Four Florida Players Named to Preseason Watch Lists
Wednesday, August 11, 2010 | Football
The Maxwell Football Club announced its nomination of juniors John Brantley (Ocala, Fla.) and Jeff Demps (Winter Garden, Fla.) to the 2010 Watch List for the 74th Maxwell Award, while senior safety Ahmad Black (Lakeland, Fla.) was named to the 2010 Watch List for the 16th annual Chuck Bednarik Award. In addition, junior Chas Henry (Dallas, Ga.) was named to the Ray Guy Award Preseason Watch List, as announced by the Augusta Sports Council.
The Maxwell Award has been presented to the outstanding collegiate football player in America since 1937 and is named in honor of Robert W. “Tiny” Maxwell. The Maxwell Football Club, founded in 1935, is based in Philadelphia, Pa., and is the oldest football club in the United States. The award is presented to the Outstanding Player in College Football. The list is comprised of 60 players who were selected based on their performance during the 2009 season.
In 2009, Brantley finished the season 36-for-48 for 410 yards, threw seven touchdowns with zero interceptions and tallied 67 rushing yards on 13 carries. He will enter 2010 as the Gators' starting quarterback.
Demps has seen action in 20 games, with 17 starts in his career as a Gator, rushing for 1,350 yards on 177 carries and 14 touchdowns on the ground. In 2009, he accumulated 745 yards rushing on 99 carries and had 193 yards receiving on 23 receptions.
The Bednarik Award has been presented since 1995 and is named in honor of Chuck Bednarik, a former University of Pennsylvania and Philadelphia Eagle great. Bednarik is a member of both the College Football Hall of Fame '69 and the NFL Hall of Fame '67.
Black has appeared in 35 games with 26 starts and recorded 136 total tackles, including 69 solo, with eight interceptions. He has also been named to the media's preseason first-team All-SEC list.
The Ray Guy Award identifies the nation's top collegiate punter and must display team leadership, self-discipline and positive impact on the team's success. The preseason list recognizes the seven returning Ray Guy Award semifinalists from 2009, including Henry, who was one of three finalists.
Henry has appeared in 41 games over the last three seasons, averaging 42.1 yards per punt with nearly half of his punts ending up inside the opponents' 20-yard line. He allowed only five punt returns the entire season, the fewest in the nation and gave up only 21 punt return yards, the second-best total in the nation in 2009.
Semifinalists for the Maxwell and Bednarik Awards will be announced on November 8th and three finalists for each award will be announced November 22nd. The winners of the 2010 Maxwell and Bednarik Awards will be announced as part of the Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards Show which will be held on December 9, 2010. The formal presentation of these awards will be made at the Maxwell Football Club Awards Gala hosted by Harrah's Entertainment Atlantic City on March 4, 2011.
A complete list of candidates for the Ray Guy Award will be released on October 28. In early November the Ray Guy Award committee will meet to select the ten semifinalists, who will be announced on November 12. A national body of Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) sports information directors, coaches, media representatives, and previous Ray Guy Award winners will then vote for the top three finalists, to be announced on November 22. The winner will also be announced live during the Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards Show. The Greater Augusta (Ga.) Sports Council will host the formal presentation in Jan. 2011.
2010 Maxwell Award Watch List
Anthony Allen, Georgia Tech, RB, Sr.
Jonathan Baldwin, Pittsburgh, WR, Jr.
Matt Barkley, USC, QB, So.
Allen Bradford, USC, RB, Sr.
John Brantley, Florida, QB, Jr.
Ryan Broyles, Oklahoma, WR, Jr.
Donald Buckram, UTEP, RB, Jr.
John Clay, Wisconsin, RB, Jr.
Randall Cobb, Kentucky, WR, Jr.
Zach Collaros, Cincinnati, QB, Jr.
Dayne Crist, Notre Dame, QB, Jr.
Andy Dalton, TCU, QB, Sr.
Jeff Demps, Florida, RB, Jr.
Noel Devine, West Virginia, RB, Jr.
Ricky Dobbs, Navy, QB, Jr.
Washaun Ealey, Georgia, RB, So.
Michael Floyd, Notre Dame, WR, Jr.
Blaine Gabbert, Missouri, QB, Jr.
Stephen Garcia, South Carolina, Jr.
Garrett Gilbert, Texas, QB, So.
A.J. Green, Georgia, WR, Jr.
Robert Griffin, Baylor, QB, So.
Jacory Harris, Miami, QB, Jr.
Montel Harris, Boston College, RB, Jr.
Roy Helu, Nebraska, RB, Sr.
Kendall Hunter, Oklahoma State, Sr.
Mark Ingram, Alabama, RB, Jr.
LaMichael Jame, Oregon, RB, So.
