Buckeyes on College Football Watch Lists
7/22/2019 1:58:57 PM | Football
College football watch list season began recently and several Buckeyes have found their names included amongst the players to keep in eye on for some of the nation’s most prestigious individual awards.
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J.K. DOBBINS • JUNIOR • RB
• Doak Walker Award Watch List
• Maxwell Award Watch List
• Big Ten Conference Preseason Honors
The first player in program history to rush for 1,000 yards in both their freshmen and sophomore seasons, J.K. Dobbins will figure prominently in 2019 in the conversation as one of the best running backs in the country. He set a freshman record by gaining 1,403 yards in 2017 and followed that up with 1,053 yards while splitting carries with Mike Weber last season.
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JUSTIN FIELDS • SOPHOMORE • QB
• Maxwell Award Watch List
Fields, a transfer quarterback from the University of Georgia, has yet to take a snap for the Buckeyes but is already generating substantial buzz. He’ll be vying this preseason for the starting quarterback position after practicing with the team throughout spring drills. Last season at Georgia, he played in 12 of 14 games as a true freshman and was named to the coaches freshman All-SEC Team.
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JORDAN FULLER • SENIOR • SAF
• Thorpe Award Watch List
• Nagurski Award Watch List
A leader both on and off the field for the Buckeyes, Jordan Fuller returns for his senior season after tying for the team lead with 81 tackles last year and starting 26 games over the last two seasons. He’s earned every academic award than an underclassman can win, including first team Academic All-America honors in 2018. A business marketing major, he’s on schedule to graduate in December.
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CHASE YOUNG • JUNIOR • DE
• Bednarik Award Watch List
• Nagurski Award Watch List
• Big Ten Preseason Honors
One of the premier defensive players in the country, Chase Young is seeking to become just the second player in program history to have multiple double-digit sack seasons. Last year, Young led the Buckeyes in both tackles for loss (15.5) and sacks (10.5) while earning second team All-Big Ten honors. Nearly half of his TFLs last fall – 7.5 to be exact – came in the final four games of the year, wins against Maryland, No. 4 Michigan, No. 21 Northwestern and No. 9 Washington.
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K.J. HILL • SENIOR • WR
• Biletnikoff Award Watch List
K.J. Hill elected to return for his fifth year and is posted to have his name etched throughout the record books. Just 48 catches shy of becoming the all-time leader in receptions, Hill had caught at least one pass in 34 straight games. His 1,696 receiving yards place him 17th in school history and within range of a Top 5 yardage total in school history.
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MALIK HARRISON • SENIOR • LB
• Butkus Award Watch List
A senior and a local product from Columbus, Harrison is one of the most productive returning players Ohio State has on defense heading into the 2019 season. He has played in 39 games over the last three years and started 14 times, including 13 last year for the Big Ten and Rose Bowl champions. He enters this season as the second leading active career tackler with 130 stops and 87 solo. He and Jordan Fuller were the team leaders in 2018 with 81 tackles.
TUF BORLAND • JUNIOR • LB
• Butkus Award Watch List
A fourth-year junior, Tuf Borland is as experienced as any linebacker on the Buckeyes’ roster after playing in every game over the past two seasons. After suffering an Achilles tendon injury during spring practice in 2018, he rehabbed and returned for the start of the season. Borland’s playing time increased as the season progressed and he finished with 67 tackles, 9.0 tackles-for-loss and three sacks.
LUKE FARRELL • JUNIOR • TE
• Mackey Award Watch List
A fourth-year junior, Luke Farrell is the most experienced tight end amongst a group that is as deep as any on the 2019 roster. Farrell led the team’s tight ends in 2018 with 20 catches for 205 yards and had a TD reception versus Rutgers. A veteran of 22 career games, Farrell caught a pass in eight of the last nine games last season for the Big Ten champion Buckeyes, including career-bests of four receptions vs. both Purdue and Maryland.
THAYER MUNFORD • JUNIOR • OL
• Outland Trophy Watch List
Thayer Munford is the lone returning starter along Ohio State’s 2019 offensive line and figures to be a key cog for an offense coming off two record-breaking seasons. He started 13 games in 2018 and earned honorable mention All-Big Ten honors while helping the Buckeyes set Big Ten records to total offense (535.6 yards/game) and passing touchdowns (51). A true junior, Munford has played in 25 of 28 games over the last two seasons.
DRUE CHRISMAN • JUNIOR • P
• Ray Guy Watch List
One of the top punters in the nation, junior Drue Chrisman should contend this year for conference and national awards. Sporting a career 43.7-yard average, which is fifth-best in Ohio State history, Chrisman keyed Ohio State to the No. 1 ranking in the Big Ten in net punting in 2018 with an average of 41.6 yards, a figure that was sixth-best nationally. He earned third-team all-Big Ten honors and was a semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award for the second consecutive season
