Arch Manning is the preseason Heisman Trophy favorite, but he's not officially on the radar of the award named after his family. Yet. The watch list for the 2025 Manning Award, which recognizes the nation's top quarterback,was released Thursdaywith 27 different quarterbacks making the cut. Manning, whose family is the namesake of the award, wasn't one of them. Manning entered the Texas program as one of the most-hyped recruits in college football history and is taking over the starting job after two seasons of backing up Quinn Ewers. Hewas the favorite to go first overall in the 2026 NFL Draft, untilhis grandfather Archie said he expected him to stay at Texas for his senior season. There is a reason for Manning not making the Manning Award watch list, though. Every quarterback who made the cut saw significantly more action last year than the 21-year-old, who appeared in 10 games but started only two for Longhorns. The Manning Award's announcement makes clear that additional quarterbacks will be added to the watch list as the season progresses, and you would figure that Manning will be an easy choice if he performs as expected. And if he is one of the frontrunners, we'll see how he does with a voting panel that includes multiple family members. The Manning family might even be in on some kind of joke here, as Archie is directly quoted in the release saying they will review the newcomers: "We're looking forward to another exciting year of college football," said Archie Manning. "I'd like to thank the Sugar Bowl for continuing to build the tradition of the Manning Award which now has over 20 years of honoring the top quarterbacks in the country for the entire football season. This year we have another great group on our preseason Watch List; in October, we'll review the transfers and other newcomers and then boost the Watch List with the best from that group." If you're curious, here's the full list of quarterbacks on the preseason watch list, which includes Penn State's Drew Allar and LSU's Garrett Nussmeier, the new favorites to go first overall in the draft next year. Drew Allar, Sr., Penn StateLuke Altmyer, Sr., IllinoisCJ Bailey, So., NC StateRocco Becht, Jr., Iowa StateTucker Gleason, Sr., ToledoTaylen Green, Sr., ArkansasJosh Hoover, Jr., TCUBlake Horvath, Sr., NavyKatin Houser, Jr., East CarolinaKeyone Jenkins, Jr., FIUKevin Jennings, Jr., SMUAvery Johnson, Jr., Kansas StateColton Joseph, So., Old DominionHaynes King, Sr., Georgia TechCade Klubnik, Sr., ClemsonSam Leavitt, So., Arizona StateMaddux Madsen, Jr., Boise StateOwen McCown, So., UTSABehren Morton, Sr., Texas TechParker Navarro, Sr., OhioGarrett Nussmeier, Sr., LSUDiego Pavia, Sr., VanderbiltMarcel Reed, So., Texas A&MSawyer Robertson, Sr., BaylorLaNorris Sellers, So., South CarolinaBrendan Sorsby, Jr., CincinnatiNicholas Vattiato, Sr., Middle Tennessee