Jerrod Johnson, Texas A&M, QB, Sr.
Julio Jones, Alabama, WR, Jr.
Landry Jones, Oklahoma, QB, So.
Colin Kaepernick, Nevada, QB, Sr.
Case Keenum, Houston, QB, Sr.
Dion Lewis, Pittsburgh, RB, So.
Jake Locker, Washington, QB, Sr.
Andrew Luck, Stanford, QB, So.
Ryan Mallett, Arkansas, QB, Jr.
Greg McElroy, Alabama, QB, Sr.
Kellen Moore, Boise State, QB, Jr.
DeMarco Murray, Oklahoma, RB, Sr.
Josh Nesbitt, Georgia Tech, QB, Sr.
Kyle Parker, Clemson, QB, So.
Isaiah Pead, Cincinnati, RB, Jr.
Bernard Pierce, Temple, RB, So.
Chris Polk, Washington, RB, So.
Christian Ponder, Florida State, QB, Sr.
Terrelle Pryor, Ohio State, QB, Jr.
Jacquizz Rodgers, Oregon State, RB, Jr.
James Rodgers, Oregon State, WR, Sr.
Evan Royster, Penn State, RB, Sr.
Tom Savage, Rutgers, QB, So.
Da'Rel Scott, Maryland, RB, Sr.
Ricky Stanzi, Iowa, QB, Sr.
Tyrod Taylor, Virginia Tech, QB, Sr.
Daniel Thomas, Kansas State, RB, Sr.
Jordan Todman, Connecticut, RB, Jr.
Scott Tolzien, Wisconsin, QB, Sr.
Shane Vereene, Cal, RB, Jr.
Ryan Williams, Virginia Tech, RB, So.
Russell Wilson, NC State, QB, Jr.
2010 Chuck Bednarik Award Watch List
Sam Acho, Texas, DE
Prince Amukamara, Nebraska, CB
Marvin Austin, North Carolina, DT
Akeen Ayers, UCLA, LB
Allen Bailey, Miami, DE
Mark Barron, Alabama, S
Jeremy Beal, Oklahoma, DE
Ahmad Black, Florida, S
Chris Borland, Wisconsin, LB
Vontaze Burfict, Arizona St., LB
Kendric Burney, North Carolina, CB
John Bynes, Auburn, LB
Tank Carder, TCU, LB
Jurrell Casey, USC, DT
Adrian Clayborn, Iowa, DE
Jack Crawford, Penn State, DE
Jared Crick, Nebraska, DT
Marcell Dareus, Alabama, DE
Ras-l Dowling, Virginia, CB
Mason Foster, Washington, LB
Stephon Gilmore, South Carolina, CB
Brandon Harris, Miami, CB
Mark Herzlich, Boston College, LB
Cameron Heyward, Ohio State, DE
Dont'a Hightower, Alabama, LB
Ross Homan, Ohio State, LB
Justin Houston, Georgia, LB
Greg Jones, Michigan St., LB
Ryan Kerrigan, Purdue, DE
Luke Kuechly, Boston College, LB
Travis Lewis, Oklahoma, LB
Colin McCarthy, Miami, LB
DeAndre McDaniel, Clemson, S
Josh McNary, Army, DE
Pernell McPhee, Mississippi St., DE
Bruce Miller, UCF, DE
Von Miller, Texas A&M, LB
Dontay Moch, Nevada, DE
Mike Mohamed, Cal, LB
Rahim Moore, UCLA, S
Stephen Paea, Oregon St., DT
Patrick Peterson, LSU, CB
Jerrell Powe, Ole Miss, DT
Robert Quinn, North Carolina, DE
Adrian Robinson, Temple, DE
Greg Romeus, Pittsburgh, DE
Kenny Rowe, Oregon, DE
Robert Sands, West Virginia, S
Tyler Sash, Iowa, S
Kelvin Sheppard, LSU, LB
Aldon Smith, Missouri, DE
Derrell Smith, Syracuse, LB
Manti Te'o, Notre Dame, LB
Trevin Wade, Arizona, CB
J.J. Watt, Wisconsin, DE
Aaron Williams, Texas, CB
Korey Williams, Southern Miss, LB
Lawrence Wilson, Connecticut, LB
Ryan Winterswyk, Boise St., DE
Alex Wujciak, Maryland, LB
2010 Ray Guy Award Pre-season Watch List
Drew Butler (Jr.) Georgia
Peter Caldwell (Sr.) Utah State
Ryan Donahue, (SR.) Iowa
Johnny Hekker (Jr.) Oregon State
Chas Henry (Sr.) Florida
Jeff Locke (So.), UCLA
Rob Long (Sr.) Syracuse
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