Walter Camp Football Foundation Announces “Players to Watch” for 2020 Player of the Year Award
NEW HAVEN, Connecticut — The Walter Camp Football Foundation named BYU quarterback Zach Wilson one of 20 “Players to Watch” for its 2020 Walter Camp Player of the Year award, the fourth-oldest college football award in the nation.
The 20-player semifinalist watch list includes eight quarterbacks, six running backs, six defensive players and two wide receivers/tight ends. Fourteen different schools and eight conferences are represented on the list.
The Walter Camp Player of the Year is voted on by the 130 Football Bowl Subdivision head coaches and sports information directors. A list of five finalists will be announced on Monday, December 28, and the winner announced on ESPN SportsCenter on Thursday, January 7.
On Oct. 4, 2020, the Walter Camp Football Foundation named Wilson the FBS Offensive Player of the Week. In a 45-14 victory over Louisiana Tech, he completed 24-of-26 passes for 325 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing for 43 yards and three scores. Wilson is the fourth Cougar to win the award since 2004, and the first since former BYU quarterback Max Hall was honored on Sept. 9, 2009.
A 6-foot-3, 210-pound junior from Draper, Utah, Wilson has led BYU to a 10-1 record and a No. 14 national ranking in The Associated Press Top 25 and No. 16 ranking in the Amway Coaches Poll.
In addition to being a top candidate for the Walter Camp Player of the Year award, the talented signal caller has also garnered Heisman Trophy considerations and is a finalist for the Manning Award, which also recognizes the top player in the nation. Additionally, Wilson is a semifinalist for both the Davey O'Brien Award and Manning Award, which annually honor the best quarterback.
Wilson leads a BYU offense that ranks No. 9 in scoring (43.0 ppg) and No. 10 in total offense (510.1 ypg), while consistently demonstrating through his play that he is a strong candidate for the top quarterback in the land. Some of Wilson's top individual rankings include the following:
- No. 2 Points responsible for (234)
- No. 2 Passing touchdowns (30)
- No. 3 Passing yards per attempt (10.82)
- No. 4 Passing efficiency (194.8)
- No. 4 Completion percentage (.732)
- No. 5 Passing yards (3,267)
- No. 5 Rushing TDs by a QB (8) (also No. 33 among all players)
- No. 8 Points responsible for per game (21.3)
- No. 10 Total offense (319.0)
- No. 10 Passing yards per completion (14.78)
- No. 12 Passing yards per game (297.0)
As a team, the Cougars rank in the top 10 in 14 different statistical categories and are the only FBS team ranked in the top 10 in scoring offense (No. 9; 43.0 ppg), scoring defense (No. 3; 14.6 ppg), total offense (No. 10; 510.1 ypg) and total defense (No. 10; 309.5 ypg).
The 2019 Walter Camp Player of the Year was former LSU (and current Cincinnati Bengals) quarterback Joe Burrow.
2020 Walter Camp Player of the Year Semifinalists
Ian Book, QB, Senior, Notre Dame
Zaven Collins, LB, Junior, Tulsa
Travis Etienne, RB, Senior, Clemson
Justin Fields, QB, Junior, Ohio State
Breece Hall, RB, Sophomore, Iowa State
Najee Harris, RB, Senior, Alabama
Tarron Jackson, DE, RS Senior, Coastal Carolina
Buddy Johnson, LB, Senior, Texas A&M
Mac Jones, QB, Junior, Alabama
Trevor Lawrence, QB, Junior, Clemson
Daviyon Nixon, DL, Junior, Iowa
Jaret Patterson, RB, Junior, Buffalo
Kyle Pitts, TE, Junior, Florida
Desmond Ridder, QB, Junior, Cincinnati
Mike Rose, LB, Junior, Iowa State
Kedon Slovis, QB, Sophomore, USC
Devonta Smith, WR, Senior, Alabama
Kyle Trask, QB, Senior, Florida
Shaun Wade, DB, RS Junior, Ohio State
Zach Wilson, QB, Junior, BYU
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 Foundation is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA). The NCFAA was founded in 1997 as a coalition of the major collegiate football awards to protect, preserve and enhance the integrity, influence and prestige of the game’s predominant awards. The NCFAA encourages professionalism and the highest standards for the administration of its member awards and the selection of their candidates and recipients. For more information, visit the association’s website, www.ncfaa.org