DALLAS – Two Conference USA signal callers were named to the Manning Award Watch List announced Thursday by the Allstate Sugar Bowl. Liberty’s Kaidon Salter and MTSU’s Nicholas Vattiato are among the candidates for the award given to the nation’s top quarterback.
Salter is coming off a stellar year that earned him CUSA MVP, CUSA Championship Game MVP and CUSA Michael L. Slive Male Student-Athlete of the Year honors after completing 177-290 passes for 2,876 yards and 32 touchdowns and running the ball 163 times for 1,089 yards and 12 touchdowns. He ranked in the top five in the nation in rushing touchdowns by a quarterback (12), passing touchdowns (32), passing efficiency (176.6), yards per completion (16.25) and points per game (18.9).
Vattiato started all 12 games for the Blue Raiders in 2023, completing 66.8 percent (286-428) of his passes for 3,092 yards and 23 touchdowns. He was second on the team with two rushing yards (397). He became only the third quarterback in MTSU history to record a 3,000-yard passing season.
Vattiato ranked in the top 20 nationally in completions per game (13th24.08), total attack per game (14th290.8) and degree of completion (18th66.8). With 66.8% (431-645) he is eighth among the league leaders in terms of completion percentage.
Inclusion on the watch list is not required for quarterbacks to be selected for this award. Transfer players and other new school signings were not eligible for the preseason watch list, but additional quarterbacks will be added to the watch list during the season.
Finalists will be selected before the postseason and the winner will be announced after the College Football Playoff national championship.
