Kelly Makes Walter Camp Player of the Year Watch List

Chad Kelly
Photo by John Bowen

Ole Miss senior QB Chad Kelly is among 40 players named to the Walter Camp Player of the Year preseason watch list, which was released Friday by the Walter Camp Football Foundation.

The Buffalo, New York, native’s play last season caught the eye of many, as he has been named First-Team SEC by the league media as well as selected to the Maxwell and Davey O’Brien Award watch lists this preseason.

Last year, Kelly broke 14 single-season school records, including total offense (4,542 yards), completion percentage (65.1), passing efficiency (155.9), 300-yard passing games (8) and touchdowns responsible for (41). His offensive output was the third-highest in Southeastern Conference history, behind only the 2012 and 2013 seasons by Johnny Manziel. Completing 298 passes for 4,042 yards and 31 touchdowns, all program bests, Kelly became the third SEC quarterback to throw for more than 4,000 yards in a season.

The Walter Camp Football Foundation announced the names of forty “players to watch” for its 2016 Player of the Year award, the nation’s fourth-oldest individual college football accolade.

In all, 31 schools and 11 conferences (including independents) are represented on the list. There are 30 offensive players (15 quarterbacks, 11 running backs and four receivers) and 10 from the defensive side of the ball (5 linebackers, 5 defensive backs and 1 defensive end).

“We are proud to continue the great work of Walter Camp and recognize the best college football players in the nation,” Foundation president Robert Kauffman said. “This watch list is a great start to what is shaping up to be another exciting year of college football.”

The watch list will be narrowed to 10 semi-finalists in mid-November.  The 2016 Walter Camp Player of the Year recipient, which is voted on by the 128 NCAA Bowl Subdivision head coaches and sports information directors, will be announced live on ESPN SportsCenter on Thursday, December 8.  The winner will then receive his trophy at the Foundation’s 50th annual national awards banquet on January 14, 2017 at the Yale University Commons in New Haven.

Appearing on the preseason Watch List is not a requirement for a player to win the Walter Camp award or be named to the All-America team. 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 Walter Camp Football Foundation (www.waltercamp.org; @WalterCampFF) – 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 the most prestigious awards in college football. The 22 awards boast over 700 years of tradition-selection excellence. Visitwww.NCFAA.org to learn more about our story.

The members of the NCFAA unveiled their preseason watch lists over a 12-day period this month. Sixteen of the association’s 22 awards selected a preseason watch list and the NCFAA has spearheaded a coordinated effort to promote each award’s preseason candidates.

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2016 Walter Camp Player of the Year Preseason Watch List

Quarterbacks
J.T. Barrett, Junior, QB, Ohio State
C.J. Beathard, Senior, QB, Iowa
Josh Dobbs, Senior, QB, Tennessee
Luke Falk, Junior, QB, Washington State
Chad Kelly, Senior, QB, Ole Miss
DeShone Kizer, Junior, QB, Notre Dame
Tanner Mangum, Junior, QB, BYU
Baker Mayfield, Senior, QB, Oklahoma
Nick Mullens, Senior, QB, Southern Miss
Josh Rosen, Sophomore, QB, UCLA
Seth Russell, Senior, QB, Baylor
Brett Rypien, Sophomore, QB, Boise State
Anu Solomon, RS Junior, QB, Arizona
Greg Ward, Senior, QB, Houston
Deshaun Watson, Junior, QB, Clemson

Running Backs
Nick Chubb, Junior, RB, Georgia
Dalvin Cook, Junior, RB, Florida State
Leonard Fournette, Junior, RB, LSU
Royce Freeman, Junior, RB, Oregon
Wayne Gallman, Junior, RB, Clemson
Justin Jackson, Junior, RB, Northwestern
Marlon Mack, Junior, RB, South Florida
Christian McCaffrey, Junior, RB/KR, Stanford
Samaje Perine, Junior, RB, Oklahoma
Donnel Pumphrey, Senior, RB, San Diego State
Larry Rose, Junior, RB, New Mexico State

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Corey Davis, Senior, WR, Western Michigan
Christian Kirk, Sophomore, WR, Texas A&M
Jordan Leggett, TE, Senior, Clemson
JuJu Smith-Schuster, Junior, WR, USC

Defense
Myles Garrett, Junior, DE, Texas A&M
Eddie Jackson, Junior, DB, Alabama
Derwin James, Sophomore, DB, Florida State
Malik Jefferson, Sopohomore, LB, Texas
Desmond King, Senior, DB, Iowa
Jourdan Lewis, Senior, DB, Michigan
Shawun Lurry, Junior, DB, Northern Illinois
Raekwon McMillan, Junior, LB, Ohio State
Jabrill Peppers, Sophomore, LB, Michigan
Anthony Walker, Junior, LB, Northwestern

Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports Information