We head to a second full week of college football training camps across the country. So of course, we also now get a second week of pre-season watch lists for several awards. In the upcoming days, we will see the names of running backs, quarterbacks, receivers, tight ends, and others who are having their names thrown into the mix.
Player of the Year
Monday, August 5th; Last week we saw the pre-season for the Maxwell Award. This week it is the Walter Camp Award, which also goes to the college football player of the year. The Walter Camp Foundation also sponsors the oldest All-American team in the country. Camp is long considered one of the fathers of American football, having been on various collegiate football rules committees that developed the game in the late 1800s. The award is ultimately voted on by a Foundation panel that consists of FBS head coaches and sports information directors. Three finalists will be announced in late November. The winner is announced at the Home Depot Awards in December.
LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels won the 2023 award.
The Best Running Backs
Tuesday, August 6th sees the announcement of the watch list for the Doak Walker Award. Since 1990, this award has gone to the top running back in the country. it is named in honor of Doak Walker, a Heisman winner who played for the SMU Mustangs from 1945 to 1949. The award’s national committee of approximately 100 people selects the ultimate winner. That is comprised of various sportswriters, television commentators, analysts, radio sports personalities, and former All-America and NFL All-Pro football players. The winner is announced at the Home Depot Awards in December. Last year’s winner was Oklahoma State running back Ollie Gordon.
Catching the Ball
Wednesday, August 7th, it is the pass catchers that we will see listed. We use that term specifically. Any FBS player who catches the football via a pass is eligible to be selected as the Biletnikoff Award winner. So while the award typically goes to a wide receiver, we will see tight ends and even running backs on the list. The award is managed by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation. The voting is done by a panel of approximately 600 college football media personnel. The semifinalists will be announced on November 18th. The votes for the three finalists and for the winner will take place over the last two weeks of November. The winner will be announced on the Home Depot Awards show in December. Marvin Harrison, Jr. of Ohio State was the 2023 winner.
The Quarterbacks
We move on to Thursday, August 9th for the quarterbacks and the Davey O’Brien Award. The namesake of the award is the former TCU star who won the Heisman Trophy and the Maxwell Award in 1938, the first quarterback to win either. For the first four years, the award went specifically to the best player from a school in the Southwest portion of the US. After that, it became a national award and focused specifically on quarterbacks. There are currently 134 panelists for the award that is announced on the Home Depot Awards Show in December. The 2023 winner was Jayden Daniels of LSU.
Up Front
We have two watchlists coming on Friday, August 9th. The Mackey Award is for the best tight end in college football. Started in 2000, the Nassau County Sports Commission gives the award to, as it says, “The tight end who best exemplifies the play, sportsmanship, academics, and community values of Pro Football Hall of Fame tight end John Mackey.” The winner is chosen by a selection committee comprising sportswriters and former players, including former John Mackey Award winners. Brock Bowers of Georgia won it the last two years.
Friday also gets us to the centers, with the watch list for the Rimington Trophy. The namesake for the award is former Nebraska center Dave Rimington who was a two-time winner of the Outland Trophy. It was started in 2003 and is run by the Boomer Esiason Foundation. The winner of the Rimington Trophy will be selected by determining the consensus All-American center pick from three of the most noted All-America Teams, (FWAA, Walter Camp, and The Sporting News). The center with the most first-team votes will be determined as the winner. Jackson Powers-Johnson of Oregon was the 2023 winner.
Graphics courtesy; The Tallahassee Quarterback Club
