LSU senior Joe Burrow was named the winner of the Manning Award on Wednesday as the nation’s top quarterback.
The Heisman Trophy winner guided the Tigers to an undefeated national championship and rewrote the record books during the 2019 season.
The Manning Award is the only major trophy that takes postseason performances into account. The award is named for Archie Manning and his sons and fellow quarterbacks, Peyton and Eli.
Burrow, 23, passed for five touchdowns and rushed for another score to lead No. 1 LSU to a 42-25 win over No. 3 Clemson in the College Football Playoff title game on Jan. 13 in New Orleans. He was named the game’s Offensive MVP.
“I’ve not sure we’ve ever seen a quarterback have the high level of sustained and consistent excellence against a very challenging schedule that Joe Burrow had this season,” said Archie Manning in a statement. “Week-in and week-out, he played elite-level football while leading his team to victory. He simply didn’t have an off-day all season-long, which is amazing. And then in the postseason, he managed to take his game to another level. It’s been a pleasure to watch Joe this year.”
Burrow is expected to be the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft in April.
He finished the Tigers’ 15-0 season with NCAA records of 60 touchdown passes and 65 touchdowns accounted for, breaking the marks of 58 and 63, respectively, set by Hawaii’s Colt Brennan in 2006.
Burrow is the second LSU player to win the Manning Award, joining JaMarcus Russell (2006). Burrow also won the Maxwell Award, the Walter Camp Award, the Davey O’Brien Award and the Johnny Unitas Award, among others.
