John Parker Wilson, a junior from Hoover, established Alabama records in single-season passing yards, touchdown passes, completions and attempts last season, his first as a starter. He threw for more than 200 yards in seven straight games, another school record.
Seven other quarterbacks from the Southeastern Conference joined Wilson on the list, including Erik Ainge (Tennessee), Brandon Cox (Auburn), Matt Flynn (LSU), Blake Mitchell (South Carolina), Matt Stafford (Georgia), Tim Tebow (Florida) and Andre Woodson (Kentucky).
The Manning Award was created by the AllState Sugar Bowl in honor of the college football accomplishments of Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning and will be presented to the recipient following the holiday bowl season. It is the only quarterback award that takes into consideration the candidates’ bowl performances.
The winner will be determined by a selected panel of national media covering college football, as well as each of the Mannings. The first three winners of the Manning Award were Matt Leinart of USC (2005), Vince Young of Texas (2006) and JaMarcus Russell of LSU in 2007.
Finalists for the Manning Award will be announced prior to the beginning of the bowl schedule.