The Manning Award, established in 2004 and sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl, recognizes the nation's top college quarterback.
Nesbitt is the most prolific rushing quarterback in Yellow Jacket history with 2,079 yards on the ground, but he also averaged 10.5 yards per pass attempt, best in the nation among players with 150 attempts. The Manning Award, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl, is releasing the Watch List one player per day through its official Facebook and Twitter pages. The award has honored the top quarterback in the nation for the past six years.
Last season, Nesbitt led Georgia Tech to its first ACC Championship since 1990 and its first Orange Bowl since 1962 as he turned in a rare double 1,000 - passing (1,701) and rushing (1,037) for over 1,000 yards in the same season. He ranked fifth nationally among quarterbacks in rushing and rushed for 90 or more yards six times. His 18 rushing touchdowns ranked seventh in the nation and were the second-most in school history.
The Manning Award was created by the Allstate Sugar Bowl in 2004 to honor of the college football accomplishments of Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning. It is the only quarterback award that takes into consideration the candidates' bowl performances. Ten finalists will be selected in late-November and the winner will be announced after the bowls in January and will be honored at a ceremony in New Orleans.
The preseason Watch List recognizes some of the top quarterbacks in the nation based on previous collegiate performance, however, every quarterback in the nation remains eligible for the honor. Additional quarterbacks may be added to the Watch List after the start of the season. The list of 10 finalists will be released on Monday, Nov. 29. The winner will be announced on Wednesday, Jan. 19.
The Manning Award will be recognizing its seventh winner this year. USC's Matt Leinart was the inaugural winner of the award in 2005, followed by Texas' Vince Young in 2006.
Joshua Nesbitt
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