Yesterday, I looked at some of the area top college football players and major awards that they were on the watch list for, there were a few awards that I wasn’t able to look at due to space though and I’m taking a moment to do that now.
The Dick Butkus award, named after the legendary athlete seeks to honor the top linebacker in the league, and on this year’s watch list going into the season is Louisville’s Preston Brown, Western Kentucky’s Andrew Jackson and Kentucky’s Avery Williamson.
The Jim Thorpe Award honors the top defensive back in the NCAA, named after the famous Oklahoman the Jim Thorpe Award is in conjunction with the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame, and Western Kentucky’s Jonathan Dowling is on the 2013 Watch List, as is Louisville’s Calvin Pryor and Hakeem Smith.
The Lou Groza Award was established to honor the top place kicker in college football, and on the watch list for the award is Indiana’s Mitch Ewald and Louisville’s John Wallace.
Meanwhile the Ray Guy Award honors the top punter in college football and on their watch list is Kentucky’s Landon Foster.
Does this mean that any area athlete will win outright any of these awards, certainly not, however it all comes down to the play that they produce this season. Further, it’s difficult to say outright what any of these individual players will contribute over all to their teams; however it is interesting to note the area stand out athletes.
Image courtesy of Zimbio
