AUBURN, Ala. – A season ago, Jarrett Stidham was chosen as one of the 11 finalists for the Manning Award. On Thursday, it was no surprise to see the Auburn quarterback among the 30 players named to the watch list for the 2018 Manning Award.
The award, given annually to the nation's best quarterback, 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're very excited to jump into another college football season and to have the opportunity to watch all of the tremendous quarterbacks around the country," Archie Manning said.
Stidham, who has been selected to numerous award watch lists over the past month, is coming off a season in which he threw for 3,158 yards and 18 touchdowns. He was also the SEC's most accurate passer, completing 67 percent of his passes, and now as a junior, he's already being tabbed as one of the top signal callers in college football. In Atlanta last month, he was named second-team All-SEC by the media.
The list of 10 finalists for this year's Manning Award will be released on Nov. 29, and the winner will be announced in the week following the College Football Playoff National Championship.
Former Auburn quarterback Cam Newton won the Manning Award in 2010.
Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @greg_ostendorf
