University of Houston Athletics
Manning Award Adds Case Keenum to Watch List
7/23/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
July 23, 2010
The latest addition to the Manning Award Watch List is Houston's Case Keenum, who established himself as one of the most prolific passers in the NCAA last season and with another strong season is likely become the NCAA's all-time leader in passing yards and touchdowns. In addition to his stats, he led the Cougars to 10 wins and a slot in the Top-25 for much of the year. The Manning Award, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl, is releasing the Watch List one player per day through its official Facebook and Twitter pages. The award has honored the top quarterback in the nation for the past six years.
Keenum dominated most every statistical category last year, but also led the Cougars to wins over Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and Mississippi State. He is poised to set every Houston career passing record and will challenge for the top spot in multiple NCAA career categories. Last season, he was the only QB nationally to pass for 40 touchdowns or ring up more than 5,000 yards, outpacing his closest competition by almost 1,400 yards. He became just the second player in NCAA history to record multiple 5,000-yard passing seasons, while setting a school single-season record with 5,671 passing yards (third-highest passing total in NCAA single-season history). The 6-2 senior threw for over 200 yards in every game last season, including 12 300-yards games, seven 400-yard efforts and four 500-yard performances. Keenum, a Manning Award finalist last year, will be looking to come out strong opening the 2010 campaign at home against Texas State on Sept. 4.
Case Keenum
Senior, Houston
2009-10 Statistics:
492-of-700 (70.3%), 5,671 yards, 44 TDs, 15 INTs
The members of the Watch List are being released in a completely random order.
The Manning Award was created by the Allstate Sugar Bowl in 2004 to honor of the college football accomplishments of Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning. It is the only quarterback award that takes into consideration the candidates' bowl performances. Ten finalists will be selected in late-November and the winner will be announced after the bowls in January and will be honored at a ceremony in New Orleans.
The preseason Watch List recognizes some of the top quarterbacks in the nation based on previous collegiate performance, however, every quarterback in the nation remains eligible for the honor. Additional quarterbacks may be added to the Watch List after the start of the season. The list of 10 finalists will be released on Monday, Nov. 29. The winner will be announced on Wednesday, Jan. 19.
The Manning Award will be recognizing its seventh 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. Last year's winner was Texas signal-caller Colt McCoy, the winningest quarterback in college football history. McCoy was picked by the Cleveland Browns in the 2010 NFL Draft.
