Kaleb Blaha raked in every possible Division III postseason honor, including the Gagliardi Trophy bestowed upon the nation’s most outstanding player.

But the Wisconsin-River Falls senior quarterback entered a different stratosphere Thursday, when he was named a finalist for the Manning Award.

The award, named after Archie Manning, is given to the country’s top quarterback, and is the only such honor that includes postseason performance in its judgement. Past winners include Jayden Daniels, Cam Ward, Joe Burrow, Jameis Winston, Cam Newton and many more.

All have been Division I quarterbacks from power-four programs.

Blaha, who led Wisconsin-River Falls to the program’s first national title on Sunday, is the first Division III player to be named a finalist for the honor. He was one of five names added Thursday to the list that originally featured 10 finalists and is now up to 15. Blaha joins the likes of Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza, the Heisman Trophy winner, and Oregon’s Dante Moore, who are expected to be top picks in this spring’s NFL Draft.

The Coon Rapids native tallied 419 yards and three total touchdowns in the Falcons’ title game upset of North Central. He finished his senior season with 6,189 total yards of offense, which broke Joe Burrow’s record across all levels of college football, set in 2019.

Related Articles

Wisconsin-River Falls Football: A coach, a culture, a championship. How the Falcons have arrived

Wisconsin-River Falls football: With ‘unapologetic aggression,’ Falcons win first D3 national title

Wisconsin-River Falls football: North Central is a dynasty, but D3 title game isn’t David vs. Goliath

Division III football: River Falls’ Kaleb Blaha wins Gagliardi trophy as D3 Player of the Year

Wisconsin-River Falls football: How a coach’s faith helped Kaleb Blaha become D3’s best