DALLAS, Texas – The watch list for the eighth annual Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year was announced Thursday, with Kansas senior running back Devin Neal listed among the group of 52 of the nation’s top leaders in college football.
The student-athletes, nominated by their schools, have all demonstrated a record of leadership by exhibiting exceptional courage, integrity and sportsmanship both on and off the field.
For Neal, this is the third award placing him on their watch list, with previous recognition from the Maxwell Award and the Doak Walker Award. Additionally, he earned a spot on the Reese’s Senior Bowl Watch List and the East-West Shrine Bowl 1000 Watch List, with each of those being named prior to the season.
Neal has had a strong start to his senior season, rushing for at least 100 yards in each of the first four games and ranking No. 14 in the country with 110.8 yards per game on the ground. He has carried the ball 72 times for 443 yards and three touchdowns, averaging 6.2 yards per carry. Among players from the power-four FBS conferences, Neal is the active leader in career rushing yards (3,520) and tied for first in rushing touchdowns (36).
Last season, Neal became the third Jayhawk in school history to rush for more than 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons, joining James Sims (2012-13) and Pooka Williams Jr. (2018-19). He also scored 16 rushing touchdowns in 2023, which is the second-highest single season total in school history and the most by a Jayhawk since 2007.
A hometown native of Lawrence, Neal is a team captain for his senior season and continuing to pursue several career records at Kansas. Neal is currently No. 4 in school history for career rushing yards and No. 2 in rushing touchdowns. He has run for 100 or more yards in seven of his past eight games and 16 times in his career, which also ranks second in school history.
Twenty semifinalists for the award will be announced on October 22. Three finalists will be named for the award on Monday, December 16. The winner will be announced at the award ceremony at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on February 12, 2025.
Last year, Mike Hollins of Virginia won the seventh annual award. The first six Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year awards were presented to Shaquem Griffin of UCF in 2017, D’Cota Dixon of Wisconsin in 2018, Trey Smith of Tennessee in 2019, Sam Ehlinger of Texas in 2020, Joshua Paschal of Kentucky in 2021 and Deslin Alexandre of Pittsburgh in 2022.
The award, presented by Albertsons and Tom Thumb, is the first college football honor to focus primarily on a player’s leadership, both on and off the field. Leadership is a term synonymous with Jason Witten, who, in addition to becoming one of the best tight ends in the history of the sport, served as one of football’s most prominent role models during his 16-year pro career.
In addition to winning the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award in 2012, Witten also received the Bart Starr Award, Pro Football Weekly’s Humanitarian of the Year Award, Home Depot NFL Neighborhood MVP and the Bob Lilly Award, among many others. All of those honors have recognized his work in the community, achievements on the field and dedication to his teammates and family.
The winner of the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year will also receive a $10,000 contribution in his name to his school’s athletic scholarship fund. The contribution will be made by Jason Witten’s SCORE Foundation, the official charity of Jason and his wife Michelle.
The SCORE Foundation, founded in 2007, has positively impacted tens of thousands of children and families in Texas and Tennessee over the last 16 years. The foundation operates its nationally-recognized SCOREkeepers program, which places trained male mentors on staff to work with children at family violence shelters, at nine shelters in the two states.
