Oct. 17, 2012

NEW ORLEANS – The Manning Award, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl, announced 10 additions to its 2012 Watch List on Wednesday and Arizona State University sophomore quarterback Taylor Kelly was among those. The winner will be announced after the bowls in January and will be honored at a banquet in New Orleans.

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.

Taylor Kelly earned recognition after leading the Sun Devils to a 5-1 record to start the season and putting them atop the current Pac-12 South rankings with a 3-0 conference record.

After being selected the team’s starting quarterback in the weeks leading up to the 2012 season, Kelly has left little doubt as to the validity of his selection as the Eagle, Idaho, native has posted exceptional stats in just his first six collegiate starts.

Kelly is 112-of-164 (68.3%) on the year for 1,600 yards and 14 touchdowns. He has thrown just two interceptions on the year and has thrown 99 consecutive passes without one over the past three games. In addition, Kelly has 210 rushing yards on 57 attempts.

Kelly’s current quarterback efficiency rating of 176.0 is currently second in the nation and is tops among Pac-12 quarterbacks. Kelly entered the season as one of 13 quarterbacks making a start for an FBS school that was returning no career QB starts to their roster. Of those, Kelly holds the top record as being one of just five that only have one loss this season alongside Boise State’s Joe Southwick (4-1), LSU’s Zach Mettenberger (6-1), Northern Illinois’ Jordan Lynch and Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel.

After announcing 25 quarterbacks to watch during the preseason, the Manning Award opted to increase its focus players based on the many outstanding performances during the first half of the year. While these players have been added to the Watch List, every quarterback in the nation remains eligible to win the honor.

Ten finalists will be determined by a selected panel of national media covering college football, as well as each of the Mannings. That list will be released on Wednesday, Nov. 28. The winner will be announced on Wednesday, Jan. 9. The Manning Award will be recognizing its ninth winner this year.

A look at how Kelly compares to the other 2012 Manning Award Watch List Midseason Additions

Name	School	Class	Com-Att (Pct.)	Yards	TDs	INT	Rating	Other
Kolton Browning	UL-Monroe	Jr.	146-234 (62.4)	1,606	14	3	137.2	292 rush, 3 TDs
Colby Cameron	La. Tech	Sr.	167-238 (70.2)	1,906	18	0	162.4	68 rush, 1 TD
Rakeem Kato	Marshall	So.	218-312 (69.9)	2,311	18	6	147.3	--
Taylor Kelly	Arizona St	RS-So.	112-164 (68.3)	1,600	14	2	176.0	210 rush, 0 TD
Jordan Lynch	No. Illinois	Jr.	109-178 (61.2)	1,487	11	3	148.4	918 rush, 11 TDs
EJ Manuel	Florida St	Sr.	132-183 (72.1)	1,804	14	4	175.8	186 rush, 1 TD
Johnny Manziel	Texas A&M	Fr.	128-190 (67.4)	1,680	14	3	162.8	676 rush, 10 TDs
Marcus Mariota	Oregon	RS-Fr.	114-168 (67.9)	1,301	15	5	156.4	208 rush, 1 TD
Braxton Miller	Ohio State	So.	96-159 (60.4)	1,271	11	4	145.3	912 rush, 9 TDs
Tyler Russell	Miss. St	Jr.	105-182 (57.7)	1,382	12	1	142.1	--