Toledo's Diontae Johnson Named To 2018 Walter Camp Award Watch List
Toledo's Diontae Johnson Named To 2018 Walter Camp Award Watch List
New Haven, Conn. – The Walter Camp Football Foundation has announced the names of fifty “players to watch” for its 2018 Player of the Year award, the nation’s fourth-oldest individual college football accolade. Representing the MAC is junior wide receiver Diontae Johnson of Toledo. In all, 41 schools and 11 conferences (including independents) are represented on the list. There are 38 offensive players (17 quarterbacks, 15 running backs and six receivers/tight ends) on the list along with 12 from the defensive side of the ball.
Johnson, a native of Ruskin, Fla., was also named to the Biletnikoff Award and Paul Hornung Award watch lists, which is annually awarded to the nation's top wide receiver and the nation's most versatile player respectfully. Last season, he caught 74 passes for a school-record 1,278 yards and 13 TDs. He was a first-team All-MAC selection at both wide receiver and punt returner, as well as a second-team all-league pick at kickoff returner. Johnson was the first Rocket to be named all-league at three positions since Eric Page in 2011.
“We are proud to continue the great work of Walter Camp and recognize the best college football players in the nation,” Foundation president Michael Madera 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 2018 Walter Camp Player of the Year recipient, which is voted on by the 129 NCAA Bowl Subdivision head coaches and sports information directors, will be announced live on ESPN on Thursday, December 6. The winner will then receive his trophy at the Foundation’s 52nd annual national awards banquet on January 12, 2019 in New Haven, Conn.
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 college football's most prestigious awards. Founded in 1997, the NCFAA and its 23 awards now boast over 800 recipients, dating to 1935. Visit ncfaa.org to learn more about our story. The members of the NCFAA unveiled their preseason watch lists over a 10-day period (July 16-27). Sixteen 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.
