Seventeen SEC players have landed on the 2026 Walter Camp Player of the Year Watch List, giving the league a major early footprint on the race for one of college football’s biggest individual honors.
The list, announced Monday, includes 51 players overall. It will be trimmed to 10 semifinalists in early November, with three finalists to follow in early December.
The award is named for Walter Camp, the “Father of American Football,” and goes to the top player in the sport. Fernando Mendoza won it last year.
The SEC names spread across several programs, with quarterbacks, receivers, running backs, defensive linemen and linebackers all represented.
Texas put four players on the list: linebacker Rasheem Biles, wide receiver Cam Coleman, quarterback Arch Manning and quarterback Marcel Reed. Texas A&M also had a pair of selections in wide receiver Mario Craver and quarterback Marcel Reed.
Georgia was represented by defensive back Ellis Robinson IV and quarterback Gunner Stockton. South Carolina landed two more with quarterback LaNorris Sellers and defensive end Dylan Stewart. Ole Miss had quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and running back Kewan Lacy.
The rest of the SEC group featured Auburn linebacker Xavier Atkins, Tennessee running back Desean Bishop, LSU tight end Trey’dez Green, Missouri running back Ahmad Hardy, Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer and Texas defensive end Colin Simmons.
Here is the full SEC group on the 2026 Walter Camp Player of the Year Watch List:
Xavier Atkins, LB, Auburn
Rasheem Biles, LB, Texas
Desean Bishop, RB, Tennessee
Trinidad Chambliss, QB, Ole Miss
Cam Coleman, WR, Texas
Mario Craver, WR, Texas A&M
Trey’dez Green, TE, LSU
Ahmad Hardy, RB, Missouri
Kewan Lacy, RB, Ole Miss
Arch Manning, QB, Texas
John Mateer, QB, Oklahoma
Marcel Reed, QB, Texas A&M
Ellis Robinson IV, DB, Georgia
LaNorris Sellers, QB, South Carolina
Dylan Stewart, DE, South Carolina
Gunner Stockton, QB, Georgia
Colin Simmons, DE, Texas
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