CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Mid-American Conference was represented by Eastern Michigan's Samson Evans and Ohio’s Kurtis Rourke on the 2023 Walter Camp Player of the Year Watch List, as announced by the The Walter Camp Football Foundation on Friday afternoon.
The Walter Camp Football Foundation has announced the names of forty-five “players to watch” for its 2023 Player of the Year award, the nation’s fourth-oldest individual college football accolade.
Evans, who was also selected to the Maxwell Award Watch List on July 31, earned his first all-conference honors in 2022 after a historic season in the backfield for EMU. The Crystal Lake, Ill., native scored his 27th career rushing touchdown against Central Michigan University, Nov. 25, to move into first place in Eastern Michigan program history in the category during a 2022 season which saw him rush for 100+ yards in four contests, a career-best mark.
His 29 scores put him in second on EMU's all-time touchdowns list (rushing and receiving). With 1,166 yards on the ground last season, Evans is the 14th EMU player to rush for a total of 1,000 yards or more in a single season. The senior's total was good for eighth all-time in single-season laurels at EMU. His 15 touchdowns in 2022 ranked first in the MAC and 15th nationally.
During the 2022 season, Rourke went 244-for-353 on 3,256 passing yards, throwing 25 total touchdowns in 11 games. The quarterback made program history against Fordham (Sept. 24), going for 527 yards in the air, breaking a record that was set in 1983. He is also second in program history in passing yards in a season as well as passing touchdowns in a season.
Rourke's performance earned him numerous accolades, highlighted by being named the MAC Offensive Player of the Year, earning the Vern Smith Leadership Award and getting named the 2022 Cornish Trophy runner-up as well as earning First Team All-MAC honors. He was named one of the Manning Award "Stars of the Week" twice, earned 2022 Phil Steele First Team Offense honors in addition to earning MAC Offensive Player of the Week three times. Off the field, he was named Academic All-MAC, 2022 Academic All-America® Second Team and earned MAC Scholar Athlete of the Week honors once.
The 2023 watch list will be narrowed to 10 semi-finalists in mid-November. The 2023 Walter Camp Player of the Year recipient, which is voted on by the 133 NCAA Bowl Subdivision head coaches and sports information directors, will be announced on ESPN’s College Football Awards Show in December. The winner will then receive his trophy at the Foundation’s 57th annual national awards banquet in New Haven, Conn. in early 2023.
#MACtion on the 2023 Watch Lists
Maxwell Award Watch List
Alex Adams | WR | Akron
Marquez Cooper | RB | Ball State
Samson Evans | RB | Eastern Michigan
Kurtis Rourke | QB | Ohio
Dequan Finn | QB | Toledo
Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List
Shaun Dolac | LB | Buffalo
Marcus Fuqua | S | Buffalo
Maxen Hook | S | Toledo
Donte Kent | CB | Central Michigan
Quinyon Mitchell | CB | Toledo
Devonte O'Malley | DT | NIU
Outland Trophy Watch List
Ethan Crowe | C | Ball State
Nolan Potter | OT | NIU
Nick Rosi | OT | Toledo
Deiyantei Powell-Woods | G | Central Michigan
Daymond Williams | DT | Buffalo
Lou Groza Watch List
Alex McNulty | K | Buffalo
Jesús Gómez | K | Eastern Michigan
Ray Guy Watch List
Dom Dzioban | P | Miami
Lucas Borrow | P | Ball State
Mitchell Tomasek | P | Eastern Michigan
Wuerffel Award Watch List
Clayton Coll | LB | Ball State
Abdul-Fatai Ibrahim | WR | BGSU
Austin Osborne | WR | BGSU
Brock Horne | LB | BGSU
Darren Anders | LB | BGSU
Demetrius Hardamon | LB | BGSU
Max Michel | DE | Buffalo
Robi Stuart | DL | Central Michigan
Brian Dooley | OL | Eastern Michigan
Dallas Gant | LB | Toledo
Boone Bonnema | LB | Western Michigan
Paul Hornung Award Watch List
Ron Cook Jr. | RB | Buffalo
Trayvon Rudolph | WR | Northern Illinois
Jacquez Stuart | RB | Toledo
The Rimington Trophy Watch List
Jacob Gideon | C | Western Michigan
Mackey Award Watch List
Brady Hunt | TE | Ball State
Biletnikoff Award Watch List
Alex Adams | WR | Akron
Jerjuan Newton | WR | Toledo
Sam Wiglusz | WR | Ohio
Davey O’Brien Watch List
Dequan Finn | QB | Toledo
Kurtis Rourke | QB | Ohio
Doak Walker Award Watch List
Sieh Bangura | RB | Ohio
Samson Evans | RB | Eastern Michigan
Antario Brown | RB | Northern Illinois
Butkus Award Watch List
Shaun Dolac | LB | Buffalo
Dallas Gant | LB | Toledo
Jim Thorpe Award Watch List
Marcus Fuqua | S | Buffalo
Quinyon Mitchell | CB | Toledo
Walter Camp Player of the Year Watch List
Samson Evans | RB | Eastern Michigan
Kurtis Rourke | QB | Ohio
