Watch List Watch: Notre Dame trio lands on Lombardi Award list

Ready or not, college football season is almost here.

And if a reminder was needed, the annual preseason watch lists will provide one ahead of the 2024 season.

Inside ND Sports will track all of the preseason watch lists that mention Notre Dame football players and coaches. Keep up with all the watch list mania right here in our Watch List Watch.

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The positions eligible to win the Lombardi Award tend to play around the line of scrimmage. That’s why teams expected to have good offensive lines and/or strong front sevens were well-represented in Thursday’s preseason watch list for the Lombardi Award, which honors annually the outstanding “lineman” who displays exceptional performance and ability and embodies the character and discipline of legendary coach Vince Lombardi.

Three Notre Dame players made the 90-man watch list: defensive tackles Howard Cross III and Rylie Mills and tight end Mitchell Evans. Notre Dame was one of six programs represented by three players. The others were Clemson, Georgia, Iowa, LSU, Michigan and Oregon. Four programs were represented by four players: Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Alabama.

Cross has been a popular name on preseason watch lists. He also made the list for the Chuck Bednarik Award, Walter Camp Player of the Year, Bronko Nagusrski Trophy and Outland Trophy. Evans was previously included on Mackey Award and Biletnikoff Award watch lists. Mills was mentioned by the Outland Trophy.

Evans was one of only two tight ends included on the Lombardi Award watch list. Michigan’s Colston Loveland was the other tight end.

Five Notre Dame players have won the Lombardi Award since its 1970 creation: Walt Patulski (1971), Ross Browner (1977), Chris Zorich (1990), Aaron Taylor (1993) and Manti Te’o (2012). UCLA defensive end Laiatu Latu won the award last season. Irish left tackle Joe Alt was a finalist.

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Duke transfer Riley Leonard has yet to be officially named Notre Dame's starting quarterback for the Aug. 31 season opener at 20th-ranked Texas A&M for the No. 7 Irish.

Yet on Wednesday he made his made his fifth preseason watch list for a national college football award.

This time, it was for the 2024 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, given annually to the top senior or upperclassman quarterback set to graduate with their class. There were a whopping 63 players named to this year's list.

New Notre Dame offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock presided over the offense that was led by last year's winner, LSU's Jayden Daniels. Two Notre Dame QBs have previously won the award — Tony Rice in 1989 and Brady Quinn in 2006.

Leonard had previously been named to the watch lists for the Davey O'Brien, Comeback Player of the Year, Maxwell Award and Walter Camp Player of the Year awards.

Jack Kiser’s work off the field was highlighted by his inclusion on the preseason watch list for the Wuerffel Trophy earlier this month.

Now the sixth-year Notre Dame linebacker has been recognized for what awaits him on the field in the 2024 season. Kiser made the 51-player watch list for the Butkus Award, which honors the best linebacker in college football.

Kiser, who recorded 185 tackles in the past five season, is on track to play more defensive snaps this season than he has in previous years. That’s because Kiser has moved inside from his rover linebacker position, which was often replaced by a nickelback, to be more of an every-down linebacker.

Kiser was incredibly productive in his limited role last season. Pro Football Focus gave him a 90.3 defensive grade, which was the highest on ND’s roster. Kiser totaled 62 tackles, which ranked third on the team, despite playing the 12th-most defensive snaps for the Irish. Kiser added 1.5 sacks, one interception, one forced fumble, one pass breakup and three quarterback hurries.

Three Notre Dame linebackers have won the Butkus Award since it began in 1985: Manti Te’o (2012), Jaylon Smith (2015) and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (2020).

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There are two nationally recognized defensive player of the year awards in college football. The Bronko Nagurski Trophy, which was given to Notre Dame safety Xavier Watts last season, put two Notre Dame players on its preseason watch list in July: nose tackle Howard Cross III and Watts.

The Chuck Bednarik Award one-upped the Nagurski Trophy on Monday by including three Notre Dame players on its preseason watch list of 90 players for its defensive player of the year honor: cornerback Benjamin Morrison, Cross and Watts.

Five other schools — Georgia, Iowa, Miami, Michigan and Ohio State — landed three players on the preseason watch list. Cross is one of four defenders on the preseason watch list who was also on the 20-player semifinalist list last season.

Cross and Watts have been popular names during preseason watch list season. Cross was also highlighted on the Walter Camp Player of the Year, Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Outland Trophy watch lists. Watts was mentioned on the watch lists Walter Camp Player of the Year, Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Jim Thorpe Award. Morrison’s previous watch list honor this preseason came from the Jim Thorpe Award as well.

Linebacker Manti Te’o in 2012 became the first and only Notre Dame player to win the Chuck Bednarik Award since its inception in 1995.

