Walker Named to Manning Watch List

PHILADELPHIA – The Manning Award, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl, published its complete preseason Watch List. The list includes 30 of the top quarterbacks in the nation heading into the 2015 season, including Temple junior P.J. Walker.

Walker enters the 2015 season having started the last 19 straight games for Temple. In that brief time, he has already climbed into the top six in every major passing category in school history. His 33 touchdowns rank fourth, 4,401 passing yards rank fifth, 335 completions rank fifth, and 631 pass attempts rank sixth. He is the first Temple quarterback to beat both a ranked team (#21/19 East Carolina) and an SEC team (Vanderbilt). Last season, he led the Owls to a 6-6 record and his 2,317 passing yards were the second best in Temple history.

Walker joins four other Owls who have received preseason watch list recognition. Temple senior center Kyle Friend (Rimington Award), redshirt-junior defensive lineman Praise Martin-Oguike (Rotary Lombardi Award), senior linebacker Tyler Matakevich (Chuck Bednarik Award, Butkus Award, Bronko Nagurski Trophy, and Rotary Lombardi Award), junior running back Jahad Thomas (Paul Hornung Award and Doak Walker Award), and redshirt-senior defensive lineman Hershey Walton (AFCA Good Works Team) have also earned recognition on preseason Watch Lists.

The winner will again be selected by a voting panel, which includes national media and each of the Mannings, after the bowls. The list of 10 finalists will be released on Wednesday, November 25. The winner will be announced on Wednesday, January 13.

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're very excited about the group of quarterbacks on our Watch List," said Archie Manning. "And once the season gets rolling, I am sure we will see additional quarterbacks become worthy of inclusion as they establish themselves, so we will make some additions."

This year's Watch List includes players from all 10 Football Bowl Subdivision conferences. The ACC leads the way with five selections, followed by the SEC, the Pac-12 and the American with four each. There are 15 seniors on the list while the junior class is represented by 10 quarterbacks and the sophomore class has four.

"We have had the opportunity to recognize 11 outstanding quarterbacks with the Manning Award," said Paul Hoolahan, Allstate Sugar Bowl CEO. "It is truly a great honor for the Allstate Sugar Bowl to sponsor this award and we wish the best of luck to every quarterback and team in the country for another great year of college football."

Statistically, the Manning Award has seen a wide-range of quarterbacks. Eight of the Manning Award men threw for over 3,000 yards in their winning campaign, including 4,000-yard seasons from Marcus Mariota, Jameis Winston, Robert Griffin III, and Matt Ryan, who connected for over 4,500 yards during the 2007 season. On the other hand, Vince Young, Johnny Manziel and Cam Newton were all 1,000-yard rushers during their Manning years.

Perhaps most impressive among the statistics of the quarterbacks recognized by the Manning Award is touchdowns scored. Six of the winners accounted for over 40 touchdowns during their successful seasons – Mariota's 58 touchdowns in 2014 shattered the Manning Award record of 51 scores from Newton, who threw for 30 touchdowns, ran for 20 more and added a receiving TD.

One of the more unique aspects of the Manning Award is the fact that it takes into account the quarterbacks bowl performances, in addition to the regular season. Ten of the 11 Manning Award winners won bowl games during the season they won the honor.

All of the Manning Award winners follow in the footsteps of the Mannings themselves. In college, Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning combined for over 25,000 passing yards and 201 touchdowns while playing in 10 bowl games and earning four bowl MVP awards. Archie was the No. 2 pick in the NFL Draft, while both Peyton and Eli were selected No. 1 overall.

Walker Named to Manning Watch List

Players Mentioned

Kyle Friend

Praise Martin-Oguike

Tyler Matakevich

Jahad Thomas

Phillip Walker

Hershey Walton

Temple University Athletics