Fife spent last season in Montana, playing for the Griz in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).
Source: NMSU Athletics
Photos: Courtesy
If you haven’t heard of quarterback Logan Fife, you’re not alone. He spent last year in Montana playing for the Griz in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). For three years prior, he played at NCAA Division I Fresno State.
While at the FCS level, he appeared in all 14 games, starting in 8, and helping Montana to a 9-and-5 season, including an FCS playoff win over ranked Tennessee State.
This year, he’s back in Division I, and starting under center for New Mexico State. NMSU is no stranger to quarterbacks moving up to Division I play, just ask Diego Pavia. So, in this respect, Fife sounds like an Aggie, already.
Three quarterbacks associated with NMSU made the list: FIU’s Keyone Jenkins, MTSU’s Nicholas Vattiato and, of course, the aforementioned Diego Pavia. Fife will have the opportunity to go head-to-head against only one of these three quarterbacks: MTSU’s Nicholas Vattiato. Middle Tennessee will visit Las Cruces to take on the Aggies in the final game of the regular season.
FIU’s Jenkins, MTSU’s Vattiato Selected to Manning Award Watch List
DALLAS – A pair of Conference USA signal callers have been announced to the Manning Award Watch List, announced Thursday by the Allstate Sugar Bowl. FIU’s Keyone Jenkins and MTSU’s Nicholas Vattiato are among consideration for the award, which is given to the nation’s top quarterback.
Jenkins saw a huge jump in his production last season, completing 188-304 (61.8%) of his passes for 2,557 yards, the third-highest tally in the league. He improved his TD:INT ratio from 11:11 as a true freshman to 22:8 in his sophomore season. The Miami native led CUSA and ranked 19th in FBS in passing efficiency (151.1). Jenkins showed off his arm plenty in 2024, ranking in the top 20 nationally in yards per completion (13.60) and yards per attempt (8.41). He threw 10 touchdowns of at least 30 yards, six over 40 yards and four over 50 yards.
Vattiato, a redshirt senior, is coming off a season where he became just the second player in MTSU history to record multiple 3,000-yard passing seasons. The Plantation, Fla., native had 3,092 passing yards on 269 completions to go with 16 touchdowns. A CUSA All-Academic selection, Vattiato ranked 17th nationally in completions per game (22.42), 19th in passing yards per game (257.67) and 24th in passing yards (3,092).
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.
Pavia Candidate for Manning Award
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt graduate student Diego Pavia was named to the Manning Award Watch List Thursday and is now a candidate for the honor recognizing the top quarterback in the country at the conclusion of all postseason bowls.
It’s the fourth watch list that Pavia has been placed on this summer, as he is also up for the Walter Camp and Maxwell Player of the Year Awards as well as the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award.
The reigning SEC Newcomer of the Year, Pavia threw for 2,293 yards and 20 scores—completing 177-of-298 attempts—while rushing for another 801 yards and eight touchdowns in 2024. He accounted for 294 yards of total offense and three scores in his Commodore debut to help lead the team to a season-opening overtime win over Virginia Tech, also totaling 308 yards and a pair of passing touchdowns in a defeat of top-ranked Alabama later in the fall as he earned SEC Offensive Player-of-the-Week honors following both contests.
Pavia was also selected the Most Valuable Player of the Birmingham Bowl after throwing for 160 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 85 yards and two scores as Vandy beat Georgia Tech. On the season, the Albuquerque, New Mexico, native had multiple passing touchdowns in eight games and completed at least 60 percent of his attempts in six contests, and he led the Dores in rushing on seven occasions as well.
The Commodores will play seven games at home this fall beginning with a 6 p.m. kickoff at FirstBank Stadium on Aug. 30 when Charleston Southern visits. Season tickets, mini-plans and single-game tickets can still be purchased for the upcoming season, with further information on each option available here.
Allstate Sugar Bowl Announces Manning Award Watch List
NEW ORLEANS (August 14, 2025) – The Manning Award, presented by the Allstate Sugar Bowl, announced its preseason Watch List on Thursday. The list includes 27 of the top quarterbacks in the nation heading into the 2025 season. The winner will again be selected by a voting panel, which includes national media and each of the Mannings, after the postseason.
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’ postseason performances in its balloting.
“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.”
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.
“It’s an honor for the Sugar Bowl to partner with the Manning family in recognizing the best college football quarterbacks in the country,” said Jeff Hundley, CEO of the Allstate Sugar Bowl. “We’ve been able to recognize a great list of Manning Award winners for two decades now, and we’re all looking forward to another exciting year of great quarterbacks and great games capped off by the College Football Playoff, which includes a Playoff Quarterfinal here in the Sugar Bowl.”
This year’s Watch List includes players from nine Football Bowl Subdivision conferences. The Big 12 leads the way with seven selections, followed by the SEC with five, and the ACC with four representatives.
For full Manning Award information, follow @ManningAward on X (FKA Twitter) and Instagram; or visit AllstateSugarBowl.org.
| Player, Class, School | QBR | Pct. | Yards |
| Drew Allar, Sr., Penn State | 81.6 | 66.5 | 3,327 |
| Luke Altmyer, Sr., Illinois | 66 | 60.8 | 2,717 |
| CJ Bailey, So., NC State | 62.4 | 64.9 | 2,413 |
| Rocco Becht, Jr., Iowa State | 69.4 | 59.4 | 3,505 |
| Tucker Gleason, Sr., Toledo | 53.3 | 60.5 | 2,793 |
| Taylen Green, Sr., Arkansas | 67.4 | 60.4 | 3,154 |
| Josh Hoover, Jr., TCU | 72.8 | 66.5 | 3,949 |
| Blake Horvath, Sr., Navy | 83.4 | 57.6 | 1,353 |
| Katin Houser, Jr., East Carolina | 42.3 | 60.8 | 2,006 |
| Keyone Jenkins, Jr., FIU | 39.7 | 61.8 | 2,557 |
| Kevin Jennings, Jr., SMU | 74.5 | 65 | 3,245 |
| Avery Johnson, Jr., Kansas State | 69.6 | 58.3 | 2,712 |
| Colton Joseph, So., Old Dominion | 66.4 | 59.9 | 1,627 |
| Haynes King, Sr., Georgia Tech | 82.4 | 72.9 | 2,114 |
| Cade Klubnik, Sr., Clemson | 78.9 | 63.4 | 3,639 |
| Sam Leavitt, So., Arizona State | 81.6 | 61.7 | 2,885 |
| Maddux Madsen, Jr., Boise State | 73.6 | 62.4 | 3,018 |
| Owen McCown, So., UTSA | 61.6 | 63 | 3,424 |
| Behren Morton, Sr., Texas Tech | 56.4 | 63.3 | 3,335 |
| Parker Navarro, Sr., Ohio | 68.5 | 66.1 | 2,423 |
| Garrett Nussmeier, Sr., LSU | 79 | 64.2 | 4,052 |
| Diego Pavia, Sr., Vanderbilt | 73.9 | 59.4 | 2,293 |
| Marcel Reed, So., Texas A&M | 75.1 | 61.3 | 1,864 |
| Sawyer Robertson, Sr., Baylor | 83.7 | 62.2 | 3,071 |
| LaNorris Sellers, So., South Carolina | 70.3 | 65.6 | 2,534 |
| Brendan Sorsby, Jr., Cincinnati | 72.6 | 64 | 2,813 |
| Nicholas Vattiato, Sr., Middle Tennessee | 38.1 | 64.4 | 3,092 |
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