By Tiger Rag News Service
BATON ROUGE – LSU running back Derrius Guice and linebacker Arden Key have been selected as two of forty “players to watch” for the 2017 Walter Camp Player of the Year Award, the Walter Camp Foundation announced Friday.
The nation’s fourth-oldest individual college football accolade is voted on by the 130 NCAA Bowl Subdivision head coaches and sports information directors. The award will be announced on Thursday, Dec. 7.
Guice heads into the 2017 season as one of the most electric ball carriers in the country. The Baton Rouge native broke two school records, earned All-America honors and was named to the All-SEC first team by the league’s coaches and media.
The Baton Rouge native scored on the longest run in LSU history (96 yards) and set the single-game rushing record with 285 yards in the win over Texas A&M. Guice led the SEC in rushing yards and ranked second in the league in rushing yards per game.
This marks the fourth preseason watch list Guice has been named to. Guice was also named to the Maxwell Award Watch List, the Paul Hornung Award Watch List and the Doak Walker Award List.
Key has already been named to the Butkus, Maxwell and Bednarik watch lists. The junior set the single-season sacks record a year ago with 12. Key totaled three PBUs and recovered three fumbles in 2016.
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 members of the NCFAA are unveiling their preseason watch lists over a 12-day period this month. Seventeen 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. Following is the entire 2017 preseason watch list calendar:
2017 NCFAA Awards Preseason Watch List Calendar
Monday, July 10: Bednarik Award – Arden Key and Kevin Toliver II / Maxwell Award – Arden Key and Derrius Guice
Tuesday, July 11: Rimington Trophy – Will Clapp
Thursday, July 13: Bronko Nagurski Trophy – Arden Key and Kevin Toliver II / Outland Trophy – Will Clapp
Friday, July 14: Jim Thorpe Award – Donte Jackson
Monday, July 17: Paul Hornung Award – Derrius Guice / Butkus Award – Arden Key
Tuesday, July 18: Wuerffel Trophy – Danny Etling
Wednesday, July 19: Davey O’Brien Award – Danny Etling
Thursday, July 20: Doak Walker Award – Derrius Guice
Friday, July 21: Walter Camp Award – Derrius Guice and Arden Key
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