Notre Dame likes to refer to itself as Tight End U, but the Irish haven’t won the Mackey Award, which recognizes the top tight end in college football, since Tyler Eifert received it in 2012.

Senior Mitchell Evans could end that drought. He was named Friday as one of 48 players on the preseason watch list for the Mackey Award.

Evans started to make a strong case for himself last season with 29 catches for 422 yards and one touchdown in the first eight games. Then his season was cut short with a torn ACL in a five-catch, 66-yard game against Pitt.

The 6-foot-5, 260-pound Evans is on track to play in the season opener at Texas A&M following a Nov. 1 surgery to repair his ACL. Evans was also named to the Biletnikoff Award watch list earlier this week.

Notre Dame tight end Michael Mayer was one of three Mackey Award finalists in 2022, but the award was given to Georgia’s Brock Bowers that year and again last year.

The Mackey Award was first awarded in 2000. Eifert is Notre Dame’s only winner to date.

Riley Leonard has yet to be officially named Notre Dame's starting quarterback, but he was named to another preseason watch list Thursday. The Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award included Leonard as one of 36 quarterbacks on its watch list.

The Davey O'Brien Award, which started recognizing the best quarterback in college football in 1981, has never been given to a Notre Dame player. LSU’s Jayden Daniels, who was coached by current ND offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock, won the award last season.

Leonard, who transferred to Notre Dame this offseason, completed 57.6% (96-of-165) of his passes for 1,102 yards and three touchdowns in an injury-riddled season at Duke last year. He als rushed 58 times for 352 yards and four touchdowns. But Leonard's reputation is more linked to his 2022 season that included 2,967 passing yards, 20 passing touchdowns, 699 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns.

Leonard has now appeared on four preseason watch lists. The Davey O'Brien Award followed the Comeback Player of the Year, Walter Camp Player of the Year, Maxwell Award nominations.

Mitchell Evans probably merited inclusion on a couple of the preseason watch lists that were released on Thursday.

He’s probably happy with just the one, the Biletnikoff Award, which since 1994 annually has gone to the best player in college football who catches a forward pass. That means tight ends, such as the Notre Dame senior, are eligible too — as are running backs.

But every winner to this point has been a wide receiver, including 2023 recipient Marvin Harrison Jr. of Ohio State. Golden Tate, in 2009, is the lone winner from Notre Dame. Former Irish receivers Jeff Samardzija (2005, 2006) and Michael Floyd (2010, 2011) were finalists for the award.

Wide receiver Kris Mitchell also made the 49-man watch list from ND. The Florida Atlantic grad transfer amassed 64 catches last season for the Owls, good for 1,118 yards with seven touchdowns. He averaged 93.2 yards per game and caught at least one pass in all 12 games, with multiple receptions in 11 of them.

Evans, meanwhile, was Notre Dame’s leading receiver in 2023, despite missing the final five games of the season. He totaled 29 receptions for 422 yards and a touchdown before suffering a torn ACL in his left knee against Pittsburgh on Oct. 28 in a 58-7 Irish romp.

That could have put Evans on the Comeback Player of the Year watch list.

The 6-foot-5, 260-pound former high school quarterback has been practicing with the Irish since training camp opened on July 31 and is expected to be 100% when the Irish open the 2024 season Aug. 31 at Texas A&M.

Kevin Bauman, unfortunately, could qualify for a lifetime achievement award in this category. To his credit, the tight end never gave up after long-term injuries each of the past three seasons limited him to a total of eight games, including zero last year following a preseason ACL tear.

The 6-5, 260-pound grad senior played in four games as a freshman in 2020, the only year he didn’t suffer a significant injury.

Since 2018, the award has recognized college football student-athletes for overcoming injury, illness or other circumstances. Each year three recipients are named, with Michigan’s Blake Corum, Holy Cross’ Jack Dobbs and Virginia’s Mike Hollins being recognized last season.

A Notre Dame player has yet to win the award.

Bauman, who has five catches for 59 yards in his college career, has been practicing and is expected to play in the season opener.

The injury that initially put Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard on the comeback trail happened last Sept. 30 while playing AGAINST the Irish and for Duke.

Leonard transferred to Notre Dame in January and underwent surgery on his right ankle, injured on a sack by Howard Cross III against the Irish, after arriving in January and again in late March. Irish head coach Marcus Freeman deemed Leonard fully recovered before training camp started on July 31.

A 2024 Maxwell Award and Walter Camp Player of the Year watch list selection, Leonard started all seven games in which he played for Duke in 2023, completing 95-for-165 passing for 1,102 yards and three touchdowns. He rushed 58 times for 352 yards and four TDs.

