College football season is officially here.
Over the past two weeks, most of the major awards have released their preseason watch lists and some will be surprised Northwestern has a player up for 10 different accolades. However, those that pay attention will realize the Wildcats are no longer the cellar dweller of college football and are legitimate contenders for a Big Ten crown.
Senior defensive end Tyler Scott is nominated for best linemen and one of the two major defensive player of the year awards, junior safety Ibraheim Campbell is up for best defensive back and senior Jeff Budzien is on the list for best kicker. However, two players were named to three lists — junior center Brandon Vitabile for best center, best linemen and best interior linemen, and senior running back Venric Mark is up for both player of the year awards and best running back.
If you lost count, that’s five players with some sort of recognition, and they’re sending an unmistakable message to the country. NU has largely been under the radar for the past 17 years since the Cats went to the Rose Bowl after the 1995 season. Now nobody is underestimating NU, and the pressure is on for Pat Fitzgerald’s bunch to perform up to task.
It is still unlikely anybody in purple will win their respective award, but we must applaud the progress NU has made in the last two years on the national stage. The Cats were always good for an upset or two, but outside of a select few players, no one was ever featured on in the national spotlight like these five are now. It is always possible for someone to emerge from nowhere to steal a prominent trophy – look at the last five Heisman winners – but being on a preseason list ensures eyeballs will focus on what you do this season. That means if Mark runs for 1,400 yards, people will know he is having an excellent season when votes start getting tabulated in early November.
NU still has a long way to go from being a perennial sleeper team to an annual threat, but the Cats are inching toward that distinction. The fact that 10 different awards saw it fit to put a Cats player on the list is an example of how much respect Fitzgerald and his team have in the eyes of the nation.
Now it’s time to prove the award committees right on the field.
Summer reporter Josh Walfish can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/JoshWalfish.
