Ole Miss QB Jordan Ta’amu added to Manning Award Watch List

OXFORD, Miss. — Less than a week after leading his team to a 37-33 comeback win over SEC West rival Arkansas, Ole Miss quarterback Jordan Ta’amu has been added to the 2018 Manning Award Watch List as announced by the Allstate Sugar Bowl Thursday. 

In the preseason, the Manning Award named 30 quarterbacks to its watch list but has opted to add 15 additional signal-callers based on their outstanding performances halfway through the season. 

The Manning Award was created by the Allstate Sugar Bowl in honor of the college football achievements of Archie Manning, Peyton Manning, and Eli Manning. 

Ta’amu’s enjoying outstanding senior season

Jordan carries the ball against Arkansas. He finished with 141 total yards against the Hogs. (Photo: Dan Anderson)

Ta’amu is enjoying an outstanding senior campaign. He either leads the Southeastern Conference or ranks in the top two in most of the passing categories. With 2,298 passing yards, Ta’amu leads the SEC and ranks fourth in the nation. He has thrown 15 TDs in 2018, which ranks him second in the conference and 16th in the NCAA. 

The Pearl City, Hawaii native earned SEC Co-Offensive Player of the Week honors following the win over Arkansas. In that game, Ta’amu notched 528 total yards of offense, the second-most in school history—behind only Archie Manning’s 540-yard performance against Alabama in 1969. 

According to Ole Miss Athletics, Ta’amu now has five of the top 10 single-game total offense performances in school history, the most every by any Rebel player. After just a season-and-a-half, Ta’amu currently ranks 10th all-time in career passing yards at Ole Miss, having thrown for 3,980 yards. 

The list of finalists, determined by a panel of media members and each of the Mannings, will be released Thursday, November 29. The winner will be announced following the College Football Playoff National Championship. 

Congrats to Jordan!

Evelyn Van Pelt

Evelyn has covered sports for over two decades, beginning her journalism career as a sports writer for a newspaper in Austin, Texas. She attended Texas A&M and majored in English. Evelyn’s love for Ole Miss began when her daughter Katie attended the university on a volleyball scholarship. Evelyn created the Rebel Walk in 2013 and has served as publisher and managing editor since its inception.