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Fresno’s Ryan Colburn is Third WAC QB on Manning Watch List

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Fresno State's Ryan Colburn (official bio) is just another example of the talented quarterback play in the Western Athletic Conference. The latest addition to the Manning Award Watch List, Colburn is the third WAC signal-caller to be named to the list so far this 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.

Allstate Sugar Bowl on Facebook

Allstate Sugar Bowl on Twitter

Colburn faces a big challenge this season as he takes over full leadership of the Bulldog offense with the graduation of star tailback Ryan Mathews, an NFL First-Round pick and possibly the top running back in program history. Mathews rushed for 1,800 yards and 19 touchdowns, but Colburn proved his value as well, completing 60 percent of his passes for 2,459 yards and 19 touchdowns. Colburn started his first campaign as a starter slow, but improved from 61st to ninth in NCAA passing efficiency over a seven-game stretch while helping Fresno to the New Mexico Bowl. In a key WAC victory over Idaho, he completed all 14 of his passes, registering 159 yards and one score. He also threw for a career-high four touchdowns and 289 yards at Wisconsin. In the Hawaii game, Colburn also flirted with perfection, completing 12-of-14 passes with 2 TDs. Fresno State will open the 2010 campaign at home against Big East champion and Allstate Sugar Bowl participant Cincinnati on Sept. 4.

"Ryan has worked very hard to develop himself into one of the nation's premier college quarterbacks," Fresno State coach Pat Hill said in a press release. "He's tough, a competitor and a great leader. This is great recognition for him and we are happy for him."

Colburn joins Diondre Borel (Utah State), and Kellen Moore (Boise State) as WAC quarterbacks on the Watch List so far.

Aug. 7 Fresno Bee story on Colburn gaining confidence

Merced Sun-Star feature on Colburn's volunteer trip to Thailand

2010-11 Manning Award Watch List Photo Gallery

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.

-AllstateSugarBowl.org-