Penn State football’s backup quarterback Alex Manske was named this week’s nominee for the 2026 Capital One Orange Bowl-FWAA Courage Award, the bowl announced on social media Wednesday.

The award requires “displaying courage on or off the field, including overcoming an injury or physical handicap, preventing a disaster, or living through hardship.”

Penn State’s Alex Manske is this week’s nominee for the 2026 Capital One Orange Bowl-FWAA Courage Award. Manske, a redshirt freshman quarterback, underwent open heart surgery this past spring but returned to the playing field for the Nittany Lions, with a nine-inch scar across… pic.twitter.com/eiYIA5ihEL

— Capital One Orange Bowl (@OrangeBowl) October 21, 2026

Manske underwent open-heart surgery in the spring after his required electrocardiogram revealed potentially life-threatening results.

His future in football was unclear.

“I never would have known,” Manske told reporters. “I had zero symptoms before then. And I never felt like I’d get out of breath easy or anything like that. So it was definitely a surprise when I found it, and I’m glad that I found it.”

The surgery involved medical professionals inserting a plastic graft into Manske’s aorta in place of the large section. It left a 9-inch scar across his chest.

After the successful surgery, Manske recovered and returned as a full-time participant at Penn State’s fall camp, playing in the season opener against Marshall. He is 9-for-14 for 102 passing yards this year.

Manske joins a list of inspiring nominees, including Arizona State’s Jordan Klemm, who went from suffering a stroke to starting in each of the Sun Devils’ games this season.

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