Fifty Named to 2013 Walter Camp Player of the Year Watch List
Fifty Named to 2013 Walter Camp Player of the Year Watch List - Cover Image
New Haven, Conn. – The Walter Camp Football Foundation has announced the names of fifty “players to watch” for its 2013 Player of the Year award, the nation’s fourth-oldest individual college football accolade.
Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel, a finalist for the 2012 Walter Camp Player of the Year award, headlines the 2013 watch list. Manziel, a First Team Walter Camp All-American a year ago, accounted for more than 5,000 yards of total offense and 47 touchdowns for the Aggies.
Twelve players on the 2013 watch list, including Arizona junior running back Ka’Deem Carey (1,929 yards and 23 touchdowns in 2012) and USC wide receiver Marqise Lee (118 receptions for 1,721 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2012), have previously earned Walter Camp All-America honors.
In all, 37 schools are represented on the list with defending national champion Alabama having four players.
The 2012 Walter Camp Player of the Year recipient was former Notre Dame and current San Diego Chargers linebacker Manti Te’o.
“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 2013 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 12. The winner will then receive his trophy at the Foundation’s annual national awards banquet on January 11, 2014 at the Yale University Commons in New Haven.
Please note: Appearing on the 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) – 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 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 are unveiling 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. Following is the complete 2013 preseason watch list calendar:
Mon., July 8: Bednarik Award / Maxwell Award
Tue., July 9: Mackey Award / Rimington Trophy
Wed., July 10: Lou Groza Award / Ray Guy Award
Thurs., July 11: Bronko Nagurski Trophy / Outland Trophy
Fri., July 12: Jim Thorpe Award
Mon., July 15: Butkus Award / Rotary Lombardi Award
Tue., July 16: Biletnikoff Award
Wed., July 17: Davey O’Brien Award
Thurs., July 18: Doak Walker Award
Fri., July 19: Walter Camp Award
2013 Walter Camp Player of the Year “Watch List”