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Notre Dame Leads List of Preseason Award Watch Lists

By Dave McKee

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Notre Dame Leads the Lists With 13 Candidates for Preseason Awards Watch Lists.

In total, 20 athletes from four BCS College Football programs in the state of Indiana – Notre Dame, Purdue, Indiana and Ball State – had players added to the 2015 college football preseason watch lists. Notre Dame Leads the lists with 13 players named. The other six athletes are from Indiana (3), Purdue (2) and Ball State (1) . You can find the complete lists on the NCAA’s Preseason Watch List Central.

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    • Not surprisingly, of the four schools, Notre Dame has the most players on the preseason watch lists. Their recent success has brought them back to national prominence and notoriety. This is evidenced by the Rotary Lombardi Award watch list of which 7 of the 144 players listed are on Notre Dame’s roster. The Rotary Lombardi Award is for the best down lineman or linebacker on offense or defense.

    Leading the 20 athletes are Defensive tackle Sheldon Day and linebacker Jaylon Smith both are named on four different watch lists. Day is a candidate for the Bronco Nagurski Award, the Bednarik Award, the Outland Trophy and the Rotary Lombardi Award. Smith is a candidate for the Bronco Nagurski, Bednarik Award, and Rotary Lombardi Award. He is also a candidate the Butkus Award which is given to the college football’s top linebacker.

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    In total, three Fighting Irish players names appear on the Bednarik Award watch list: DT – Sheldon Day, DB – Keivarae Russell and LB – Jaylon Smith. The Bednarik Award is given to the best defensive player in the nation.

    Highly touted Notre Dame quarterback Malik Zaire is listed on the Maxwell Award watch list – which is awarded to the best offensive player in college football.

    Zaire was also named to the Walter Camp Award watch list for Most Outstanding Player.

    The Doak Walker Award for the nation’s premier running back has two in-state candidates, Indiana’s Jordan Howard and Notre Dame’s Tarean Folston.

    Indiana University quarterback Nate Sudfeld was also included in the Maxwell Award watch list and the Wuerffel Trophy, College Football’s Premier Award for Community Service. Interior offensive lineman Dan Feeney also represents the Hoosiers in the watch lists as another candidate for the Rotary Lombardi Award.

    The Purdue Boilermakers have two players who have been added to the watch lists. Kicker Paul Griggs has been added to the Lou Groza Award watch list. The Lou Groza Award is given to the best kicker in the nation. Center, Robert Kugler is listed on the Rimington Trophy watch list which is given to the best center in college football.

    Muncie, Indiana’s Ball State University also had a player named to the lists. Center Jacob Richard is listed in the Rimington Trophy watch list. Below is the list of all 20 candidates listed by university:

    Notre Dame:

    QB, Malik Zaire – Maxwell Award, Walter Camp Award

    DT, Sheldon Day – Bronco Nagurski Award, Bednarik Award, Outland Trophy, Rotary Lombardi Award

    DB, Keivarae Russell – Bronco Nagurski Award, Bednarik Award

    LB, Jaylon Smith – Bronco Nagurski Award, Bednarik Award, Butkus Award, Rotary Lombardi Award

    LB, Joe Schmidt – Bronco Nagurski Award, Rotary Lombardi Award, Wuerffel Trophy

    C, Nick Martin – Outland Trophy, Rimington Trophy, Rotary Lombardi Award

    OT, Ronnie Stanley – Outland Trophy, Rotary Lombardi Award

    DB, Max Redfield – Jim Thorpe Award

    LB, Nyles Morgan – Butkus Award

    DT, Jarron Jones – Rotary Lombardi Award

    WR, Corey Robinson – Wuerffel Trophy

    WR, William Fuller – Biletnikoff Award, Walter Camp Award

    RB, Tarean Folston – Doak Walker Award

    Indiana:

    QB, Nate Sudfeld – Maxwell Award, Wuerffel Trophy

    OG, Dan Feeney  – Rotary Lombardi Award

    RB, Jordan Howard – Doak Walker Award

    Purdue:

    K, Paul Griggs – Lou Groza Award

    C, Robert Kugler – Rimington Trophy

    Ball State:

    C, Jacob Richard – Rimington Trophy

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