LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels is one of 50 players named to the watch list for the 2024 Walter Camp Football Foundation’s Player of the Year Award, which is given annually to the college football player of the year.
The Walter Camp Player of the Year Award is the nation’s fourth-oldest individual college football accolade and is voted on by the 133 NCAA Bowl Subdivision head coaches and sports information directors. Walter Camp, “The Father of American football,” first selected an All-America team in 1889. A former Yale University athlete and football coach, Camp is credited with developing play from scrimmage, set plays, the numerical assessment of goals and tries and the restriction of play to eleven men per side. The Walter Camp Football Foundation – a New Haven-based all-volunteer group – was founded in 1967 to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and to continue the tradition of selecting annually an All-America team.
This is the second preseason watch list for Daniels, who was previously honored by the Maxwell Award, and it is his second consecutive year being named to the Walter Camp Award watch list. Daniels was previously honored by the Walter Camp Award in 2022, when he was named the Walter Camp National FBS Offensive Player of the Week following his performance in a 48-30 victory at Houston.
Daniels is back for the 2024 season at Kansas after throwing for 705 yards and five touchdowns in three games in 2023. In 2022, Daniels was a breakthrough player as he led the Jayhawks to a 5-0 start and the program’s first bowl game appearance since 2008. He was an All-Big 12 Second Team selection after completing 66.1 percent (152-of-230) of his passes for 2,014 yards and 18 touchdowns. Daniels capped off his sophomore season with a record-setting performance in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, when he completed 37-of-55 passes for 544 yards and five touchdowns, while also rushing for a touchdown.
From Lawndale, California, Daniels enters the season ranked No. 9 in school history with 4,297 passing yards and No. 5 with 31 passing touchdowns. At his current career completion rate of 63.6 percent (365-of-574), Daniels would surpass the previous school record of 63.3 percent, set by Todd Reesing from 2006-09.
Daniels is one of 20 quarterbacks on the watch list and one of 41 offensive players in total. The 2024 Player of Year watch list will be narrowed to 10 semi-finalists in early November and three finalists will be announced on November 26. The 2024 Walter Camp Player of the Year recipient will be announced on ESPN’s College Football Awards Show on December 12. Appearing on the preseason Watch List is not a requirement for a player to win
the Walter Camp award or be named to the All-America team.
2024 Kansas Football Preseason Watch Lists:
Maxwell Award – QB Jalon Daniels, RB Devin Neal
Patrick Mannelly Award – LS Luke Hosford
Bronko Nagurski Award – CB Cobee Bryant
Paycom Jim Thorpe Award – CB Cobee Bryant
Allstate Wuerffel Trophy – TE Jared Casey
Walter Camp Award – QB Jalon Daniels
