NEW ORLEANS – The Manning Award, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl, announced its preseason Watch List on Wednesday with three Sun Belt student-athletes recognized.
Appalachian State’s Taylor Lamb, Idaho’s Matt Linehan, and Troy’s Brandon Silvers were all listed among the top 30 quarterbacks in the nation heading into the 2017 season.
The winner will again be selected by a voting panel, which includes national media and each of the Mannings, after the bowls.
STUDENT-ATHLETE PROFILES:
Taylor Lamb
Quarterback • Senior • 6-2 • 200
Physical Education
Second among active quarterbacks in college football with 27 wins as a starter (Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma)…Fifth in Sun Belt history and second in App State history with 63 career touchdown passes, needs 11 to become App’s career leader and 18 to reach the Sun Belt mark…Third in App State history with 8,473 career yards of total offense, trails Richie Williams (9,370) for second-all-time…Threw for 2,281 yards, including five 200-yard passing games … top of App State career records in passing yards (7,049, third all-time), pass attempts (903, fourth all-time), pass completions (548, third all-time), touchdown passes (63, second all-time) and passing yards per game (185.5, third all-time) … named honorable-mention All-Sun Belt … 129.9 passing efficiency ranked fourth in the Sun Belt … set a career-high in rushing yards with 506 on the season … started all 13 games … scored the first touchdown of the 2016 season on a 5-yard rush at No. 9 Tennessee … registered 108 passing yards in the opening game, including a 33-yard touchdown pass in the first half securing a 13-3 halftime lead over Tennessee.
Matt Linehan
Quarterback • Senior • 6-3 • 239
Broadcast and Digital Media
Continues to be a leader on the offense and further made his marks on the Idaho record books ... threw for the fifth-highest single-game total in school history with 476 yards against New Mexico State ... is now one of three players to have 12 or more games of 300+ yards in school history ... on the career records list, he is third in completion percentage (.611); fourth in average per game (248.5) and passes completed (724); fifth in attempts (1,184) and yards (8,696), and sixth in touchdown passes (46) .... his single-season totals for 2016 were sixth in completions (257), seventh in yards (3,184) and tied for 10th in completion percentage (.619) ... his four touchdown passes in the Vandals’ Famous Idaho Potato Bowl victory tied for third-best single game in school history ... he was chosen Most Valuable Player of the Game and was a second-team all-Sun Belt Conference choice ... he finished first in passing yards (3,184); second in pass efficiency (136.7) and passing touchdowns (19); third in the conference in completion percentage (.619), points responsible for (140), and points responsible for per game (10.8).
Brandon Silvers
Quarterback • Senior • 6-3 • 219
Sport & Fitness Management
A three-time All-Sun Belt selection and NCAA record holder, Brandon Silvers returns as a fourth-year starter under center for the Trojans … Led the Sun Belt with 23 touchdown passes to go along with only 12 interceptions – his 11 TD/INT gap was the largest in the Sun Belt … His 23 touchdown passes were four more than anyone in the year … Finished second in the league by four overall passing yards with 3,180 on the year … His passing total was the fifth most in a season in Troy history, while his completions ranked as the fourth most, his completion percentage (63.7) was seventh best and his touchdown tally was fourth best … Threw multiple touchdown passes in eight total games, including the first six of the season … Completion percentage ranked 18th nationally and sixth among players with at least 450 attempts … Led the Sun Belt with 129 passes of 10 or more yards … Posted the fifth-most yards of total offense in a game in Troy history with 413 at South Alabama, while his 395 passing yards in the game were the ninth most in a game in Troy history.
The Manning Award was created by the Allstate Sugar Bowl in honor of the college football accomplishments of Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning. It is the only quarterback award that includes the candidates’ bowl performances in its balloting.
“We once again have a great group of quarterbacks returning to college football this fall,” said Archie Manning. “While this Watch List has many of the best returning players, we look forward to making midseason additions as teams settle on definite starters and as young players step up and make names for themselves. I’m really looking forward to getting the season rolling to see which guys will rise to the top and become Manning Award finalists.”
Inclusion on the Watch List is not necessary for the quarterbacks to be selected for the honor. Midseason additions to the Watch List will be announced on Thursday, October 12. The list of 10 finalists will be released on Thursday, November 30. The winner will be announced in the week following the College Football Playoff National Championship.
This year’s Watch List includes players from all 10 Football Bowl Subdivision conferences. The SEC and the ACC lead the way with five selections each, followed by the Big Ten, Mountain West and Sun Belt with three each. There are 13 seniors on the list while the junior class is represented by 12 quarterbacks and the sophomore class has five.
Seven of last year’s Manning Award finalists are included on this year’s Watch List: J.T. Barrett (Ohio State), Jake Browning (Washington), Sam Darnold (USC), Luke Falk (Washington State), Jalen Hurts (Alabama), Lamar Jackson (Louisville) and Baker Mayfield (Oklahoma).