PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Five American Athletic Conference football players have been named to preseason watch lists Friday with the announcement of early candidates for the Outland Trophy and the Nagurski Trophy.
The Outland Trophy, which goes to the top interior lineman in college football, lists four American Athletic Conference players, including two from Tulane on its list of preseason candidates. The Green Wave had defensive tackle Tanzel Smart and offensive guard Chris Taylor on the watch list. They are joined by East Carolina center J.T. Boyd and Temple offensive tackle Dion Dawkins.
The Bronko Nagurski Trophy, which recognizes the nation’s best defensive player, placed UConn cornerback Jamar Summers and Houston linebacker Steven Taylor on its preseason watch list.
Boyd is a two-time all-conference selection who makes his second straight appearance on the Outland Trophy watch list. He anchored an offensive line that helped the Pirates gain at least 400 yards six times in 2012.
Dawkins earned all-conference second-team plaudits last season and has been a fixture at left offensive tackle for Temple in the last two seasons. He has started 24 of 26 games and helped the Owls produce a 1,200-yard rusher in a 10-win season in 2015.
Smart was named to the American Athletic Conference first team as the anchor of a Tulane defense that ranked 12th nationally in tackles for loss in 2015. Smart registered 15.0 tackles for loss from the interior line and finished as Tulane’s fifth-leading tackler with 62 stops.
Chris Taylor started all 12 games at right guard for Tulane in 2015, helping the Green Wave average 317.0 yards of offense.
Summers was named to the American Athletic Conference first team in 2015 after he led the conference with eight interceptions. He led a UConn unit that led The American in scoring defense (19.5 ppg) and was second in pass efficiency defense (112.70).
Steven Taylor, who earned second-team all-conference honors in 2015, finished as the conference leader in sacks (10.0) and was second in The American in tackles for loss (18.5). He led a Houston defense that led the nation with 35 takeaways last season.
Temple linebacker Tyler Matakevich was the 2015 winner of the Nagurski Trophy.
| Outland Trophy Watch List (Top Interior Lineman) |
| J.T. Boyd |
C |
East Carolina |
| Dion Dawkins |
OT |
Temple |
| Tanzel Smart |
DT |
Tulane |
| Chris Taylor |
OG |
Tulane |
| |
|
|
| Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List (Top Defensive Player) |
| Jamar Summers |
DB |
UConn |
| Steven Taylor |
LB |
Houston |