BYU Football's Zach Wilson named Manning Award Quarterback of the Week
BYU junior Zach Wilson was named the Manning Award Quarterback of the Week after leading the Cougars to a 55-3 victory over Navy on Labor Day.
The 6-foot-3 signal-caller received the honors over seven other nominees following a Facebook contest held by the Allstate Sugar Bowl. Wilson received just over 1,000 votes in the contest while Grant Wells of Marshall, who came in second place, received 901 votes.
Wilson led the Cougar passing game with 232 yards and 2 touchdowns. He completed 13 of 18 passes for an overall quarterback rating of 206.0.
The Navy coaching staff gave Wilson’s throwing ability high praise leading up to the season opener. Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo compared Wilson’s ability to throw the ball from a variety of angles and release points to that of Super Bowl LIV MVP Patrick Mahomes.
“He can make just about any throw on the field and spread the ball around,” said Navy defensive coordinator Brian Newberry.
Athlon Sports also gave out several awards to Cougar coaching staff and players following the largest margin of victory in the Kalani Sitake era, including the Athlon Sports College Football Team of the Week.
BYU offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes was named the Athlon Sports Coordinator of the Week and senior linebacker Isaiah Kaufusi was named the Athlon Sports Defensive Player of the Week. Kaufusi was also named the Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week. Kai Nacua is the only other BYU player to receive this honor.
Kaufusi was a huge part of holding Navy’s triple-option offense to just three points in Annapolis. The 6-foot-2 senior linebacker had five solo tackles, two sacks and one forced fumble helping hold the Midshipmen to just 149 yards of total offense.