Walter Camp 2026 FBS Player of Year Preseason Watch List
The Walter Camp Football Foundation has announced the names of fifty “players to watch” for its 2026 Player of the Year award, the nation’s fourth-oldest individual college football accolade. The 2026 watch list includes 41 offensive players (22 quarterbacks, 11 running backs and eight receivers/tight ends) along with nine from the defensive side of the ball.
Players from 38 different schools representing 11 conferences (including independents) are represented on the preseason watch list. Texas has four players on the watch list, while Miami has three. Seven schools (Georgia, Indiana, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Texas A&M) each have two.
“We are proud to continue the great work of Walter Camp, considered the father of American football, and recognize the very best college football players in the nation,” Foundation president Michael Madera said. “This watch list is a great start to what is shaping up to be another exciting year of college football.”
Earlier in the summer, the Foundation announced its 2026 preseason All-American teams. Walter Camp is the nation’s oldest and most prestigious collegiate football All-America team.
The 2026 Player of Year watch list will be narrowed to 10 semi-finalists in early November and three finalists will be announced in early December. The 2026 Walter Camp Player of the Year recipient, which is voted on by the 138 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision head coaches and sports information directors, will be announced in the second week of December.
Walter Camp Player of Year Facts
- First awarded in 1967, Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza was the 59th recipient of the Walter Camp Player of Year award in 2025.
- Mendoza was the 24th quarterback to win the award. There have been 25 running backs, five wide receivers, one wide receiver/defensive back, one tight end and three defensive players to earn the honor.
- Colorado’s Travis Hunter (2024) was the first two-way player to win the award.
- Three players – USC’s OJ. Simpson (1967, 1968), Ohio State’s Archie Griffin (1974, 1975) and Texas’ Colt McCoy (2008, 2009) have been multiple winners.
- Three defensive players have won the award – Pittsburgh’s Hugh Green (1980), Michigan’s Charles Woodson (1997) and Notre Dame’s Manti Teo (2012).
- Players from 26 different schools have earned the award. USC has won the most Player of Year awards (7), followed by Oklahoma, Ohio State and Notre Dame with four each.
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-America team.
2026 Walter Camp Player of Year Preseason Players to Watch
Micah Alejado, QB, sophomore, Hawaii
Xavier Atkins, LB, junior, Auburn *
C.J. Bailey, QB, junior, North Carolina State
Charlie Becker, WR, junior, Indiana
Rasheem Biles, LB, senior, Texas *
DeSean Bishop, RB, junior, Tennessee
Isaac Brown, RB, junior, Louisville
Sammy Brown, LB, junior, Clemson *
C.J. Carr, QB, junior, Notre Dame
Trinidad Chambliss, QB, senior, Ole Miss
Cam Coleman, WR, junior, Texas #
Cam Cook, RB, senior, West Virginia #
Mario Craver, WR, junior, Texas A&M
Carlos Del Rio-Wilson, QB, senior, Marshall
Devon Dampier, QB, senior, Utah
Cameron Dickey, RB, junior, Texas Tech
KJ Duff, WR, junior, Rutgers #
Noah Fifita, QB, senior, Arizona
Mark Fletcher, Jr., RB, senior, Miami
Trey’Dez Green, TE, junior, LSU *
Ahmad Hardy, RB, junior, Missouri *
Caleb Hawkins, RB, sophomore, Oklahoma State #
Kevin Jennings, QB, senior, SMU
Kewan Lacy, RB, junior, Ole Miss *
Broc Lowry, QB, junior, Western Michigan
Maddux Madsen, QB, senior, Boise State
Jayden Maiava, QB, senior, USC
Arch Manning, QB, sophomore, Texas *
LJ Martin, RB, senior, BYU
John Mateer, QB, senior, Oklahoma
Owen McCown, QB, senior, UTSA
Darian Mensah, QB, Junior, Miami
Nick Minicucci, QB, senior, Delaware
Dante Moore, QB, senior, Oregon
Leonard Moore, DB, junior, Notre Dame *
Marcel Reed, QB, junior, Texas A&M
Duce Robinson, WR, senior, Florida State
Ellis Robinson IV, DB, sophomore, Georgia #
Julian Sayin, QB, sophomore, Ohio State #
LaNorris Sellers, QB, junior, South Carolina
Colin Simmons, Edge, junior, Texas *
Anthony Smith, Edge, senior, Minnesota #
Jeremiah Smith, WR, junior, Ohio State *
Dylan Stewart, Edge, junior, South Carolina *
Gunner Stockton, QB, Senior, Georgia
Lucky Sutton, RB, senior, San Diego State
Jai’Den Thomas, RB, senior, UNLV
Malachi Toney, WR/PR, sophomore, Miami *
Tyrique Tucker, DL, senior, Indiana *
Bryce Underwood, QB, sophomore, Michigan
* 2026 Walter Camp Preseason First Team All-American
# – 2026 Walter Camp Preseason Second Team All-American
Considered the “Father of American Football,” Walter Camp introduced the play from scrimmage, set plays, the numerical assessment of goals and tries and the restriction of play to eleven men per side in 1880. Nine years later, Mr. Camp, then the Yale University head coach, selected the first-ever college football All-America team. The Walter Camp Football Foundation – 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. Visit www.waltercamp.org for more information.
The Walter Camp Foundation is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses college football’s most prestigious awards. The NCFAA’s 25 awards have honored nearly 1,000 recipients since 1935. This season, 12 NCFAA awards will honor national players of the week each Tuesday. Sixteen NCFAA members are unveiling preseason watch lists over a three-week period as the association spearheads a coordinated effort to promote each award’s preseason candidates. Following is the remaining 2026 preseason watch list calendar:
Mon., Aug. 3: Maxwell Award
Tue., Aug. 4: Outland Trophy and Bronko Nagurski Trophy
Wed., Aug. 5: John Mackey Award
Thu., Aug. 6: Rimington Trophy
Fri., Aug. 7: Lou Groza Award
Mon., Aug. 10: Paul Hornung Award
Tue., Aug. 11: Allstate Wuerffel Trophy
Wed., Aug. 12: Paycom Jim Thorpe Award
Thu., Aug. 13: Butkus Award
Fri., Aug. 14: Ray Guy Award
Mon., Aug. 17: Walter Camp Award
Tue., Aug. 18: Doak Walker Award
Wed., Aug. 19: Biletnikoff Award
Thu., Aug. 20: Davey O’Brien Award
Fri., Aug. 21: Bednarik Award
For more information about the NCFAA and its award programs, visit NCFAA.org or follow on X at @NCFAA and Instagram @TheNCFAA.
