NEW ORLEANS – Arkansas State’s Fredi Knighten and Georgia Southern’s Kevin Ellison have been named to the Manning Award Watch List as announced by the by the Allstate Sugar Bowl on Thursday.
 
Created by the Allstate Sugar Bowl, the Manning Award will be presented to the nation’s top quarterback after the conclusion of this season’s bowl games on Jan. 13. ?It is the only quarterback award that includes the candidates’ bowl performances in its balloting.
 
Recently named the Sun?Belt Conference preseason first team quarterback, Knighten ranked among the top 50 players in the nation in 12 statistical categories as a junior in 2014.  He posted 4,056 yards total offense last season, which were the second most in school history and third most ever by a Sun?Belt Conference player.  His 312.0 yards per game was the 12th highest average in the nation.
 
A second-team All-Sun Belt selection a season ago, Ellison, who was twice named the Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Week, registered 1,096 rushing yards to go along with 1,001 passing yards. He rushed for a season-high 159 yards at New Mexico State and rushed for 151 markers against Appalachian State. He totaled 300 yards (184 passing, 116 rushing) at NC State and had 271 (164 passing, 107 rushing) at Georgia Tech.  Ellison was named preseason second-team All-Sun Belt in the league's coaches' poll, released Monday. He enters his junior campaign seeking to become the sixth Eagle to rush (1,982) and pass (1,757) for over 2,000 career yards.
 
In addition to the Manning Award's yearly honor, each week during the regular season, eight quarterbacks are recognized as Manning Quarterbacks of the Week. Sixty-two players from 58 different schools were honored during the 2014 season, including Knighten on Oct. 13.