Philly-area college football standouts land on a pair of preseason watch lists

Penn State defensive end Abdul Carter was one of 75 college football players named to the Bronko Nagurski Trophy watch list on Tuesday.

Since 1995, the Nagurski Trophy has been awarded annually to college football’s top defensive player. Carter, who starred at La Salle College High School, earned a spot on the preseason watch list after picking up All-Big Ten honors in back-to-back campaigns with the Nittany Lions. The Glenside native has racked up 11 sacks and forced three fumbles in his two-year career, leading a Penn State defensive unit that has ranked among the nation’s best since his arrival.

If a third standout year is in store for Carter, who is switching from linebacker to defensive end, he could be named a finalist for the Nagurski Trophy when the list is trimmed in November. The winner will be announced Dec. 9, when Carter has a chance to become the first Penn State player to win the award.

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Carter isn’t the only Happy Valley star getting preseason recognition. On Monday, quarterback Drew Allar and running back Nicholas Singleton were named to the 80-player watch list for the Maxwell Award, given to the most outstanding player in college football since 1937. The award is named after Robert “Tiny” Maxwell, a former Swarthmore offensive lineman who earned All-American honors for the Garnet in 1905 and later worked for the Philadelphia Public Ledger.

Singleton, one of 28 running backs on the watch list, has been part of an effective one-two punch in the Nittany Lions backfield alongside Kaytron Allen. He became the first Penn State freshman since Saquon Barkley to rush for 1,000 yards, and last year was selected to the All-Big Ten third-team after leading in the conference in all-purpose yards (1,373). The last running back to win the Maxwell Award was Alabama’s Derrick Henry in 2015, while Larry Johnson is the most recent winner for the Nittany Lions (2002).

Allar, who tossed 25 touchdowns and only two interceptions in his first year as the signal-caller, is the second Penn State player on the watch list. A quarterback has taken home the honor in six of the last seven seasons, so the junior will be a favorite if he can build on his success in 2024. Kerry Collins was the last Penn State quarterback to win the award, doing so in 1994.

Allar will have local competition, as St. Joe’s Prep alumnus Kyle McCord, now at Syracuse after a transfer from Ohio State, also was named to the Maxwell Award watch list. The winner will be announced Dec. 12.