In 2022, he started all 13 games for the Blue Devils, completing 250-of-392 (.638) passes for 2,967 yards with 20 touchdowns, while leading the team in rushing with 699 yards on 124 carries and 13 touchdowns.

He was one of three FBS quarterbacks to amass more than 2,900 passing yards and 695 rushing yards, joining LSU’s Jayden Daniels and North Carolina’s Drake Maye — the No. 2 and 3 picks, respectively in last April’s NFL Draft.

Notre Dame has two leading candidates to be its leading rusher in the 2024 season: sophomore Jeremiyah Love and junior Jadarian Price.

Who will end up making a bigger impact is so uncertain that both were named Tuesday to the Doak Walker Award preseason candidate list of 88 players. The award, which honors the most outstanding running back in college football, has never been won by a Notre Dame player since its creation in 1990.

The Doak Walker Award infamously snubbed Notre Dame running back Audric Estimé from its semifinalist list of 10 players last season. Estimé rushed 210 times for 1,341 yards and 18 touchdowns in 2023.

Love and Price played complementary roles to Estimé last season. Love totaled 71 carries for 385 yards and one touchdown and eight catches for 77 yards and one touchdown. Price turned 47 carries into 272 yards and three touchdowns and five catches into 65 yards and one touchdown.

Oklahoma State’s Ollie Gordon II is looking to become the third two-time winner of the Doak Walker Award after winning it last season with 1,732 rushing yards and 21 rushing touchdowns.

When the Walter Camp Football Foundation released its preseason watch list for its 2024 Player of the Year award on Monday, only two schools were represented with three nominations: Notre Dame and Ohio State.

The three Notre Dame players to make the 50-man list are nose tackle Howard Cross III, quarterback Riley Leonard and safety Xavier Watts. All three were previously recognized on at least one preseason watch list last week: Cross for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Outland Trophy, Leonard for the Maxwell Award and Watts for the Jim Thorpe Award and Bronko Nagurski Trophy.

Both Cross and Watts were selected to the 2024 Walter Camp Preseason All-America First Team on July 1. They are two of only nine defensive players to make the preseason watch list for the 2024 Walter Camp Player of the Year award.

Ohio State's three representatives on the watch list are wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, quarterback Will Howard and running back Quinshon Judkins. Seven other schools had two players on the list.

The Walter Camp Player of the Year has been given to a Notre Dame player four times since its inception in 1967: tight end Ken MacAfee in 1977, wide receiver Tim Brown in 1987, wide receiver Raghib Ismail in 1990 and linebacker Manti Te'o in 2012.

Jayden Harrison’s reputation as a kick returner precedes him.

The work Harrison did last season at Marshall has landed him on multiple watch lists ahead of his first season at Notre Dame. Harrison, who completed a graduate transfer to join the Irish in January, earned multiple First Team All-America honors last season after returning two kickoffs for touchdowns and averaging 30.7 yards per return in 2023 with Marshall.

The Jet Award, which recognizes the most outstanding return specialist in college football, named Harrison to its 16-player watch list ahead of the 2024 season. One day later on Thursday, the Paul Hornung Award, given to the most versatile player in college football, named Harrison to its 48-player preseason watch list.

Harrison’s lone season with Notre Dame will be his sixth season of college football. He began his career with two seasons at Vanderbilt and spent the last three seasons at Marshall. He returned 52 kickoffs for 1,361 yards and three touchdowns in those seasons with the Thundering Herd. He finished the 2023 season ranked No. 2 in the FBS in kickoff return average and was tied for second in kickoff return touchdowns.

Harrison is competing to earn time as a slot receiver in Notre Dame's offense in addition to his expected role on special teams.

The Jet Award was created in 2011 to honor former Nebraska start Johnny Rodgers. No Notre Dame player has won the award. USC’s Zachariah Branch won it last season.

The Paul Hornung Award celebrates the do-it-all career of the former Notre Dame back, who won the Heisman Trophy in 1956. A Notre Dame player has yet to win the Paul Hornung Award since its inception in 2010. Colorado wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter won the award last season.

Jack Kiser will play an important role in Notre Dame’s defense as a sixth-year linebacker.

But it was the important work Kiser has done off the field that earned him recognition Thursday. Kiser was one of 111 FBS players named to the Wuerffel Trophy watch list for the 2024 season. The Wuerffel Trophy, which was founded in 1997, honors community service, leadership and performance on and off the field.

Kiser, who made 185 tackles in the past five season, served as the Fighting Irish Fight for Life team leader the past three years. That program pairs a local pediatric patient with Notre Dame teams. Kiser, who received a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 2022 and a master’s degree in accounting in 2023, worked on tax returns with local low-income families this past spring. Kiser has also been involved with Notre Dame’s Uplifting Athletes chapter, which aids people battling rare diseases, and regularly visited families at the Ronald McDonald House with ND head coach Marcus Freeman.

