Breaking Down College Football's Preseason Watch Lists Release Dates

The month of June is almost over, which means we are getting closer to the college football season kicking off. Can you feel it in the air yet?

Before the season arrives, there are award watch lists that are released to make the fans aware of who are the favorites to win many of college football's most prestigious awards.

The Lott IMPACT Trophy has already released its watch list, along with the Rimington Trophy, but there is so much more to look forward to.

During the next month or so, there will be watch lists released for a total of 15 more awards. Here are the dates, possible candidates and early predictions for who will end up winning these awards.

Monday, July 9

Maxwell Award (Candidates include West Virginia's Geno Smith, USC's Matt Barkley, Arkansas' Tyler Wilson, Georgia's Aaron Murray and Michigan's Denard Robinson)

Prediction: I believe that Matt Barkley is going to win the Heisman Trophy, so I will give the Maxwell Award to Geno Smith. He had a terrific season last year, throwing for more than 4,300 yards and scoring 33 total touchdowns. Now, he is entering a conference that plays little to no defense. Expect a huge year from the West Virginia quarterback.

Bednarik Award (Candidates include LSU's Tyrann Mathieu, Georgia's Jarvis Jones, LSU's Sam Montgomery, Notre Dame's Manti Te’o and Michigan State's William Gholston)

Prediction: While this may be one of the tougher choices, I'll go with Jarvis Jones, who proved he is a man among boys last season. As a sophomore, he racked up 13.5 sacks, 19.5 tackles for loss and 70 sacks. If the Bulldogs end up winning the SEC (like I predicted), he will be a huge reason for that success. 

Tuesday, July 10

Mackey Award (Candidates include Notre Dame's Tyler Eifert, Auburn's Philip Lutzenkirchen, San Diego State's Gavin Escobar, USC's Randall Telfer and Washington's Austin Seferian-Jenkins)

Prediction: With the proven receivers on Notre Dames roster, you have to go with tight end Tyler Eifert. He caught 63 passes last season for more than 800 yards and scored five touchdowns. With a young quarterback taking over, you would think he would rely on a veteran such as Eifert to help ease the transition. 

Rimington Trophy (Candidates include Oklahoma's Ben Habern, USC's Khaled Holmes, Alabama's Barrett Jones, Clemson's Dalton Freeman and Louisville's Mario Benavides)

Prediction: Barrett Jones is without question the best center in college football, but Alabama has been working him out at tackle during the offseason. It is still unknown what position he will play when September arrives, but if he stays at his normal position, the award is his.

Wednesday, July 11

Lou Groza Award (Candidates include Florida State's Dustin Hopkins, Florida's Caleb Sturgis, Nebraska's Brett Maher, Oklahoma State's Quinn Sharp and Clemson's Chandler Catanzaro)

Prediction: Florida Gators kicker Caleb Sturgis was a finalist for this award last season, after nailing 22 of his 26 field goal attempts. He also made a 55-yard field goal. He has a lot of experience heading into his senior year and one of the strongest legs of anyone in the country.

Ray Guy Award (Candidates include LSU's Brad Wing, Louisiana Tech's Ryan Allen, Auburn's Steven Clark, Oregon's Jackson Rice and Arkansas' Dylan Breeding)

Prediction: With Brad Wing's performance last season, it would be foolish to go with anybody else. He averaged more than 44 yards an attempt, which was 11th best in the country, and often pinned opponents inside the 20-yard line.

Thursday, July 12

Bronko Nagurski Trophy (Candidates include LSU's Tyrann Mathieu, Georgia's Jarvis Jones, LSU's Sam Montgomery, Notre Dame's Manti Te’o and Michigan State's William Gholston)

Prediction: Similar to the Bednarik Award, this award goes to the most "outstanding" defensive player. Since we went with Jarvis Jones earlier, we will give this award to LSU's Sam Montgomery. He was an absolute beast in his first season as a starter, racking up nine sacks, 13.5 tackles for loss and 49 tackles. With a year under his belt, he should have an even more productive junior season.

