BATON ROUGE – The Walter Camp Foundation has named Leonard Fournette as one of 15 “Players to Watch” for its 2015 National Player of the Year Award, the organization announced on Wednesday.
The Walter Camp Player of the Year Award is the fourth-oldest college football award in the nation.
Fournette currently leads the nation in both rushing yards (1,474) and rushing yards per game (163.8) and is among the national leaders with 17 rushing touchdowns, which is just two shy of tying the school record. He’s on pace to become first SEC in running back to lead nation in rushing since 1949.
Earlier this year, Fournette became the first running back in Southeastern Conference history to rush for 200 yards in three straight games. He needed only five games to reach 1,000 rushing yards for the season, also a first in SEC history. Fournette has been named national player of the week once this year and SEC Player of the Week three times.
“It’s been another exciting college football season with many teams and players still in the hunt for national recognition,” Foundation president Robert Kauffman said. “We’ve identified some outstanding players and we know the final weeks of the regular season should be even more thrilling.”
The Walter Camp Player of the Year is voted on by the 129 Football Bowl Subdivision head coaches and sports information directors. A list of five finalists will be announced on Wednesday, December 2, and the winner broadcast live on ESPN SportsCenter on Thursday, December 10.
The 15-player watch list includes five quarterbacks, five running backs, three wide receivers, and two defensive players. Fourteen different schools and seven conferences are represented on the list.
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 2014 Walter Camp Player of the Year was former University of Oregon and current Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota.
2015 Walter Camp Player of the Year Semifinalists
Trevone Boykin, QB, TCU, Sr., – Has passed for 3,427 yards and 29 touchdowns for 9-1 Horned Frogs
Corey Coleman, WR, Baylor, Jr., – Has 61 receptions for 1,229 and 20 touchdowns for 8-1 Bears.
Dalvin Cook, RB, Florida State, So., – Has rushed for 1,369 yards and 14 touchdowns for 8-2 Seminoles
Josh Doctson, WR, TCU, Sr., – Has 79 receptions for 1,327 yards and 14 touchdowns for 9-1 Horned Frogs
Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Ohio State, Jr., – Has rushed for 1,425 yards and 16 touchdowns for 10-0 Buckeyes.
Luke Falk, QB, Washington State, So., – Has passed for 4,067 yards and 35 touchdowns for 7-3 Cougars
Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU, So., – Has rushed for 1,474 yards and 17 touchdowns for 7-2 Tigers
Will Fuller, WR, Notre Dame, Jr., – Has 47 receptions for 937 yards and 12 touchdowns for 9-1 Irish
Derrick Henry, RB, Alabama, Jr., – Has rushed for 1,458 yards and 19 touchdowns for 9-1 Crimson Tide
Desmond King, DB, Iowa, Jr., – Leads nation with eight interceptions for the 10-0 Hawkeyes
Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma, Jr., – Has passed for 3,082 yards and 31 touchdowns for 9-1 Sooners
Christian McCaffrey, RB/KR, Stanford, So., – Has 2,418 all-purpose yards for the 8-2 Cardinal
Emmanuel Ogbah, DL, Oklahoma State, Jr., – Has 15.5 tackles for loss and 11 QB sacks for 10-0 Cowboys
Keenan Reynolds, QB, Navy, Sr., – Has 1,525 yards of total offense and 17 touchdowns for 9-1 Navy
Deshaun Watson, QB, Clemson, So., – Has 3,191 yards of total offense and 28 touchdowns for 10-0 Tigers