the Watch List came from eight different conferences with the Pac-12 leading the way with four quarterbacks. The newcomers included seven seniors, two juniors, two sophomores and one freshman.