Outland Trophy (Candidates include Purdue's Kawann Short, Utah's Star Lotulelei, Alabama's Barrett Jones, Maryland's Joe Vellano and Arkansas' Alvin Bailey)

Prediction: If Barrett Jones plays as an interior lineman this season, he will likely win this award. If not, I'll give the award to Utah nose tackle Star Lotulelei. He wasn't really known until really impressing last season, finishing the year with 43 tackles, nine tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. He clogs up running lanes with the best of them and is a huge part of this Utah defense in 2012.

Friday, July 13

Jim Thorpe Award (Candidates include LSU's Tyrann Mathieu, Florida State's Xavier Rhodes, Virginia Tech's Kyle Fuller, North Carolina State's David Amerson and Georgia's Bacarri Rambo)

Prediction: Can we please give some love to the junior David Amerson? The guy finished his sophomore season with 13 interceptions as a sophomore, which led all of college football. To break that down for you, he had four games where he has two interceptions and only went four games were he didn't have at least one interception. Yeah, that's kind of amazing. 

Monday, July 16

Butkus Award (Candidates include Georgia's Jarvis Jones, Notre Dame's Manti Te’o, Penn State's Gerald Hodges, Stanford's Shayne Skov and Kansas State's Arthur Brown)

Prediction: Shayne Skov missed nearly all of the 2011 season due to a knee injury, but he should be back in 2012. He is a high-energy player and a tackle machine. He 2011, he finished with 83 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and seven sacks. If he can be that productive for the Cardinal again this season, he should win the award.

Rotary Lombardi Award (Candidates include Georgia's Jarvis Jones, Alabama's Barrett Jones, Notre Dame's Manti Te’o, LSU's Sam Montgomery and Michigan State's William Gholston)

Prediction: The Lombardi Award goes to the best linemen on either side of the ball. Out of players like that to choose from, I'm glad I don't have a vote and have to pick between many deserving players. If I had to give an early prediction, I'd go with Jarvis Jones once again. The guy is just a relentless playmaker on the defensive side of the ball and should have another monster season in 2012.

Tuesday, July 17

Biletnikoff Award (Candidates include USC's Robert Woods, Tennessee's Justin Hunter, Clemson's Sammy Watkins, USC's Marqise Lee and California's Keenan Allen)

Prediction: While many are fantastic players, I'd give my prediction to Marqise Lee. He had a ridiculous freshman season, hauling in 73 passes for 1,143 yards and 11 touchdowns. He has a great combination of size and speed and is already one of the more explosive players in this sport. Watch out for Lee, because he will have an impressive encore his sophomore year.

Wednesday, July 18

Davey O’Brien Award (Candidates include USC's Matt Barkley, Georgia's Aaron Murray, Arkansas' Tyler Wilson, West Virginia's Geno Smith and Michigan's Denard Robinson)

Prediction: How can you pick against Matt Barkley in this spot? He has the most attention, best group of wide receivers and plays in a soft conference so he can pad his stats throughout the year. The other candidates are great, but the USC senior has too much going for him in 2012.

Thursday, July 19

Doak Walker Award (Candidates include Wisconsin's Montee Ball, Arkansas' Knile Davis, South Carolina's Marcus Lattimore, Nebraska's Rex Burkhead and Oregon's Kenjon Barner)

Prediction: If Marcus Lattimore is 100 percent healthy, he is the guy I want in my backfield. We are talking about somebody who has rushed for more than 2,000 yards and scored 30 total touchdowns in just one and a half seasons. He is rarely held under 100 yards rushing and never goes down on first contact. If he has recovered from his knee injury, he is without question a Heisman favorite.

Friday, July 20

Walter Camp Award (Candidates include USC's Matt Barkley, LSU's Tyrann Mathieu, Clemson's Sammy Watkins, Wisconsin's Montee Ball and Georgia's Aaron Murray)

Prediction: For the same reasons I have given throughout this article, Matt Barkley is my guy heading into the 2012 season.