3 Arizona players named to preseason football watch lists

It’s that favorite time of year for college football writers: watch list season!

As part of the long leadup to the 2019 season, numerous organizations that give out awards will be releasing preseason watch lists of players they expect to be in contention for their hardware. These lists are incredibly fluid, as players who shine early on in the season will get added after the fact and as fall progresses plenty of names will get dropped.

Which brings us to the news that three Arizona Wildcats were named to preseason watch lists on Monday. Senior quarterback Khalil Tate and junior running back J.J. Taylor have been named to the watch list for the Maxwell Award, given to college football’s best overall player, while junior linebacker Colin Schooler has been named to the preseason watch list for the Bednarik Award, given to college football’s top defensive player.

This is the third inclusion on the Maxwell list for Tate, who was a semifinalist as a midseason addition in 2017 after his breakout performance as a sophomore, and in 2018 he was on the preseason list. Taylor is making his first appearance, and he figures to also get a spot on the preseason watch list for the Doak Walker award given to college football’s top running back.

Schooler, who has 35.5 tackles for loss in two seasons, would be the first Arizona player to win the Bednarik since Scooby Wright III in 2014. Wright also won the Lombardi Award and the Bronko Nagurski Trophy that season.

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