Jameis Winston Headlines the 2014 Walter Camp Player of the Year Preseason Watch List

Florida State sophomore quarterback Jameis Winston, the 2013 Walter Camp Player of the Year, headlines the 50-player 2014 Walter Camp Player of the Year preseason Watch List.  The watch list is part of the National College Football Awards Association (www.ncfaa.org) effort to kick off the college football season.

2014 Walter Camp Player of the Year WATCH LIST

New Haven, Conn. – The Walter Camp Football Foundation has announced the names of fifty “players to watch” for its 2014 Player of the Year award, the nation’s fourth-oldest individual college football accolade.

Florida State sophomore quarterback Jameis Winston, the 2013 Walter Camp Player of the Year award recipient, headlines the 2014 watch list.  Winston, a Second Team Walter Camp All-American a year ago, accounted for 4,057 passing yards and 40 touchdowns for the national champion Seminoles.  Ten players on the 2014 watch list, including Winston, have previously earned Walter Camp All-America honors.

In all, 42 schools are represented on the list with Alabama having three players.  There are 33 offensive players (16 quarterbacks, 8 receivers, 7 running backs, and 2 offensive linemen) and 17 from the defensive side of the ball (7 defensive backs, 5 defensive lineman, and 5 linebackers).

“We are proud to continue the great work of Walter Camp and recognize the best college football players in the nation,” Foundation president James Monico said. “This watch list is a great start to what is shaping up to be another exciting year of college football.”

The watch list will be narrowed to 10 semi-finalists in mid-November.  The 2014 Walter Camp Player of the Year recipient, which is voted on by the 125 NCAA Bowl Subdivision head coaches and sports information directors, will be announced live on ESPN SportsCenter on Thursday, December 11.  The winner will then receive his trophy at the Foundation’s annual national awards banquet on January 17, 2015 at the Yale University Commons in New Haven.

Please note: Appearing on the preseason Watch List is not a requirement for a player to win the Walter Camp award or be named to the All-American team.

Walter Camp, “The Father of American football,” first selected an All-America team in 1889. Camp – a former Yale University athlete and football coach – is also credited with developing play from scrimmage, set plays, the numerical assessment of goals and tries and the restriction of play to eleven men per side. The Walter Camp Football Foundation (www.waltercamp.org; @WalterCampFF) – a New Haven-based all-volunteer group – was founded in 1967 to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and to continue the tradition of selecting annually an All-America team.

The Walter Camp Foundation is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA) which encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football. The 21 awards boast 678 years of tradition-selection excellence. Visit www.NCFAA.org to learn more about our story.  The members of the NCFAA unveiled their preseason watch lists over a 12-day period this month. Fifteen of the association’s 21 awards select a preseason watch list and the NCFAA has spearheaded a coordinated effort to promote each award’s preseason candidates.

 

2014 Walter Camp Player of the Year WATCH LIST

Ameer Abdullah, Sr., RB, Nebraska

Nelson Agholer, Jr., WR, USC

Jay Ajayi, Jr., RB, Boise State

Chi Chi Ariguzo, Sr,. LB, Northwestern

Vic Beasley, Sr., DL, Clemson (2013 Walter Camp Second Team All-American)

Shilique Calhoun, Jr., DL, Michigan State (2013 Walter Camp Second Team All-American)

Shane Carden, Sr., QB, East Carolina

Rakeem Cato, Sr., QB, Marshall

Landon Collins, Jr., DB, Alabama

Amari Cooper, Jr., WR, Alabama

Jamison Crowder, Sr., WR, Duke

Mike Davis, Jr., RB, South Carolina

Stefon Diggs, Jr., WR, Maryland

Lorenzo Doss, Jr., DB, Tulane (2013 Walter Camp Second Team All-American)

Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, Sr., DB, Oregon (2013 Walter Camp Second Team All-American)

Cameron Erving, Sr., OT, Florida State (2013 Walter Camp Second Team All-American)

Devonte Fields, Soph., DL, TCU

Devin Funchess, Jr., WR/KR, Michigan

Everett Golson, Sr., QB, Notre Dame

Melvin Gordon, Jr., RB, Wisconsin

Garrett Grayson, Sr., QB, Colorado State

Randy Gregory, Jr., DL, Nebraska

Todd Gurley, Jr., RB, Georgia

Vernon Hargreaves, Soph., DB, Florida

Anthony Harris, Sr., DB, Virginia (2013 Walter Camp Second Team All-American)

Brock Hekking, Sr., DL, Nevada

Austin Hill, Sr., WR, Arizona

Taysom Hill, Jr., QB, BYU

Brett Hundley, Jr., QB, UCLA

Myles Jack, Soph., LB, UCLA

Duke Johnson, Jr., RB, Miami Fla. (2012 Walter Camp Second Team All-American)

Matt Johnson, Jr., QB, Bowling Green

Taylor Kelly, Sr., QB, Arizona State

Trevor Knight, Soph., QB, Oklahoma

Qushaun Lee, Sr., LB, Arkansas State

Tyler Lockett, WR, Sr., Kansas State (2011 Walter Camp Second Team All-American)

Sean Mannion, Sr., QB, Oregon State

Marcus Mariota, Jr., QB, Oregon

Nick Marshall, Sr., QB, Auburn

Braxton Miller, Sr., QB, Ohio State

Ty Montgomery, Sr., WR, Stanford (2013 Walter Camp Second Team All-American)

Andrus Peat, Jr., OT, Stanford

Bryce Petty, Sr., QB, Baylor

Terrance Plummer, Sr., LB, UCF

Cody Prewitt, Sr., DB, Ole Miss

Keenan Reynolds, Jr., QB, Navy

Derron Smith, Sr., DB, Fresno State

Ramik Wilson, Sr., LB, Georgia

Jameis Winston, Soph., QB, Florida State (2013 Walter Camp Player of the Year, 2013 Walter Camp Second Team All-American)

T.J. Yeldon, Jr., RB, Alabama

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