NEW ORLEANS – Arizona State University football student-athlete Taylor Kelly has earned a place on the preseason watch list for The Manning Award, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl.
This year’s list of quarterbacks was selected in conjunction with the release of ESPN’s new Total Quarterback Rating (QBR) – the top 30 returning quarterbacks according to the QBR make up the Watch List.
Total QBR measures a quarterback’s contributions to scoring on each play (passing, rushing, sacks, fumbles, and penalties) accounting for game context (down, distance, yard line, time remaining, and score) and adjusted for opponent strength. It is based on a 0-100 scale and 50 is average.
Kelly’s QBR last season was 65.7, third highest in the Pac-12 and one of the top 25 best in the nation.
“College football has needed this for a long time,” said ESPN College Football Analyst Brad Edwards. “Finally, we have a way to measure the performance of a dual-threat QB against that of a pure passer.”
ESPN will release the Total QBR for all quarterbacks over the past nine seasons prior to the start of the 2013 schedule.
A total of nine different Sun Devils, including five on offense and four on defense, earned nods on 15 different preseason award watch lists this summer. Along with the Manning Award, Kelly has been named to the preseason watch list for the O’Brien Award and the Maxwell Award.
2013 Sun Devil Award Watch Lists
Manning Award (nation’s most outstanding quarterback) – Taylor Kelly
Camp Player of the Year – Will Sutton
Walker Award (nation’s most outstanding running back) – DJ Foster, Marion Grice
O’Brien Award (nation’s most outstanding quarterback) – Kelly
Butkus Award (nation’s most outstanding linebacker) – Carl Bradford, Chris Young
Lombardi (nation’s most outstanding down lineman) - Sutton
Thorpe Award (nation’s most outstanding defensive back) – Alden Darby
Outland Trophy (nation’s most outstanding interior lineman) – Sutton
Nagurski Trophy (national defensive player of the year) – Bradford, Sutton
Mackey Award (nation’s most outstanding tight end) – Chris Coyle
Maxwell Award (nation’s most outstanding player) – Grice, Kelly, Sutton
Bednarik Award (nation’s most outstanding defensive player) – Bradford, Sutton
Hornung Award (nation's most versatile player) - Foster
Rimington Award (nation's top center) – Kody Koebensky
Lott IMPACT Trophy (positive influence both on and off the field) – Darby
The Manning Award
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.
The list of 10 finalists will be released on Nov. 27 and the winner will be announced on Wednesday, Jan. 8. The winner will still be selected after the bowls by a voting panel, which includes national media and each of the Mannings.