NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The Walter Camp Football Foundation has announced the names of 40 “players to watch” for its 2019 Player of the Year award, the nation’s fourth-oldest individual college football accolade. UCF defensive back Richie Grant was included in the preseason honorees.
Grant has now appeared on four preseason watch lists, including the Bednarik Award, Thorpe Award and Nagurski Trophy.
The Fort Walton Beach, Fla., native finished sixth in the nation with a team-high six interceptions in 2018. Grant garnered First Team All-Conference laurels as a redshirt sophomore, after totaling a team-best 109 tackles and a trio of forced fumbles.
The Walter Camp Football Foundation – 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.
The watch list will be narrowed to 10 semi-finalists in mid-November. The 2019 Walter Camp Player of the Year recipient, which is voted on by the 130 NCAA Bowl Subdivision head coaches and sports information directors, will be announced live on ESPN on Thursday, December 12. The winner will then receive his trophy at the Foundation’s 53rd annual national awards banquet on January 18, 2020 in New Haven, Conn.
2019 National Watch Lists
- Maxwell Award: Adrian Killins Jr.
- Bednarik Award: Richie Grant
- AFCA Good Works Team: Jordan Johnson
- Doak Walker Award: Greg McCrae
- Biletnikoff Award: Gabriel Davis
- Rimington Trophy: Jordan Johnson
- Jim Thorpe Award: Richie Grant
- Outland Trophy: Jordan Johnson, Jake Brown
- Bronko Nagurski Trophy: Richie Grant
- Wuerffel Trophy: Jordan Johnson
- Hornung Award: Adrian Killins Jr.
- Camp Award: Richie Grant