Former South Warren Quarterback Caden Veltkamp recognized for performance in WKU’s 49-21 win against MTSU

BOWLING GREEN – WKU Football quarterback Caden Veltkamp was one of eight quarterbacks recognized as Manning Award “Stars of the Week,” the Manning Award, announced Monday.

Fans can vote for what they think was the best performance from this past weekend HERE. After voting closes on Wednesday at 9 a.m. CT, the top vote-getter will be announced as the Manning Award Quarterback of the Week.

Veltkamp was also named to the Davey O’Brien Award’s Great 8 list for Week 3 on Monday, which adds him to the official Davey O’Brien Award Watch List, and was named Conference USA’s Offensive Player of the Week.

Veltkamp came off the bench in WKU’s 49-21 victory over “100 Miles of Hate” rival Middle Tennessee on Saturday to replace injured starter TJ Finley. Veltkamp threw for 398 yards and five touchdowns on 27-of-30 passing in the win and added a 1-yard rushing touchdown as well.

Veltkamp’s five touchdown passes were the most in a single game by a Hilltopper since he came off the bench in the 2023 Famous Toastery Bowl and threw five touchdowns in WKU’s 38-35 overtime victory over Old Dominion, in which he led a 28-0 comeback – the fourth-largest ever in a bowl game. Saturday marked the 24th time in program history a WKU player had thrown at least five touchdown passes in a game.

Veltkamp’s 256.4 rating was the third-best ever in single game by a WKU quarterback, and his 17 consecutive completions to end the game was the second-longest stretch in a game by a WKU quarterback. His 90% completion percentage was the best mark ever in a game by a Hilltopper quarterback with at least 10 completions.

While the Manning Award selected 29 quarterbacks for its preseason Watch List, additional quarterbacks are expected to be added to the Watch List later in the season. Finalists will be selected in early December and the winner is scheduled to be announced following the College Football Playoff National Championship.