Stetson Bennett of Blackshear has been selected as the winner of the 2022 Manning Award, presented by the Allstate Sugar Bowl to the top quarterback in the nation. Bennett, who led Georgia to back-to-back College Football Playoff (CFP) National Championships, is the fourth straight quarterback from the Southeastern Conference to earn the honor.
The Manning Award, now in its 19th year, was created by the Allstate Sugar Bowl to honor the college football accomplishments of Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning. It is the only quarterback award that takes into consideration the candidates’ bowl and playoff performances in its balloting. The award is voted on by a panel of local and national media, as well as each of the Mannings.
“We started the Manning Award 19 years ago as a way to recognize the country’s top quarterback for the full season, including the postseason,” said Archie Manning. “I’m not sure we’ve ever had an honoree who showcased his ability and proved his worth all the way through the postseason like Stetson did this year. We’re thrilled to recognize him as this year’s Manning Award winner.
“On behalf of the entire Manning family, I want to again thank the Sugar Bowl Committee for its long-standing support of the Manning Award. The Bowl’s role in making this possible each year is greatly appreciated.”
Bennett has a well-chronicled and borderline unbelievable story. After walking on to the Georgia football team for the 2017 season, he opted to transfer to a junior college to get playing time and experience. After a successful year at Jones College in Mississippi, he returned to the Bulldogs on a scholarship, but remained an afterthought on the depth chart in 2019. In 2020, he started five of 10 games and was a solid, though unspectacular performer. In 2021, Bennett rose to the occasion and led the Bulldogs to the CFP Championship – earning Offensive MVP honors at both the CFP Semifinal and the CFP Championship. However, the recently completed 2022 season was when Bennett silenced nearly all of the critics, turning in outstanding performances all season long before raising his game to another level in the postseason, leading the Dawgs to the SEC title and another CFP title.
“If anyone exemplifies what we had in mind when we helped start the Manning Award, it’s Stetson Bennett,” said Sugar Bowl CEO Jeff Hundley. “Even though he led Georgia to a perfect regular season, there were still some people who doubted his status as an elite quarterback. After what Stetson did in the postseason, there shouldn’t be any doubters left. The Allstate Sugar Bowl will be proud to present the Manning Award trophy to Stetson Bennett, a two-time national champion and the Most Valuable Player of the last five postseason games in which he played.”
In three postseason games this year (the SEC Championship, CFP Semifinal, and CFP Championship), Bennett completed 64-of-88 (72.8%) passes for 976 yards and 11 touchdowns while also running for three scores and only tallying one interception. For the full season, he was 310-of-454 (68.3%) for 4,127 yards and 27 touchdowns to go with a team-best 10 rushing TDs.
For his career, Bennett passed for 8,428 yards and 66 touchdowns, despite only starting for two full seasons. He ranks in the top five in Georgia history in pass completions, passing yards, passing touchdowns, total offense, completion percentage, and average yards per play. Most impressively, he posted a 29-3 record as the Bulldog starting quarterback.
Other finalists for this year’s Manning Award were: Max Duggan (TCU), Sam Hartman (Wake Forest), Hendon Hooker (Tennessee), Drake Maye (North Carolina), Bo Nix (Oregon), Michael Penix, Jr., (Washington), Will Rogers (Mississippi State), C.J. Stroud (Ohio State), Caleb Williams (USC) and Bryce Young (Alabama).
John Sudsbury, senior communications director of the Allstate Sugar Bowl and Leland Barrow, senior associate sports communications director of the University of Georgia Athletic Association, contributed to this report.
