Walter Camp Football Foundation Announces Preseason Watch List

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Walter Camp Football Foundation has announced the names of 50 “players to watch” for its 2018 Player of the Year award, the nation’s fourth-oldest individual college football accolade.

Among the players on the list include Boston College sophomore running back AJ Dillon, the 2018 ACC Preseason Player of the Year.

Dillon, who has been named to various preseason All-America teams, was a 2017 FWAA Freshman All-American and the ACC Rookie of the Year after a breakout performance on the Heights.

Dillon’s 1,589 yards rushing last season were the second-most by any freshman in ACC history. The New London, Connecticut, native ranked second nationally among all freshmen in rushing in 2017 and seventh among all players. Dillon set the Boston College freshman rushing record while posting the fourth-highest single-season total in school history.

In all, 41 schools and 11 conferences (including independents) are represented on the list with defending national champion Alabama, Miami (Florida), Clemson, Ohio State and West Virginia each having two players.

There are 38 offensive players (17 quarterbacks, 15 running backs and six receivers/tight ends) on the list along with 12 from the defensive side of the ball.

“We are proud to continue the great work of Walter Camp and recognize the 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.”

The watch list will be narrowed to 10 semifinalists in mid-November.  The 2018 Walter Camp Player of the Year recipient, which is voted on by the 129 NCAA Bowl Subdivision head coaches and sports information directors, will be announced live on ESPN on Thursday, December 6.  The winner will then receive his trophy at the Foundation’s 52nd annual national awards banquet on January 12, 2019, in New Haven, Conn.

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, “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 college football’s most prestigious awards. Founded in 1997, the NCFAA and its 23 awards now boast over 800 recipients, dating to 1935. Visit ncfaa.org to learn more about our story. The members of the NCFAA unveiled their preseason watch lists over a 10-day period (July 16-27). Sixteen of the association’s 23 awards select a preseason watch list and the NCFAA has spearheaded a coordinated effort to promote each award’s preseason candidates.