Walter Camp Award Watch List 2015: Full List and Bleacher Report Favorites

It's not quite the Heisman Trophy, but the Walter Camp Award still aims to honor the top player in college football regardless of position. 

With the release of the 2015 Walter Camp preseason watch list, 50 players will be vying for that title at season's end. Of course, a player doesn't have to be on the watch list to win the Walter Camp Award. 

“We are proud to continue the great work of Walter Camp and recognize the best college football players in the nation,” foundation president Robert Kauffman said in a statement on the Walter Camp website. “This watch list is a great start to what is shaping up to be another exciting year of college football.”

The previous two award winners—Marcus Mariota and Jameis Winston—were also Heisman winners the same year. However, the Walter Camp Award hasn't always gone the way of the Heisman winner. Will that be the case this year?

Here's the full Walter Camp watch list, along with Bleacher Report's favorites, assorted by grouping and based on previous production, '15 season projections and roles within their teams: 

Name	Class	Position	School
Dante Barrett	Senior	DB	Kansas State
J.T. Barrett	Sophomore	QB	Ohio State
Devontae Booker	Senior	RB	Utah
Joey Bosa	Junior	DE	Ohio State
Trevone Boykin	Senior	QB	TCU
Shilique Calhoun	Senior	DE	Michigan State
Jeremy Cash	Senior	DB	Duke
Nick Chubb	Sophomore	RB	Georgia
James Conner	Junior	RB	Pitt
Connor Cook	Senior	QB	Michigan State
Su'a Cravens	Junior	LB	USC
Brandon Doughty	Senior	QB	Western Kentucky
DeVon Edwards	Junior	DB	Duke
Ezekiel Elliott	Junior	RB	Ohio State
Kenneth Farrow	Senior	RB	Houston
Leonard Fournette	Sophomore	RB	LSU
Jarvion Franklin	Sophomore	RB	Western Michigan
Royce Freeman	Sophomore	RB	Oregon
Kendall Fuller	Junior	DB	Virginia Tech
Will Fuller	Junior	WR	Notre Dame
Jared Goff	Junior	QB	Cal
Everett Golson	Senior	QB	Florida State
Christian Hackenberg	Junior	QB	Penn State
Vernon Hargreaves III	Junior	DB	Florida
Derrick Henry	Junior	RB	Alabama
Rashard Higgins	Junior	WR	Colorado State
Taysom Hill	Senior	QB	BYU
Kevin Hogan	Senior	QB	Stanford
Myles Jack	Junior	LB	UCLA
Devon Johnson	Senior	RB	Marshall
Cardale Jones	Junior	QB	Ohio State
Cody Kessler	Senior	QB	USC
Gunner Kiel	Junior	QB	Cincinnati
Paxton Lynch	Junior	QB	Memphis
Blake Martinez	Senior	LB	Stanford
Elijah McGuire	Senior	RB	Louisiana
Braxton Miller	Senior	QB	Ohio State
Shawn Oakman	Senior	DE	Baylor
Samaje Perine	Sophomore	RB	Oklahoma
Paul Perkins	Junior	RB	UCLA
Dak Prescott	Senior	QB	Mississippi State
Keenan Reynolds	Senior	QB	Navy
Anu Solomon	Soophomore	QB	Arizona
Justin Thomas	Junior	QB	Georgia Tech
Darian Thompson	Senior	DB	Boise State
Laquon Treadwell	Junior	WR	Ole Miss
Deshaun Watson	Sophomore	QB	Clemson
Duke Williams	Senior	WR	Auburn
Scooby Wright III	Junior	LB	Arizona
Malik Zaire	Sophomore	QB	Notre Dame

B/R FAVORITES

The Ground-and-Pounders

Georgia Running Back Nick Chubb

The freshman phenom rushed for more than 1,500 yards as Todd Gurley's emergency replacement. The Bulldogs seem to replace one surefire first-round draft pick with another future one. While this team is loaded in the backfield, Chubb should still be the go-to back, which means he won't have to sacrifice carries unless he gets hurt.

Chubb averaged just less than 17 carries per game last season, but expect that number to go up with the rigors of a full season. 

Eric Gay/Associated Press

Ohio State Running Back Ezekiel Elliott

No running back—and perhaps no player other than his quarterback, Cardale Jones—finished the 2014 season strong than Elliott did. The junior had 200-plus-yard games in each of Ohio State's three postseason games.

