Duane Nash is the creator of The Yard HBCU and co-host of the @SLZEsports podcast. Follow Duane on Twitter @TheYardHBCU.
With six weeks of the 2018 college football season in the books, my watch list of Jones Trophy candidates is complete, but my top candidates are almost completely different than the award’s official watch list that was released in August.
For those unfamiliar with the award, The Deacon Jones Trophy is awarded annually, in February, to the most outstanding football player from the Historically Black College & University (HBCU) from both the FCS and Division II levels.
The award was created in 2016 by the Black College Football Hall of Fame (BCFHOF) and named after Pro Football Hall of Famer Deacon Jones, who attended South Carolina State and Mississippi Valley State from 1958 to 1960. Past winners of the award are North Carolina A&T alum and current Chicago Bear running back Tarik Cohen (2016) and senior Bowie State quarterback Amir Hall (2017).
Intraleague play has begun, the Jones Trophy is up for grabs and the top players will start to separate themselves from the rest of the pack.
Starting this Wednesday, I will release a weekly stock watch of my top candidates for the Black College Football Player of the Year. Let’s take a look at my watch list and their opponents for this weekend.[divider]
Santo Dunn, RB — Morehouse
Jequez Ezzard,WR — Howard
Mike Green, WR — Albany State
Stevie Green, WR — Fayetteville State
Amir Hall, QB — Bowie State
Devon Hunt, LB — Shaw
Jalen Morton, QB — Prairie View A&M
Caylin Newton, QB — Howard
Lamar Raynard, QB — North Carolina A&T
Chris Rowland, WR — Tennessee State
PJ Simmons, RB — Alcorn State
Lorenzo Smothers, WR — Fort Valley State
Austin Stephens, LB — Miles
Anthony Stubbs , CB — Prairie View A&M
Tabyus Taylor, RB — Virginia Union
Davoris Thomas, LB —Tuskegee
Dawonya Tucker, RB — Prairie View A&M
Brandon Varner, DL — Grambling State
Tristen Wallace, WR — Prairie View A&M
Josh Wilkes, WR — Arkansas-Pine Bluff[divider]
NASH: Best GCS HBCU Games of the 2018
