It’s that time of year when awards of all types strategically send out their “watch lists” as college football season approaches.
Watch lists truly don’t hold much, if any, significance. A player does not have to be on the a watch list at any point to actually be a quarterfinalist, semifinalist, finalist or actually win any of these awards in most circumstances. So the point of sending out the watch lists is largely for publicity for the given award.
But there’s still some level of prestige in being put on the watch lists since it recognizes players who have played at a high level in the past or players that the committee expects to play well enough in 2016 to be in contention for the award.
And with the Vols returning key contributors at virtually every position, it hasn’t been surprising to be them filling a lot of these watch lists. Here’s what we know so far, and we’ll try to keep this updated as more are unveiled in the coming days.
Ray Guy (top punter):
Trevor Daniel
Rimington (top center):
Coleman Thomas
John Mackey (top tight end):
Ethan Wolf
Maxwell (top player in the nation):
Joshua Dobbs
Jalen Hurd
Bednarik (defensive player of the year):
Derek Barnett
Jalen Reeves-Maybin
Cam Sutton
Outland Trophy (best interior lineman)
Dylan Wiesman
Nagurski (best defensive player)
Derek Barnett
Jalen Reeves-Maybin
Cam Sutton
Thorpe (best defensive back)
Cam Sutton
Butkus (best linebacker)
Jalen Reeves-Maybin
Doak Walker (best running back)
Jalen Hurd
Alvin Kamara
Davey O’Brien (best quatertback)
Josh Dobbs
Paul Hornung (all-purpose)
Cam Sutton
Walter Camp (best overall player)
Josh Dobbs