Now that Elliott is no longer in the shadows of other Big Ten running backs like Melvin Gordon, he will be one of the most-watched running backs in the country. It helps, too, that Elliott is one of the leading favorites to win the Heisman, according to Bovada odds via OddsShark.com. 

LSU Running Back Leonard Fournette 

Fournette, like Chubb, Oregon's Royce Freeman and Oklahoma's Samaje Perine, was one of those impact freshmen at running back. Though he didn't have as many yards as Chubb or Perine (1,034), he's considered one of the top overall backs for his blend of size, power and speed. He's also a versatile player as a kick returner. 

Oklahoma Running Back Samaje Perine

Perine took the Big 12 by storm in 2014, leading the conference with 1,713 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns. He's a bruising back at 5'11" and 237 pounds, but he'll still be a valuable weapon in Lincoln Riley's Air Raid offense. 

The Gunslingers

TCU Quarterback Trevone Boykin

Boykin's transformation from 2013 to 2014 was undeniable. He's the textbook definition of what an effective dual-threat quarterback should be, and the numbers reflect that: 3,901 yards passing, 707 yards rushing, 42 total touchdowns. He's the type of player who makes an easy case for postseason accolades.

The crazy thing is, though, he can get even better. If the Frogs are in Big 12/playoff contention in late November, Boykin's name will get a lot of chatter for the Walter Camp Award and more. 

Ohio State's Starting Quarterback

Unlike the Davey O'Brien Award, which just features Cardale Jones, the Walter Camp watch list features all three of Ohio State's quarterbacks—Jones, Braxton Miller and J.T. Barrett. Obviously, only one of those names has a chance to remain by season's end. Still, we've seen already that all three can lead the team to great heights, so giving them an equal chance in July is right on point. 

USC Quarterback Cody Kessler

Kessler should have all of the elements of a postseason award winner in 2015. He's a household name who plays in a blue-blood program, which could be in playoff contention, in a stat-friendly offense. That's not to diminish Kessler's skill set, because he certainly has the tools of one of the top quarterbacks in college football, but he also has several things going for him as well.

Kessler's name has been most commonly associated with the Heisman, but it wouldn't be surprising to see him take home the Walter Camp, Davey O'Brien, Manning or Maxwell Award. 

Rogelio V. Solis/Associated Press

Mississippi State Quarterback Dak Prescott

Unlike the Heisman, the Walter Camp Award isn't as closely tied to the record of the recipient's team. This could be a good thing for Prescott if Mississippi State does in fact finish at or near the bottom of the SEC West standings like many media folks are projecting. Regardless, Prescott is the best returning quarterback in the SEC and is capable of being a one-man show on the field. 

Clemson Quarterback Deshaun Watson

Now that he's finally 100 percent healthy, Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson should pick up where he left off in 2014—dominating defenses. Watson showed an unbelievable skill set and maturity as a freshman, and he takes the Tigers offense to another level when he's in the game. With the core of his wide receiver unit returning, he should put up huge numbers in '15. 

The Long Shots

Ohio State Defensive End Joey Bosa

Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o was the last defensive player to win the Walter Camp Award in 2012. Like the Heisman, the Walter Camp Award has predominantly gone to quarterbacks or running backs. However, if there's a player outside of those two positions with a great chance, it's Bosa.

As a sophomore in '14, he led the Big Ten in sacks and tackles for loss. He's so quick off the edge that even if you double-team him, he's tough to stop. Also, if you do that, it opens up opportunities for someone else to get to the quarterback. 

Ole Miss Wide Receiver Laquon Treadwell

There are only four wide receivers on the Walter Camp watch list, by far the lowest of any offensive skill position. One of those four is Treadwell. The junior suffered a season-ending leg injury a year ago, so it'll be interesting to see how his comeback season turns out. However, he's as dominant as any wide receiver in the college game. He just needs the stats to back it up. 

Eric Gay/Associated Press

UCLA Linebacker Myles Jack

Jack has moonlighted as a running back for the Bruins, which does technically help his stock as a versatile athlete, but he's best suited as a productive, hard-hitting linebacker. He has been crushing it for UCLA ever since his freshman year and has started all but two games at linebacker.

If Jack can move into that leading tackler role for the Bruins, he could very well get serious consideration for the Walter Camp Award. 

Ben Kercheval is a lead writer for college football. All stats courtesy of cfbstats.com.