NEW ORLEANS --- Texas A&M senior signal-caller Ryan Tannehill was one of 31 of the nation's top quarterbacks named to the Manning Award watch list, the Allstate Sugar Bowl announced on Monday.
Tannehill, from Big Spring, Texas, is entering his second season as a starter at quarterback after winning the job midway through 2010. With Tannehill installed at starter, the Aggies won six straight games on their way to a share of the Big 12 South division crown and a spot in the 2011 AT&T Cotton Bowl.
“College football is the greatest sport out there and it's always fun to take a look at all the quarterbacks in the country and speculate on who will be the best,” Archie Manning said. “But even the process of narrowing it down to 31 guys was challenging and I have no doubt that plenty of other quarterbacks will jump into the picture as the season goes on. I'm looking forward to simply sitting back and enjoying another great season.”
Tannehill finished 2010 with 1,638 passing yards and 13 touchdowns while completing 152-of-234 of his pass attempts. His completion percentage of 65.0 was easily a school record, and Tannehill shattered A&M's single game passing record in his starting debut with 449 passing yards against Texas Tech.
While Tannehill was seeing his first starts at quarterback in 2010, he was no stranger to the Aggie offense. Even though he was still practicing at quarterback, Tannehill was the Aggies' leading receiver in 2008 and 2009 and had over 100 catches during that span. He was even named the team's Offensive MVP as freshman when he grabbed 55 catches for 844 yards, which included a 12-catch, 210-yard receiving game against Kansas State. His 200-yard receiving game, coupled with his 400-yard passing performance against Tech last year makes Tannehill perhaps the only 200/400 player in NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision history.
This year's Watch List includes players from all 11 FBS conferences. Conference USA, the Big 12 and the Pac-12 are each represented by five players while the Big East, the Big Ten and the Southeastern Conference each have three quarterbacks recognized.
The Manning Award will be recognizing its eighth winner this year. USC's Matt Leinart was the inaugural winner of the award in 2005, followed by Texas' Vince Young in 2006. Both went on to be top 10 NFL draft picks. In 2007, LSU's JaMarcus Russell earned the award and was the NFL's No. 1 draft pick. Boston College's Matt Ryan claimed the award in 2008 and was drafted No. 3, quickly becoming the starting quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons. In 2009, Florida star Tim Tebow earned the honor – he also went on to be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft. The 2010 winner was Texas signal-caller Colt McCoy, the winningest quarterback in college football history, who was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the draft. Last year saw Auburn's Cameron Newton earn the award, prior to being selected No. 1 overall in the 2011 NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers.
2011 Manning Award Watch List
Matt Barkley, JR, USC
Tyler Bray, SO, Tennessee
Alex Carder, JR, Western Michigan
Zach Collaros, SR, Cincinnati
Kirk Cousins, SR, Michigan State
Austin Davis, SR, Southern Miss
Dominique Davis, SR, East Carolina
Nick Foles, JR, Arizona
Robert Griffin III, JR, Baylor
Chandler Harnish, SR, Northern Illinois
Landry Jones, JR, Oklahoma
Case Keenum, SR, Houston
G.J. Kinne, JR, Tulsa
Ryan Lindley, SR, San Diego State
Andrew Luck, JR, Stanford
Taylor Martinez, SO, Nebraska
Bryant Moniz, SR, Hawaii
Kellen Moore, SR, Boise State
Aaron Murray, SO, Georgia
Danny O'Brien, SO, Maryland
Kyle Padron, JR, SMU
Dan Persa, SR, Northwestern
Chris Relf, SR, Mississippi State
Corey Robinson, SO, Troy
Denard Robinson, JR, Michigan
Geno Smith, JR, West Virginia
Tino Sunseri, JR, Pittsburgh
Ryan Tannehill, SR, Texas A&M
Darren Thomas, JR, Oregon
Brandon Weeden, SR, Oklahoma State
Jordan Wynn, JR, Utah
Tannehill, from Big Spring, Texas, is entering his second season as a starter at quarterback after winning the job midway through 2010. With Tannehill installed at starter, the Aggies won six straight games on their way to a share of the Big 12 South division crown and a spot in the 2011 AT&T Cotton Bowl.
“College football is the greatest sport out there and it's always fun to take a look at all the quarterbacks in the country and speculate on who will be the best,” Archie Manning said. “But even the process of narrowing it down to 31 guys was challenging and I have no doubt that plenty of other quarterbacks will jump into the picture as the season goes on. I'm looking forward to simply sitting back and enjoying another great season.”
Tannehill finished 2010 with 1,638 passing yards and 13 touchdowns while completing 152-of-234 of his pass attempts. His completion percentage of 65.0 was easily a school record, and Tannehill shattered A&M's single game passing record in his starting debut with 449 passing yards against Texas Tech.
While Tannehill was seeing his first starts at quarterback in 2010, he was no stranger to the Aggie offense. Even though he was still practicing at quarterback, Tannehill was the Aggies' leading receiver in 2008 and 2009 and had over 100 catches during that span. He was even named the team's Offensive MVP as freshman when he grabbed 55 catches for 844 yards, which included a 12-catch, 210-yard receiving game against Kansas State. His 200-yard receiving game, coupled with his 400-yard passing performance against Tech last year makes Tannehill perhaps the only 200/400 player in NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision history.
This year's Watch List includes players from all 11 FBS conferences. Conference USA, the Big 12 and the Pac-12 are each represented by five players while the Big East, the Big Ten and the Southeastern Conference each have three quarterbacks recognized.
The Manning Award will be recognizing its eighth winner this year. USC's Matt Leinart was the inaugural winner of the award in 2005, followed by Texas' Vince Young in 2006. Both went on to be top 10 NFL draft picks. In 2007, LSU's JaMarcus Russell earned the award and was the NFL's No. 1 draft pick. Boston College's Matt Ryan claimed the award in 2008 and was drafted No. 3, quickly becoming the starting quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons. In 2009, Florida star Tim Tebow earned the honor – he also went on to be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft. The 2010 winner was Texas signal-caller Colt McCoy, the winningest quarterback in college football history, who was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the draft. Last year saw Auburn's Cameron Newton earn the award, prior to being selected No. 1 overall in the 2011 NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers.
2011 Manning Award Watch List
Matt Barkley, JR, USC
Tyler Bray, SO, Tennessee
Alex Carder, JR, Western Michigan
Zach Collaros, SR, Cincinnati
Kirk Cousins, SR, Michigan State
Austin Davis, SR, Southern Miss
Dominique Davis, SR, East Carolina
Nick Foles, JR, Arizona
Robert Griffin III, JR, Baylor
Chandler Harnish, SR, Northern Illinois
Landry Jones, JR, Oklahoma
Case Keenum, SR, Houston
G.J. Kinne, JR, Tulsa
Ryan Lindley, SR, San Diego State
Andrew Luck, JR, Stanford
Taylor Martinez, SO, Nebraska
Bryant Moniz, SR, Hawaii
Kellen Moore, SR, Boise State
Aaron Murray, SO, Georgia
Danny O'Brien, SO, Maryland
Kyle Padron, JR, SMU
Dan Persa, SR, Northwestern
Chris Relf, SR, Mississippi State
Corey Robinson, SO, Troy
Denard Robinson, JR, Michigan
Geno Smith, JR, West Virginia
Tino Sunseri, JR, Pittsburgh
Ryan Tannehill, SR, Texas A&M
Darren Thomas, JR, Oregon
Brandon Weeden, SR, Oklahoma State
Jordan Wynn, JR, Utah