Forty-Six Players Named to 2025 Walter Camp Player of Year Watch List
Forty-Six Players Named to 2025 Walter Camp Player of Year Watch List - Cover Image
The Walter Camp Football Foundation has announced the names of forty-six “players to watch” for its 2025 Player of the Year award, the nation’s fourth-oldest individual college football accolade, and presented by Crabtree Lexus of New Haven.
The 2025 watch list includes 38 offensive players (22 quarterbacks, 11 running backs, four receivers/tight ends and one two-way player) along with eight from the defensive side of the ball.
Players from 37 different schools representing 11 conferences (including independents) are represented on the preseason watch list.
Texas has three players on the watch list, while six schools (Arizona State, Clemson, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, South Carolina and Vanderbilt) each have two.
“We are proud to continue the great work of Walter Camp and recognize the best college football players in the nation,” Foundation president John Barbarotta said. “This watch list is a great start to what is shaping up to be another exciting year of college football.”
Former Colorado wide receiver/defensive back and current Jacksonville Jaguar Travis Hunter was the 2024 Walter Camp Player of the Year. Hunter was also the first player to be named a Walter Camp First Team All-American on both sides of the ball.
The 2025 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 2025 Walter Camp Player of the Year recipient, which is voted on by the 133 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision head coaches and sports information directors, will be announced on ESPN’s College Football Awards Show on December 12.
Earlier this summer, the Foundation announced its 2025 preseason All-American teams. Walter Camp is the nation’s oldest and most prestigious collegiate football All-America team and was first selected in 1889.
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.
Walter Camp Player of Year Award Background
There have been 58 previous winners of the Walter Camp Player of the Year – first awarded in 1967 (O.J. Simpson, running back, USC). Of the 58 recipients, 25 have been running backs, 23 quarterbacks, five wide receivers, three defensive players, one tight end and one two-way player (Travis Hunter, Colorado, 2024 – WR/DB). There have been three two-time recipients – O.J. Simpson, USC (1967 and 1968); Archie Griffin, Ohio State (1974 and 1975) and Colt McCoy, Texas (2008 and 2009). Twenty-six schools have had a Walter Camp Player of Year winner, led by USC’s seven recipients. Notre Dame, Ohio State and Oklahoma have each had four winners.
2025 Walter Camp Player of Year Preseason Players to Watch
Drew Allar, QB, Penn State
Luke Altmyer, QB, Illinois
Carson Beck, QB, Miami
Vaughn Blue, RB, Liberty
Braylon Braxton, QB, Southern Miss
Isaac Brown, RB, Louisville
Byrum Brown, QB, South Florida
Demond Claiborne, RB, Wake Forest
Jalon Daniels, QB, Kansas
Caleb Downs, DB, Ohio State
Dequan Finn, QB, Miami Ohio
Anthony Hankerson, RB, Oregon State
Jamal Haynes, RB, Georgia Tech
Al-Jay Henderson, RB, Buffalo
Jason Henderson, LB, Old Dominion
Anthony Hill, Jr., LB, Texas
Blake Horvath, QB, Navy
Makhi Hughes, RB, Oregon
Nico Iamaleava, QB, UCLA
Keyone Jenkins, QB, FIU
Mikail Kamara, Edge, Indiana
Cade Klubnik, QB, Clemson
DJ Lagway, QB, Florida
Sam Leavitt, QB, Arizona State
Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame
Kyle Louis, LB, Pittsburgh
Maddux Madsen, QB, Boise State
Arch Manning, QB, Texas
John Mateer, QB, Oklahoma
Dante Moore, QB, Oregon
Parker Navarro, QB, Ohio
Garrett Nussmeier, QB, LSU
Diego Pavia, QB, Vanderbilt
Koi Perich, WR/DB, Minnesota
Kaidon Salter, QB, Colorado
LaNorris Sellars, QB, South Carolina
Colin Simmons, Texas
Nicholas Singleton, RB, Penn State
Jeremiah Smith, WR, Ohio State
Dylan Stewart, Edge, South Carolina
Eli Stowers, TE, Vanderbilt
Jai Den Thomas, RB, UNLV
Jordyn Tyson, WR, Arizona State
Jaheim White, RB, West Virginia
Ryan Williams, WR, Alabama
Peter Woods, DL, Clemson
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 more than 950 recipients since 1935. Visit NCFAA.org for more information.
Watch List Calendar
Mon., July 28: Maxwell Award
Tue., July 29: Outland Trophy/Bronko Nagurski Trophy
Wed., July 30: Paycom Jim Thorpe Award/Butkus Award
Thu., July 31: Paul Hornung Award/Allstate Wuerffel Trophy
Fri., Aug. 1: Lou Groza Award/Ray Guy Award
Mon., Aug. 4: Walter Camp Award
Tue., Aug. 5: Doak Walker Award
Wed., Aug. 6: Biletnikoff Award
Thu., Aug. 7: Davey O'Brien Award
Fri., Aug. 8: Mackey Award/Rimington Trophy
Mon., Aug. 11: Bednarik Award
About Crabtree Lexus of New Haven
Crabtree Lexus of New Haven is located at 655 Main Street in East Haven, CT, convenient from anywhere in the Northeast directly off of I-95. Visit them at https://www.CrabtreeLexus.com
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