Baylor senior quarterback Seth Russell is among 30 signal callers on the Manning Award preseason watch list, the Allstate Sugar Bowl announced Monday. The Manning Award recognizes the country's top quarterback and is the only QB award that takes into account the nominee's bowl performance.
The honor adds to Russell's long list of preseason accolades that includes being named to watch lists for the Maxwell Award, Wuerffel Trophy, Davey O’Brien Award and the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award this fall.
Last season, he was the starting quarterback for BU through the first seven games before suffering a season-ending injury. Russell racked up 2,104 yards, 29 TDs and six picks on 119-200 passing and 402 yards and six TDs on 49 rushes. He was named honorable mention All-Big 12 by the league coaches and a semifinalist for the Davey O’Brien Award. Russell ranked 15th nationally and fourth in the Big 12 with 29 passing TDs in just seven games. He broke the single-season school record with 10.06 total offense yards per play.
Russell was added to the 2015 watch list in October and is the first BU quarterback to be on the preseason watch list since Bryce Petty in 2014. Russell is now one of five Big 12 quarterbacks on the list.
The winner will again be selected by a voting panel, which includes national media and each of the Mannings, after the bowls.
Additional quarterbacks may be added to the watch list after the start of the season. The list of 10 finalists will be released on Nov. 30. The winner will be announced on Jan. 11.
The Manning Award was created by the Allstate Sugar Bowl in honor of the college football accomplishments of Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning.
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