With the year’s watchlists beginning in earnest, the Hornung Award was released on Monday alongside the Bednarik and Maxwell Awards. For those who don’t know, the Hornung is awarded to the top all-purpose player in the country. One of the younger awards, beginning in just 2010, the winners roll consists of Owen Marecic, Stanford (2010); Brandon Boykin, Georgia (2011); Tavon Austin, West Virginia (2012); and Odell Beckham, Louisiana State (2013). That is a diverse bunch, and that makes it more difficult to predict a winner each season. Many of the names on the list this season will appear on other lists, but there are a few pleasant surprises mixed in.
Here are the 47 early contenders:
Ameer Abdullah Nebraska
Nelson Agholor Southern California
Kenny Bell Nebraska
V��Angelo Bentley Illinois
Victor Bolden Oregon State
Tyler Boyd Pittsburgh
Shilique Calhoun Michigan State
BJ Catalon Texas Christian
Rashon Ceaser Louisiana-Monroe
Stacy Coley Miami (Florida)
James Conner Pittsburgh
Pharoh Cooper South Carolina
Jamison Crowder Duke
Stefon Diggs Maryland
Chris Dunkley South Florida
DeVon Edwards Duke
DJ Foster Arizona State
Charles Gaines Louisville
Rannell Hall Central Florida
Scott Harding Hawaii
Justin Hardy East Carolina
Akeem Hunt Purdue
Myles Jack UCLA
Christion Jones Alabama
Jameon Lewis Mississippi State
Tommylee Lewis Northern Illinois
Tyler Lockett Kansas State
TJ Logan North Carolina
Venric Mark Northwestern
JD McKissic, Arkansas State
Ty Montgomery, Stanford
Khalfani Muhammad, California
Marcus Murphy, Missouri
Jamarcus Nelson, Alabama-Birmingham
Levi Norwood, Baylor
Ryan Switzer, North Carolina
Shaq Thompson, Washington
Antonio Vaughan, Old Dominion
Levonte Whitfield, Florida State
Carlos Wiggins, New Mexico
Kenny Williams, Texas Tech
Shane Williams-Rhodes, Boise State
Myles Willis, Boston College
Dontre Wilson, Ohio State
Aaron Wimberly, Iowa State
Shane Wynn, Indiana
