By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

THIBODAUX, La. — The 29th annual Manning Passing Academy wrapped up Sunday afternoon here at Nicholls State University with over 1,500 campers in attendance.

And for the second straight year, a starting quarterback in the “Southern Six” was in that number.

Hancock rising senior signal-caller Kaison Koenenn represented the Hawks for the second time, and he hopes the experience at the most prestigious event of its kind in the nation helps him continue his improvement behind center as he returns to lead the charge on the gridiron for new head coach Mikey King and HHS this coming season.

The event was once again directed by the Manning family of Archie, Peyton, Eli and Cooper at John L. Guidry Stadium on the campus of the Colonels.

Koenenn used his experience here last summer to take the helm of the Hawks for his first season as QB1 and went on to account for almost 2,400 total yards last year and 23 touchdowns.

The versatile 6-foot-3, 185-pounder started all 12 games completing 124-of-208 passes (right at 60%) with six scores and just one interception while he also picked up 1,270 yards on the ground with 15 touchdowns on 208 carries.

Now more popular than ever, the camp began in 1996, 12 years after Archie retired from a long career in the National Football League. The MPA bounced around between multiple different college campuses throughout Louisiana in its first decade, most notably Tulane and Southeastern Louisiana. But in 2005, it found its permanent home here in Thibodaux.

The camp is open to the top high school quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, and tight ends in the country going into their eighth-through-twelfth grade seasons. Campers attend seminars, participate in meetings, run through drills, and scrimmage one another over three days of camp. Archie Manning said the goal is to make every player better.

“We feel real strongly: if a young man chooses to play high school football, we think he should have a good experience, and we want to enhance that experience and that’s what we try to do,” he added.

The camp opened on Thursday and closed out with the final sessions on Sunday morning before campers and counselors hit the road back to their respective homes.

Patrick Mahomes, Jalen Hurts, Dak Prescott, Joe Burrow, and Josh Allen are some NFL stars who shined in Thibodaux over the years.

Archie Manning said he never expected the camp to grow past a regional event.

“I would have never anticipated this,” he said. “Especially if you’d have told me we’d have kids coming from 47 states and even Canada like we have had, I’d have said, ‘Nah, no way’.”

In 2023, the Mannings and Nicholls State University extended their contract through 2028, keeping the camp in town for years to come. In a show of appreciation of and respect towards the family, the school renamed its playing field prior to 2007’s camp. For the last 17 years, every athlete that has set foot in John L. Guidry Stadium has done so on Manning Field.

“You just can’t believe the response we get on our website from parents and so-forth when their child gets home talking about the good time they had with Dak Prescott or the good experience they had with Patrick Mahomes,” the eldest Manning added.

Notable college quarterbacks this year that served as camp counselors include Archie’s namesake and nephew Arch Manning (Texas), Doug Nussmeier (LSU), Austin Simmons (Ole Miss) as well as the newest New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Slough.