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Frank Harris has hauled in yet another preseason honor, as the UTSA senior quarterback on Tuesday was named to the Manning Award Watch List.
Harris joins Seth Henigan of Memphis and Michael Pratt of Tulane as American Athletic Conference (AAC) players on the list of 33 of the top quarterbacks in the nation.
Harris, who also has been named to the Davey O’Brien Award, Maxwell Award and Walter Camp Player of the Year Award watch lists, owns more than 30 school records and a 31-11 record as the starting QB as he enters his final campaign with the Roadrunners. The 2022 Conference USA Most Valuable Player and first-team all-conference performer completed 328 of 471 passes (69.6%) for 4,063 yards and 32 TDs and a 160.7 passing efficiency, all school records to help lead UTSA to an 11-3 record and a second straight league crown last fall. A finalist for the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award and a Davey O’Brien Award semifinalist a year ago, he logged seven 300-yard passing games, including a UTSA record 414 in the 45-30 win at Middle Tennessee, and he totaled 400-plus yards of offense three times, highlighted by a school record 423 in the same contest. Harris added 602 rushing yards — the program standard for a QB — and nine scores on the ground.
For his career, Harris has thrown for 9,356 yards and 74 touchdowns on 816-of-1210 passing to go with 1,822 rushing yards and 24 scores on 372 carries. The Schertz Clemens High School product owns UTSA’s total offense record with 11,178 yards, which ranks fifth among active FBS quarterbacks, and his 42 career starts are the fourth-best total.
The Manning Award was created by the Allstate Sugar Bowl in honor of the college football accomplishments of Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning. It is the only quarterback award that includes the candidates’ bowl performances in its balloting. The winner will again be selected by a voting panel, which includes national media and each of the Mannings, after the bowls.
“We have another outstanding group of quarterbacks on our Watch List,” said Archie Manning. “We’re excited to get a new season rolling to see who will rise up and establish themselves as the best in the country. We’ll add another batch of quarterbacks to the Watch List midway through the season to allow us to recognize transfers and young QBs who have become stars in their new roles or with their new schools.”
Inclusion on the Watch List is not necessary for the quarterbacks to be selected for the honor. Transfers and other newcomers at schools 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 prior to the postseason and the winner will be announced following the College Football Playoff National Championship.
Under the direction of two-time conference coach of the year Jeff Traylor, the Roadrunners are coming off an 11-3 campaign that saw them capture their second straight Conference USA crown and play in a bowl game for the third year in a row. UTSA has been ranked in the top 25 in each of the last two seasons and boasts a combined 23 wins over that span, the fourth-best total among all FBS teams behind only Georgia (29), Michigan (25) and Alabama (24).
UTSA, which has been picked to finish second in the AAC Preseason Media Poll and is receiving votes in both major preseason rankings, will open its 13th season of play on Saturday, Sept. 2, against Houston. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at TDECU Stadium and the game will be televised nationally on FS1.
UTSA will face Texas State for the home opener at 2:30 p.m. the following Saturday at the Alamodome. The Roadrunners will host Army at 6 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 15, UAB on Oct. 14, East Carolina on Oct. 28, Rice on Nov. 11 and South Florida at 8 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 17.