If college football training camps are opening this week, then that also signals the start of the college football “watch lists.” Between July 29th and August 13th pre-season lists of players to keep an eye on this season will be published for 16 different post-season awards. The watch lists are often long as the committees try to be as all-inclusive as they can of players who could potentially win their award in December.
Player of the Year
On Monday, July 29th the Maxwell Award will release its pre-season watch list. The award has been around since 1935 and goes to the college football player of the year as voted upon by a panel of sportscasters, sportswriters, college football head coaches, and the members of the Maxwell Football Club. Washington Huskies quarterback Michael Penix, Jr. was the 2023 winner.
Best Lineman and Defensive Player of the Year
On Tuesday, July 30th, the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) is scheduled to release two watch lists. The lists for the Outland Trophy and the Bronko Nagurski Trophy will come out that day.
The Outland Trophy is the third oldest trophy in the country going back to 1946. It goes to the best interior defensive or offensive lineman in the country as voted on by FWAA members. The 2023 winner was T’Vondre Sweat of Texas.
The Nagurski is for the defensive player of the year. It’s obviously named after Minnesota Golden Gopher and Chicago Bears legend Bronko Nagurski. It is also voted on by the FWAA membership with final votes coming from a 20-person panel. Last year’s winner was Notre Dame defensive back Xavier Watts.
Best Defensive Back
The watch list for the Jim Thorpe Award will come out on Wednesday, July 31st. It goes to the best defensive back in the country. It gets voted on every year by the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame and has been around since 1986. The 2023 winner was Trey Taylor of Air Force.
Rewarding Versatility and Community Service
The Louisville Sports Commission will release the watch list for the Paul Hornung Award on Thursday, August 1st. It awards the most versatile player in the country. Typically it goes to a player who plays both offense and defense, or either of those plus special teams. This will be the 15th year for the award. Last year Travis Hunter, the receiver/defensive back from Colorado was the winner.
Thursday will also be the day we see the watch list for the Wuerffel Trophy. Named after the former Florida quarterback, it goes to, “The player who best combines exemplary community service with athletic and academic achievement.” Last year’s winner was Ladd McConkey of Georgia.
The Kickers
On Friday, it will be time to look for your favorite kicker as the Lou Groza Award (best placekicker), and the Ray Guy Award (best punter) watch lists are released. The Groza is determined by the Palm Beach County Sports Commission. The Ray Guy comes from the Augusta Sports Council. Graham Nicholson from Miami of Ohio and Tory Taylor of Iowa were last year’s winners, respectively.