Former Notre Dame linebacker Drue Tranquill won the Wuerffel Trophy in 2018. Georgia wide receiver Ladd McConkey won it last year.

Another day, another watch list for Xavier Watts.

One day after Notre Dame’s star safety was named to the preseason watch list for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, which he won last season, Watts appeared Wednesday on the watch list for the Jim Thorpe Award.

Watts was joined by Notre Dame cornerback Benjamin Morrison on the 42-player list for potential award winners as the best defensive back in college football for the 2024 season.

Watts, a 2023 unanimous All-America selection, tied for the FBS lead in interceptions with seven last year. Morrison finished second on Notre Dame’s team with three interceptions last year after recording six in his freshman season in 2022. Morrison started 11 games and played in 12 in 2023 with 31 tackles, 10 pass breakups and 3.5 tackles for loss.

A Notre Dame player has never won the Jim Thorpe Award, which began in 1986. Air Force safety Trey Taylor won the award last season.

Xavier Watts won the Bronko Nagurski Trophy last season. This guaranteed that Notre Dame’s star safety made Tuesday’s list of 75 players on the preseason watch list for the national defensive player of the year award.

But another Notre Dame teammate joined Watts on the list: nose tackle Howard Cross III.

Watts won the Bronko Nagurski Trophy last season after tying for the FBS lead in interceptions with seven. The 2023 unanimous All-American also totaled 52 tackles, four pass breakups, three tackles for loss, one forced fumble and one recovered fumble returned for a touchdown.

Cross finished second on Notre Dame’s team in tackles last season with 66. Those included a pair of sacks and seven tackles for loss. Cross also forced two fumbles.

Watts became the second Notre Dame player to win the Nagurski Trophy, which was first awarded in 1993. Manti Te’o first won the award out of Notre Dame in 2012.

For the first time since 2014, Notre Dame football doesn't have an offensive lineman on the preseason watch list for the Outland Trophy. But the Irish are represented by a pair of Irish defensive linemen: Howard Cross III and Rylie Mills.

The Outland Trophy, which was created in 1946, recognizes the top interior lineman in college football. The current rules dictate that centers, guards and tackles on the offensive line and tackles on the defensive line are the only players eligible to win the award. Ends on the defensive line are excluded.

Cross and Mills made the 75-player watch list Tuesday following the best seasons of their college careers. Cross earned multiple second team honors on All-America lists. Mills tallied 47 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and two recovered fumbles while primarily playing defensive tackle alongside Cross at nose tackle.

Former Notre Dame offensive tackle Joe Alt was a finalist for the Outland Trophy last season, but it was given to Texas defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat. Three Notre Dame players have previously won the award: George Connor (1946), Bill Fischer (1948) and Ross Browner (1976).

Riley Leonard made the preseason Maxwell Award watch list last year as a member of Duke's football program. He found himself on the list again Monday representing Notre Dame ahead of the 2024 season.

Leonard, who completed an undergraduate transfer this past winter, was one of 80 names to make the watch list for the annual award given to the most outstanding college football player.

Leonard's 2023 season was limited by multiple injuries, which started to pile up in a 21-14 loss to Notre Dame on Sept. 30. Leonard finished the season with 1,102 passing yards and three passing touchdowns by completing 95 of his 165 attempts (57.6%). Leonard also rushed for 352 yards and four touchdowns on 58 carries.

He made the 2023 preseason list following a breakout 2022 season in which he completed 63.8% of his passes (250-of-392) for 2,967 yards and 20 touchdowns and rushed 124 times for 699 yards and 13 touchdowns.

The Maxwell Award, which was founded in 1937, has been won by a Notre Dame player seven times: Leon Hart (1949), Johnny Lattner (1952 and 1953), Jim Lynch (1966), Ross Browner (1977), Brady Quinn (2006) and Manti Te'o (2012).

Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. won the award last season.

Notre Dame football head coach Marcus Freeman joined 20 other coaches on Monday's preseason watch list for the 2024 Dodd Trophy. The award recognizes the college football coach who finds success on the field with an emphasis on scholarship, leadership and integrity.

Freeman was on the preseason watch list prior to the 2023 season as well, but he did not make it ahead of his debut season in 2022. Former Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly made the Dodd Trophy preseason watch list prior to each of his final four seasons with the Irish.

Kelly won it following the 2018 season. He became the only Notre Dame coach to do so since the award's inception in 1976. Florida State's Mike Norvell won it last season.

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