As the 2024 college football season nears, the watchlists of numerous awards provide a peek behind the curtain of the top players to watch for in the upcoming campaign. Headlined by Caleb Downs and Travis Hunter, the Lott IMPACT Trophy watchlist highlights the defensive players who match dominant play with high character off the field. Who else is on the list?
2024 Lott IMPACT Trophy Watchlist
The Lott IMPACT Trophy is awarded annually to the defensive player who best demonstrates excellence in the field of athletics while meeting the criteria of the IMPACT acronym: Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community, and Tenacity. Former winners include Junior Colson, Will Anderson Jr., Aidan Hutchinson, and Northwestern linebacker Paddy Fisher.
The 2024 Lott IMPACT Trophy watchlist is a venerable list of the most dominant defensive enforcers set to hit the football field this fall. Players like Penn State defensive end Abdul Carter, LSU linebacker Harold Perkins Jr., and Michigan cornerback Will Johnson all have the potential to be the best at their position this season and are unsurprising additions to the list.
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However, the headline names are the defensive back duo of Caleb Downs and Travis Hunter. Downs was a freshman phenom for Alabama last fall but will take his playmaking talents to the Big Ten and Ohio State in 2024. Hunter could be a legitimate Heisman Trophy with his two-way capability for the Colorado Buffaloes. He will adorn the EA Sports College Football 25 cover.
Interestingly, no player from outside of a “power conference” has ever won the Lott IMPACT Trophy, and the watchlist features just one player who will ply his trade outside of the SEC, Big Ten, ACC, and Big 12 this fall. Navy Midshipmen linebacker Colin Ramos is a highly productive heat-seeking missile who should be on the radar of every college football fan watching the AAC.
The full list of players on the Lott IMPACT Trophy watchlist is below:
- David Bailey, LB, Stanford
- Rueben Bain, DL, Miami (FL)
- Jahdae Barron, DB, Texas
- Cobee Bryant, DB, Kansas
- Denzel Burke, DB, Ohio State
- Abdul Carter, DL, Penn State
- Barrett Carter, LB, Clemson
- Jeremiah Cooper, DB, Iowa State
- Dontay Corleone, DL, Cincinnati
- Howard Cross III, DL, Notre Dame
- Tacario Davis, DB, Arizona
- Dani Dennis-Sutton, DL, Penn State
- Caleb Downs, DB, Ohio State
- Nick Emmanwori, DB, South Carolina
- Tre Freeman, LB, Duke
- Ashton Gillotte, DL, Louisville
- Mason Graham, DL, Michigan
- Johnny Hodges, LB, TCU
- Travis Hunter, DB, Colorado
- Landon Jackson, DL, Arkansas
- Will Johnson, DB, Michigan
- Deonte Lawson, LB, Alabama
- Jacob Manu, LB, Arizona
- Malachi Moore, DB, Alabama
- Benjamin Morrison, DB, Notre Dame
- Jabbar Muhammad, DB, Oregon
- Andrew Mukuba, DB, Texas
- James Pearce Jr., DL, Tennessee
- Harold Perkins Jr., LB, LSU
- D’Angelo Ponds, DB, Indiana
- Colin Ramos, LB, Navy
- Kamari Ramsey, DB, USC
- Kaimon Rucker, DL, North Carolina
- Nic Scourton, DL, Texas A&M
- Quinn Schulte, DB, Iowa
- Malaki Starks, DB, Georgia
- Danny Stutsman, LB, Oklahoma
- Dillon Thieneman, DB, Purdue
- JT Tuimoloau, DL, Ohio State
- Deone Walker, DL, Kentucky
- Jalon Walker, LB, Georgia
- Marlowe Wax, LB, Syracuse
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