NEW ORLEANS - Fresno State redshirt sophomore quarterback Mikey Keene has been announced as a midseason addition to the Manning Award watch list, the organization released on Thursday in partnership with the Allstate Sugar Bowl.
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. The award is presented annually to the nation's top quarterback.
Keene was one of 15 mid-season additions to the watch list this week. Finalists for the honor will be determined by a select panel of national media covering college football, as well as each of the Mannings. That list will be released on Thursday, November 30 and the winner is scheduled to be announced following the College Football Playoff National Championship.
Thursday's announcement is the first watch list addition for Keene as a Bulldog. He was recognized by the Manning Award earlier this season as a Manning Award Star of the Week.
In six games played this season, Keene has thrown for 1,692 yards while completing 159-of-232 pass attempts. He's thrown 15 touchdowns to four interceptions.
Keene solidified himself with the best debut by a Fresno State football quarterback, throwing for 366 yards and four touchdowns in the Bulldogs' season-opening win at Purdue on Sept. 2.
The additions to the Watch List come from eight different conferences with the SEC leading the way with four quarterbacks. The newcomers include seven juniors, five sophomores, and three seniors.
In its first 19 years, the Manning Award has recognized the top names in college football. It has honored quarterbacks from 14 different schools and from four different conferences. The Southeastern Conference (Stetson Bennett, Bryce Young, Joe Burrow, Mac Jones, Johnny Manziel, Cam Newton, JaMarcus Russell and Tim Tebow) leads the way with eight Manning Award honorees, while the Big 12 Conference (Kyler Murray, Baker Mayfield, Vince Young, Colt McCoy and Robert Griffin III) has had five winners. The Atlantic Coast Conference (Deshaun Watson twice, Matt Ryan and Jameis Winston) has had four Manning Award winners. Alabama (Bryce Young and Jones), LSU (Burrow and Russell), Oklahoma (Murray and Mayfield), and Texas (McCoy and Vince Young) have each produced a pair of Manning Award winners.
All the Manning Award winners follow in the footsteps of the Mannings themselves. In college, Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning combined for over 25,000 passing yards and 201 touchdowns while playing in 10 bowl games and earning four bowl MVP awards. Archie was the No. 2 pick in the NFL Draft, while both Peyton and Eli were selected No. 1 overall.