New Haven, CONN. – Eight players from the Atlantic Coast Conference have been named to the Walter Camp Player of the Year Watch List, announced Friday by The Walter Camp Football Foundation. The Walter Camp Player of the Year award is the nation’s fourth-oldest individual college football accolade.
ACC Players On The Walter Camp Player Of The Year Watch List:
AJ Dillon, RB, Boston College
Dexter Lawrence, DL, Clemson
Christian Wilkins, DL, Clemson
Joe Gilles-Harris, LB, Duke
Cam Akers, RB, Florida State
Jaquan Johnson, DB, Miami (Fla.)
Ahmmon Richards, WR, Miami (Fla.)
Ryan Finley, QB, NC State
photo by Gene Galin
In all, 41 schools and 11 conferences (including independents) are represented on the list with Miami (Florida), Clemson, Alabama, 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 semi-finalists 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.