The national recognition continues to grow for standout South Florida quarterback Byrum Brown (Raleigh, N.C.) as Thursday he was named to the Manning Award Watch List, marking his fifth national award watch list entering the 2024 season and tying Quinton Flowers (2014-17) for the most in program history.
The Manning Award, named in honor of Ole Miss quarterback Archie Manning and his quarterback sons Peyton (Tennessee) and Eli (Ole Miss) who are both Super Bowl champions, has been presented since 2004 to the best collegiate quarterback in America and is the only quarterback award that includes bowl performance in its balloting.
Brown matched Flowers’ 2017 season mark as he has been named to the same five watch lists for the Davey O’Brien, Johnny Unitas and Manning quarterback awards as well as the Walter Camp and Maxwell college player of the year awards.
The most recent announcement brings USF’s total to nine national awards watch lists that Bulls appear on entering the 2024 season, USF’s most since 13 entering the 2017 season. Flowers led that team with five national award watch lists and went on to set 42 USF program records and lead the Bulls to a 10-2 record and 17 weeks ranked in the Top 25.
Brown will square off against several other top quarterbacks in the nation during the first six weeks of the 2024 season. He will face Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe in Tuscaloosa on Sept. 7 (7 p.m./ESPN) and Miami quarterback Cam Ward in Raymond James Stadium on Sept. 21 (TBA). Memphis quarterback Seth Hennigan comes to Raymond James Stadium for a big Friday, primetime (7 p.m.) ESPN game on Oct. 11.
Tickets for USF football games can be purchased at USFBullsTix.com or by calling 1-800-GoBulls.
The sophomore quarterback set USF season marks for passing yards (3,292), touchdowns (26), completions (276), and completion percentage (64.6%) and tied the Bulls game record for touchdown passes with five at Memphis in his first season in head coach Alex Golesh’s offense. He also led the Bulls with 809 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground, joining 2023 Heisman Trophy , Davey O’Brien and Manning Award winner Jayden Daniels of LSU as the only players in FBS football to register 3,000-plus yards passing and 800-plus yards rushing.
Brown’s 4,101 total yards in 2023 are the second-best season total in program history behind only Quinton Flowers, and he enters the 2024 season standing sixth on the Bulls’ all-time career passing chart (3,696). Honored by the AAC six times in the conference weekly awards in 2023, Brown was key to the Bulls’ program-best, six-game win improvement capped by a 45-0 victory over Syracuse in the Boca Raton Bowl. He led the Bulls to come-from-behind wins at UConn and Navy, and his 517 total yards in a victory over Rice (including 435 passing) rank as the second-best total in program history.
USF returns 19 starters in 2024 (nine on offense, eight on defense, and two specialists) from a team that set 12 team and 16 individual program records while going 7-6 (a program-best six-game turnaround) and claiming a 45-0 Boca Raton Bowl victory over Syracuse in 2023.
The Bulls return record-setting starting quarterback Brown, 85 percent of their rushing yards, 84 percent of their receiving yards and four primary starters on the offensive line. On defense, USF returns nine of its top 11 tacklers led by Shuler, who logged a team-best 97 stops to go with 8.5 tackles for loss in 2023.
The Bulls open the season Aug. 31 vs. Bethune-Cookman in Raymond James Stadium before road games at Alabama (Sept. 7) and Southern Mississippi (Sept. 14) and a home clash with Miami (Sept. 21).
BULLS ON PRESEASON NATIONAL AWARD WATCH LISTS (9)
Maxwell Award Byrum Brown, QB
Walter Camp Award Byrum Brown, QB
Davey O’Brien Award Byrum Brown, QB
Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Byrum Brown, QB
Manning Award Byrum Brown, QB
Biletnikoff Award Sean Atkins, WR
Come Back Player of the Year Jason Vaughn, DE
Doak Walker Award Nay’Quan Wright, RB
Outland Trophy Zane Herring, OG